I never got the chance to get acquainted with Hajime.
Coco.Tei, the new Hajime, reopened in May 2011 much to the delight of many of its loyal customers. I too was excited to visit this Japanese restaurant, a favorite of many in the past.
Housed in a rather big white building, Coco.Tei takes up the ground floor and is tastefully done up with lots of stone decor on the outside wall and lots of wood on the inside. Tatami seating was offered to us but we declined since we had two young kids with us and a table would be more suitable.
Tatami seating
I love the bar area, especially the wood logs used under the island. Beautiful pattern and textures.
Another intricate wood piece on the wall
We were offered both the a la carte menu and set lunch menu to choose from. For anyone who likes a good deal, you will be pleased to know that Coco.Tei offers their set lunch daily, including weekends. Yes, you read right. The set lunch menu was actually pretty impressive, with almost 30 choices of mains to choose from. Prices range from RM30+ to RM36+ depending on what you choose.
In comparison with the a la carte, the set lunch looked like a great deal hence we decided to try this first. You get a choice of 2 mains per set, hence we went for the sashimi moriawase, prawn tempura, unagi yanakawa, and gindara teriyaki.
The sashimi moriawase (assorted raw fish) consisted of 2 slices each of salmon, tuna and hamachi. The sashimi was fresh and had a firm flesh. The only thing I thought was weird was that they used a garnish which looked like colored plastic, I thought Japanese restaurant usually use edible garnishes in their food?
The gindara teriyaki (grilled cod fish) was excellent, firm flesh with a nice caramelised finish albeit the portion being a little small.
I did not like the unagi yanakawa (grilled eel with omelette). The omelette was cooked in a stew with some root vegetables and I thought it tasted downright weird and way too watery for my liking. I went for this because it was something different from the usual unagi kabayaki I have. Not good value as well, since this was in Category C (more expensive item) but only came with 4-5 slices of unagi. I'll just stick with my unagi kabayaki next time.
For an additional RM4+, you can get a scoop of ice-cream per set. Considering the price per scoop from the a la carte (RM10-12 per scoop), this was really reasonable.
I did not like the unagi yanakawa (grilled eel with omelette). The omelette was cooked in a stew with some root vegetables and I thought it tasted downright weird and way too watery for my liking. I went for this because it was something different from the usual unagi kabayaki I have. Not good value as well, since this was in Category C (more expensive item) but only came with 4-5 slices of unagi. I'll just stick with my unagi kabayaki next time.
The prawn tempura was pretty good and non-oily, though again, the portions were a little small.
All sets are served with chawanmushi, rice, miso soup and pickles. We did enjoy the chawanmushi as it was silky smooth and laden with ingredients.
For an additional RM4+, you can get a scoop of ice-cream per set. Considering the price per scoop from the a la carte (RM10-12 per scoop), this was really reasonable.
If there was one thing we would return to Coco.Tei for, it would be their black sesame ice-cream. It was definitely rich and had a slight nutty flavour to it, definitely awesome. We also tried the wasabi ice cream which I wasn't too keen on as the wasabi flavour was too overpowering for me.
Opening times: 11.45am-2pm (Lunch) and 6pm-10pm (Dinner).
Price: We went for the RM36+ set lunch plus RM4+ for the ice-cream.
Location: Coco.Tei, Tokyo Japanese Cuisine, No.5, GF-B, Jalan Delima, 55100 Kuala Lumpur. (next to Levain)
Tel: 1800 88 6655
GPS Coordinates: 3.146751, 101.720867
Join their Facebook page for latest updates.
Note: There is currently a 10% discount on all orders (Opening Promotion).
nice recommmend
ReplyDeleteThe extra RM4+ for the ice-cream is really a steal.. and their sesame ice-cream is the best in town! (Personally I love their wasabi ice-cream too as I love the stuff. Hooray!)
ReplyDeleteIsn't this next door to levain? ;)
ReplyDeleteoooh, it looks very calm and peaceful during lunchtime (almost like one of those japanese garden settings). i had always imagined it'd be a chaotic scene here of families loudly enjoying their lunches (kinda like dim sum time at a chinese restaurant) :D
ReplyDeleteoh i love set lunch deal! another place to go :)))
ReplyDeleteyep, i was in babylon on the 18th may.
din get to see u >.<
i love Jp cuisine~~^^
ReplyDeletemust try to make a visit soon then, all looks pretty good
ReplyDeleteNikel: Hope you like it :)
ReplyDeleteKenny: I daresay their sesame ice cream is the best in town too :) Really good stuff.
ReplyDeleteMichelle: Yes... next to Levain though its much easier to get a parking space here compared to Levain.
ReplyDeleteSean: We went on a Sunday so it was pretty quiet - just us and another table. The waitresses did say that they were much busier during weekdays lunches due to the office crowd.
ReplyDeleteAi Wei: I thnk I know where you sat at Babylon.. but I didn't see you so thats why didnt say hello. I was there with my 2 kids... hahaha
ReplyDeleteHope you will enjoy the set lunch here too :)
Xjion 89: Then you should try Coco.Tei.
ReplyDeletebabe_kl: The environment is very nice and I have read that their a la carte items are pretty awesome.
ReplyDeletenice food..first time drop by here and nice post. btw,have a view of my blog when free.. http://www.lonelyreload.com .. do leave me some comment / guide if can.. if interested can follow my blog...
ReplyDeleteMy fav Jap resto...I just love their cold somen n black sesame ice-cream...managed to pack a small tub back :D
ReplyDeleteSounds like the food was pleasant but you weren't wowed, except for the black sesame ice cream. Thanks for the tip!
ReplyDeleteI recently went to Hokkaido Ichiban at the Gardens, Mid Valley and their ice creams there were very good too.
HF xx
Mr Lonely: Thanks. Will drop by your blog when I have time :)
ReplyDeleteulric: I remember reading on Sean's blog that you've tried Coco Tei's set lunch - what do you think about it?
ReplyDeleteHungry Female: I've had better set lunches than this, for example in Hokkaido Ichiba. Though its owned by Super Dining which has lots of chain restaurants, I feel the quality there is pretty good. And yes, I love the ice creams too :)
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe sets r OK overall for the price...agree tat the portions are somewhat small (especially if u order the unagi n tempura items)...but u can choose 2 items per set...together with the rice (refillable), chawan mushi and miso soup plus a definite order of the black sesame ice-cream...it's just rite for me. My fav items r:
ReplyDelete1) Spider Maki and Ebi Mango Maki
2) Salmon Ninniku
3) The Katsu items
4) The Salad items
5) The Fish items
The ala-carte items are better...but also more expensive :)
Oya...the colored plastic garnish...it's actually something edible that they sliced thinly...I have seen them doing the slicing before :D
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ReplyDelete