Yuzu Japanese Restaurant, The Gardens, Kuala Lumpur

We've walked past Yuzu Japanese Restaurant tons of times in the past but strangely, we have never stepped foot inside. The Unc recently dined here with a friend and mentioned that the food was worth trying, so we found ourselves here the next time we were at The Gardens.

For a weekday afternoon, the restaurant was pretty busy. We sat in the non-smoking corner of the restaurant, which faces the sashimi bar. There is a lot of wood and bamboo used in the restaurant decor with some water features out front. With such a clean and contemporary look, one can't help but feel serene in these surroundings.

Lavender by the fish pond

It took us a while to browse through their extensive menu before deciding what we wanted to eat. In the end, we both settled for the set meal (available for lunch and dinner) as we wanted a complete meal.

To start, we ordered the Geso Tatsuta Age (RM10) to share since we are both big fans of calamari. However, what arrived on our table was very different from what was illustrated in the menu. We had expected the squid to be coated in a light tempura-like batter and deep fried. Instead, it was more towards KFC chicken batter, hence the squid felt a little crunchier than we would have liked. Looking on the bright side, it was quite a big portion for the price.

Since I had cravings for sashimi, I ordered the Sashimi Mori Set (RM65). This was one of the more premium sashimi set meals offered. The set came with an assortment of sashimi, silken tofu, mini salad, pickles, rice, chawanmushi, teapot soup and watermelon.

Unfortunately, the sashimi did not live up to my expectations. Served on a bed of crushed ice, the sashimi was undeniably fresh. I checked beforehand with the waiting staff when the sashimi are air-flown and she confirmed they arrived that morning. Albeit being beautifully presented, I was slightly disappointed with the portion and variety of the sashimi offered. The set came with 3 slices of salmon sashimi, 3 slices of butterfish, 1 slice of tuna, 1 sweet shrimp and some fish roe. Not much, right?

The salmon sashimi was good, and I enjoyed the popping flavours of the fish roe.

The chawanmushi (steamed egg custard) was silky smooth and delicious. I enjoyed the flavoursome teapot soup as well.

Hubby had the Wagyu Ishiyaki Set (RM65), which comprised of stone grilled Japanese beef, assorted tempura, silken tofu, mini salad, pickles, rice, miso soup, chawanmushi and watermelon. This was very good and much better value for money.

We ordered the stone grilled beef medium rare and it was excellent. As the waitress placed Hubby's tray on the table, the wonderful aroma of the sizzling beef made our mouth water. The soy seasoned beef slices were slightly caramelised at the edges and was delicious. Mushroom slices were placed below the beef to stop the beef from continuing to cook on the hot stone. The mushroom slices were very flavoursome.

The beef was so tender, it almost melted in our mouths.

The tempura was pretty good too, light and crispy.

Green tea is complimentary. Sashimi is air flown every Tuesday and Friday.

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Verdict: I feel that the set meals were slightly overpriced as the portions of the "main attractions" were measly. If we return, I would probably order from the a la carte menu.

Service: Good.

Price: Expensive. RM161 inclusive of tax and service charge for 2 persons. For an extra RM19, we can have a much more satisfying 3-course set lunch at Sage.

Location: Yuzu Japanese Restaurant, Lot T-236, 3rd Floor, The Gardens Mid Valley City, Lingkaran Syed Putra, 59200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (Isetan side)

Tel: 03-2284 7663