Lunch @ Fukuya Japanese Restaurant, Jalan Delima, Kuala Lumpur

I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into some Japanese food when my 100-days no seafood confinement finally ended. My brain was screaming "sashimi"and "tempura". I chose Fukuya after reading about it in the Nov/Dec issue of Flavours magazine, the Chef's Choice for Best Japanese Restaurant in KL.

Fukuya literally translates to the "House of Happiness" in Japanese and serves authentic Japanese cuisine. The restaurant is reminiscent of the family home of a wealthy Japanese family in the olden days, and is divided into the main house structure, six private dining rooms unconnected to the main annexe and a beautiful bamboo-filled garden. The decor here is certainly very Zen-like which created a peaceful and serene dining experience for us.

The main house structure

Inside one of the private dining rooms

We decided to go there for lunch and bring the kids with us. We rarely bring the kids with us to fancy restaurants as they are usually either too formal or not kids friendly. When the waiting staff at Fukuya saw that we had kids with us, they kindly offered us a private room. The private room was small and cozy and was perfect for us. We could dine without having to worry about disturbing other diners.

Soy sauce in a dainty teapot

There are 6 set lunches to choose from; Mini Kaiseki (RM63), Traditional Japanese Full Course Sushi Lunch Menu (RM78), Ya-Bento (RM42), Wa-Sushi Bento (RM52), Seiro Lunch Set Menu (RM42) and Fuku-Fuku Lunch (RM39).

Of all the sets, only the Fuku-Fuku Lunch set allows diners to choose their own main dishes out of 14 choices. So if you're one of those people who does not like surprises with their meal, then go for this. The set comes with an appetizer, salad, mini steamed egg custard, 2 main dishes, steamed rice, miso soup, pickles and dessert.

The salad was very tasty; we enjoyed the combination of the crisp lettuce, smooth soba and crunchy fish roe. Baby C loved the chawanmushi and she alone ate 3/4 of the cup. It was soft and silky smooth. For the main dishes, my mum chose the butter sauteed scallop and cod fish teriyaki. She was impressed with the grilled cod as it was fresh and tender and the teriyaki marinade really worked well with the fish. However the scallops didnt really make the mark as we were expecting whole scallops instead of sliced ones.

Fuku-Fuku Lunch Set : Salad

Fuku-Fuku Lunch set: Appetizer

Fuku-Fuku Lunch Set: Chawanmushi (steamed egg custard)

The whole Fuku-Fuku Lunch set is served on a tray.

Fuku-Fuku Lunch Set: Grilled Cod Fish Teriyaki

Fuku-Fuku Lunch Set: Butter sauteed scallops

Fuku-Fuku Lunch Set: Slices of papaya and honeydew for dessert

Since Fukuya specialises in Kaiseki menu, a visit here would not be complete without sampling this. Kaiseki is a traditional multi-course Japanese meal and has been described as "Japanese haute cuisine". It uses only fresh seasonal ingredients which are air-flown from Japan twice a week and is prepared according to the strictest traditional methods. Kaiseki is intended to appeal to all your senses; taste, texture, and sight.

If like me you're a sucker for beautiful plates of food, you would definitely love the Mini Kaiseki set. Everything is beautifully presented in/on elegant crockery in tasting portions. I would liken the kaiseki to the Western tasting menu. Unlike the Fuku-Fuku Lunch whereby everything is served at once in a tray, the Mini Kaiseki is served course by course. Included in this set are appetizer, soup, sashimi, grilled dish, simmered dish, fried dish, shokuji, and dessert.

Kaiseki, the epitome of Japanese haute cuisine..

The appetizer definitely wowed my socks off in terms of presentation. It was an absolute visual delight. I spent a fair amount of time just admiring this before I finally devoured it. What I loved most was the oil steamed shishamo, also known as the pregnant fish. The fish was filled to the brim with tiny crunchy roe and I ate everything including the head and tail! I also enjoyed the delicately flavoured uni (sea urchin) tofu and the scallop topped with mayo.

A beautiful appetizer

Grilled yam skewers, salmon roll, uni tofu, grilled scallop and shisamo

Oil steamed shishamo

Even the chawanmushi in the Mini Kaiseki set was superior. The texture was so smooth and every spoonful just melted in my mouth. The chawanmushi was loaded with shark fin, prawn, shitake mushrooms, gingko and chicken slices.

I was very happy with the sashimi platter served before me. The sashimi was thickly sliced and very fresh. There was hamachi (yellowtail), maguro (tuna) and salmon. I wasn't even halfway through my meal and I already felt this set was much better value than what I had at Yuzu.

The Grilled Hamachi with teriyaki was my least favorite dish of the afternoon. I was actually very surprised that two dishes featuring hamachi was served in succession. Furthermore, the fish was a little tough in texture.

The simmered dish of chicken teriyaki with radish was tender and flavourful.

I love tempura and I found myself loving the tempura here very much. The juicy prawns were wrapped in shiso leaf and fried in a light airy batter. The shiso contributes a light fragrance to the dish which I enjoyed.

The tempura was served with steamed rice topped with salmon and ikura roe. You must think that I must be stuffed by now from all the other courses, but you thought wrong! I actually finished the whole bowl of rice, not even a single grain of rice was spared...

Miso soup

Pickles

And to end the near-perfect meal, big, sweet, juicy strawberries with whipped cream was served.

Fukuya was named one of Asia's finest restaurants in The Miele Guide 2009/2010

For full lunch menu, click here (current prices as stated above).

Verdict: We felt that both the Fuku-Fuku set lunch and Mini Kaiseki were value for money, but if you want something more refined, then go for the Mini Kaiseki set. We left Fukuya, the House of Happiness, with very happy stomachs.

Opening times: Monday to Saturday; Lunch 12.00 pm - 2.30pm, Dinner 6.30 pm- 10.30pm. Sundays 6.00pm - 10.00pm.

Service: Excellent. Kids friendly.

Price: Reasonable as Japanese cuisine don't come cheap. Set lunch is available Mondays to Saturdays.

Location: Fukuya Japanese Restaurant, No 9 Jalan Delima, 55100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (next to Levain Boulangerie and behind the Indonesian Embassy)

Tel: 03-2144 1022

Website: http://www.fukuya.com.my/

GPS Coordinates: 3.145626, 101.72061