Waku Waku (わくわく) Contemporary Japanese Dining restaurant offers innovative fusion food such as Japanese style nasi lemak, spicy sushi roll with sambal, lam mee Jepun, koay teow Jepun and Ishiyaki bibimbap. I was attracted to the Japanese nasi lemak, hence we found ourselves here for lunch one afternoon.
Japanese-style nasi lemak
Waku Waku means "excitement or thrill" in Japanese and is located on Level 3 in MidValley. Most of the restaurant is covered in wood, and part of the dining spaces are made to look like houses. You can also see all the way into the kitchen since they operate an open kitchen concept here.
Japanese Roasted Rice Tea - Genmai Cha (RM2.90)
Cookies & Vanilla (RM7.90) - cookies, milk and vanilla ice cream blended together
You can view their menu here, but basically they have hambagu, kushiyaki (skewers), tempura, agemono, sushi, sashimi, soup, salad, noodles, rice and dessert. I ordered the Nasi Lemak Jepun without any hesitation (well, maybe a little cos I was tempted by the hambagu). The rice is served in a sizzling stone pot, similar to the ones used to serve Korean dolsot bibimbap. The rice is very fragrant, thanks to the coconut milk but it was slightly on the wet side. It was topped with finely chopped iceberg lettuce and an onsen tamago. I especially liked the crispy bits from the bottom of the stone pot, same as when I eat bibimbap.
The condiments that came with the nasi lemak Jepun was pretty good. I like the sambal, since it is the sweet-spicy type that I usually favour. I poured all the sambal into the stone pot rice and mixed it well! Yum. There was at least 4-5 king prawns in the separate prawn sambal - pretty generous. I don't usually like chicken drumstick, cos I find it too fatty but the drumstick here was smooth and quite lean. It has been braised in soy sauce, so it's very flavorful too. Overall, I find this an interesting take on the Malaysian nasi lemak, which tastes quite healthy too.
Nasi Lemak Jepun (RM14.90)
Hubby had the Salmon Butter Rice (RM13.90), which was also served in a stone pot. The rice was topped with butter grilled salmon steak, minced chicken, cucumber puree thing, and spicy chilli flakes. Hubby commented that it was satisfying enough.
Waku-Waku
Verdict: Food here is tasty and reasonably priced, will come back for the hambagu. Need to try the hambagu so that I can perfect my own hambagu recipe at home. :D
Full set of photos can be viewed on my Facebook page here.
Pork-free.
Price: Approx. RM46 for lunch.
Location: Waku Waku, Lot T-015B, Level 3, Mid Valley City, Lingkaran Syed Putra, 59200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (next to Pet's Wonderland)
Tel: 03-2284 1172
Website: http://www.mywakuwaku.com
The nasi lemak is pretty good value isnt it. Sounds interesting. I dont suppose they have branches in pj area, i dont really like to go to midvalley, too big, too complicated to find parking and far. I m a pj girl heehee
ReplyDeleteYeah for mall standards, the prices are pretty reasonable. Oooooo we always go to MV cos it's the closest to our home... so far this Waku Waku only has one branch at MV.
DeleteHamburg...I m game for hamburg anytime...especially with runny eggs! =)
ReplyDeleteHeheheheheh hopefully the eggs here are runny... to keep u happy!
DeleteAiyor...if I want nasi lemak, I would go for the real thing - not the pseudo-authentic Japanese ones...and so expensive some more. I'd rather try the salmon butter rice instead.
ReplyDeleteThe portion is quite big and it's in a mall, so I think the price is reasonable. Good to try a different version for a change la.
Deletedine in here once & I found that the menu is quite interesting, definitely will revisit :)
ReplyDeleteMe too! Gonna go back for the hambagu.
DeleteNasi Lemak ala Bibimbap :-D
ReplyDeleteCorrect!
DeleteI was at Mid Valley the last time I visited KL in June... That chicken looks so good!!
ReplyDeleteI really liked it, very flavorful. We shd meet up at MV when u visit KL again!
Deletei want a japanese-style roti canai! :D
ReplyDeleteIt will be probably pizza-like with an onsen egg. Hehe.
DeleteHey...tat is available in Kissaten n other Jap western places aredi lar :P
DeleteAlways wanted to try this due to its different take of local delicacies. The price is pretty reasonable too!
ReplyDeleteIt's worth trying, I thought the nasi lemak Jepun was pretty good.
DeleteWahh Japan has also caught up with our nasi lemak! Nice! hehe... it certainly looks like a fusion of several cuisines - Malay, Japanese and Korean (the use of stone pot!) haha :)
ReplyDeleteI think they use hot pot for many of their dishes, including Kuay Teow Jepun.
Deletethis used to be where sushi king was right?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure, I dont think I've been to Sushi King in MV. But it's next to Pet's Wonderland if it helps.
DeleteIt looks like everything was pleasing and that it is a good place to stop and eat :D
ReplyDeleteWe wanted to try a different restaurant for a change and this did the job.
Deletei wanna try the nasi lemak jepun! is the rice fragrant enough?
ReplyDeleteVery fragrant but a bit soft.
DeleteGreat! Looks Yummy!
ReplyDelete^^ thnks for sharing! now i can go in without any doubts hahahaha
ReplyDelete