The Hype about Sushi Zanmai
Whenever I go to One Utama (1 U), I would notice a long queue of people outside Sushi Zanmai Japanese restaurant. And I would think to myself, one day I must try at this place to understand what the hype was about. And finally, one day, after many months, Saucer and I decided to join in the queue for dinner. It seems to me that Sushi Zanmai at 1U is forever crowded! So after patiently waiting for about 10 minutes, we got our table by the kaiten belt.
The napkins
We were tempted to order some sushi from the belt, considering they’re sushi experts, but no we didn’t. The sushi plates moving on those belt were not attractive looking at all. They were poorly presented, some with residues at the side of the plate, and many with covers which were reused for the thousandth time. Truly, not a very appetizing sight, so we resorted to ordering from the menu instead.
Sushi Zanmai
I saw the Soft Shell Crab Maki and knew I simply had to order it because I love soft shell crab! Also, the presentation on the menu looked pretty, with 6 pieces to boot! Value for money indeed! And thankfully, I wasn’t disappointed. The deep fried soft shell crab was still warm and crispy, with generous amount of meat in each roll. I have had experience with soft shell crab that was cold and tough, so thankfully Sushi Zanmai did this right. At RM6.80, this was definitely better value than any of those from the sushi belt.
Soft Shell Crab Maki (RM6.80)
For something more solid, I ordered the Yakiniku Don or rice with beef fillet. The small portion was actually pretty sizable for me, plenty of rice with thinly sliced beef. The beef was done just right, without being gamey but the sauce was not as flavourful.
Yakiniku Don (RM10.80 – small)
Thinly sliced beef
Saucer had the Unatama Don, which was rice with eel and egg on top. He also had the small portion, which came with several pieces of unagi. My first impression was that the rice was too dry. There wasn’t enough gravy to go around, and the gravy was similarly bland. In fact, I think his rice tasted more bland than mine, such that he had to add some shoyu and sweet sauce to make it edible. Plus, the unagi was not even fresh in the first place.
Unatama Don (RM15.80 – small)
The unagi was quite firm and rubbery in texture, much like eating fish cake. Perhaps some people might enjoy it but it’s just weird to me. I definitely think that Sakae Sushi does it so much better when it comes to Don.
Rubbery and firm unagi
At the end of the meal, we found that the queue was still there outside the restaurant! Other than the crab maki, I don’t think I would queue for this place again.
Sushi Zanmai 1 Utama
Sushi Zanmai
SK 9A, 2nd Floor, High Street,
1 Utama Shopping Centre (New Wing)
Bandar Utama, Selangor,
Malaysia.
Contact No : +603-7724 2030 / +6012-771 2030
Business Hours: Sun-Thurs 10.00 am – 10.00 pm & Fri-Sat 10.00 am – 10.30 pm
Comments (59)
I tried The Gardens Sushi Zanmai before. WIll never step into any shop which bears this name. Awful. Not nice
The only upside is the price.
LOL! What did you try? I guess only the sushi and rolls are nice?
iamthewitch recently posted..Taiwanese Food at Fong Lye Restaurant
oh.. long time dy i din’t step into Suhsi zamai. feeling wanna going to Suhsi Zamai now…
isley recently posted..Nah!~ taste my finger!
Sounds like you’re a long time fan!
iamthewitch recently posted..Taiwanese Food at Fong Lye Restaurant
Looks very nice. Not that expensive. Bet my hubby will love it. Too bad i dont like japanese food.
kathy recently posted..Oh Bring Back My Bonnie To Me~
You don’t like Japanese food? Why not?
iamthewitch recently posted..Taiwanese Food at Fong Lye Restaurant
taste much much better than the others from the same range too
ai wei recently posted..More in Umaiya @ IOI Bouvelard, Puchong Jaya
I guess depends on what you order.. if you talk about rice, I think Sakae Sushi does it better..
No, thanks… Let’s see where you’re going next! LOL!!!
suituapui recently posted..How great Thou art…
Looks like not a Japanese food fan eh?
iamthewitch recently posted..Taiwanese Food at Fong Lye Restaurant
i guess all the branches are crowded during dinner, same thing at Gardens.. i’ve actually been there twice, quite ok but i won’t purposely queue and waste my time waiting.. i usually prefer going to Pasta Zanmai instead, love the pasta and pizza there..
[SK] recently posted..20.06.2010 | 精悍簡短
Well the thing is even after the long queue, I don’t think the food was THAT great. Maybe I should have tried more sushi and maki instead. Or I could try Pasta Zanmai next time to compare
iamthewitch recently posted..Taiwanese Food at Fong Lye Restaurant
wei wei wei.. i tot u said no japanese food for this month dy??? LOL
Caroline recently posted..Happy Daddy’s Day.
LOL! You’re right.. no more for this month
iamthewitch recently posted..Taiwanese Food at Fong Lye Restaurant
Sushi Zanmai’s quality has slightly dropped…I used to like the food here…maybe due to too many branches being opened…
Nowadays, I go to Sushi Tei @ Tropicana City Mall…quality and service is better…
Or you can try Umai-ya @ IOI Boulevard Puchong…hehe…
Yea hard to control quality with more branches? Anyway, I heard a lot of good things on Sushi Tei, I will give it a try some day
Thanks!
The one at The Gardens also always pack lo….but their sushi really good la
uLi recently posted..Piggy Malacca Trip 2010 – Nadeje
I didn’t try their sushi, will try it next time
i advise you to order sushi, most of their sushi were nice as compared to sushi king. in fact is good because most of their items are cheaper as compared to the same range restaurants. of course, I agree that it’s only the “fast food” type of Japanese food served, surely can;t compare with the fine dining type….this is my personal opinion
SimpleGirl recently posted..Shanghai – Luna@ XinTianDi
Perhaps I should have ordered the sushi, but the presentation of those sushi on the belt was just not very attractive and neat for me to try.
iamthewitch recently posted..Taiwanese Food at Fong Lye Restaurant
Just been to The Garden franchise on last Saturday. The food was average, but the ambiance are mediocre. Very hot & crowded.. they shud have improve their ventilation.LOL
Really? I haven’t been to the one in Gardens yet… But hot and crowded not a very good environment for meals eh?
oooh, btw, i have fixed the play/pause/stop button problem in my blog already.. you can go again and enjoy the photos, sorry for the trouble.. :p
20.06.2010 | 精悍簡短
[SK] recently posted..20.06.2010 | 精悍簡短
OK no problem!
iamthewitch recently posted..Taiwanese Food at Fong Lye Restaurant
There were actually some good finds at Sushi Zanmai. One example being the beef salad with their signature dressing (forgot which, this was about a year ago). The sushi rolls are certainly much much better than Sushi king, Genki, and Sakae.
But of course, there were misses as well. Can’t really hope for the best when dining in a Jap kaiten belt outlet.
Sushi Tei is good, but I have only been there once, hence can’t judge.
J2Kfm recently posted..Pondok Padang @ 1Casuarina, Ipoh
I have to agree the sushi rolls are good, but I guess for the other dishes, I’ve tasted better. I just don’t understand why so many people queue up when the good was not fantastic…
iamthewitch recently posted..Taiwanese Food at Fong Lye Restaurant
i love sushi zanmai, their price range is affordable and their stuff are fresh
Vivien recently posted..Mighty Macaron Baking Class by Rohani Jelani, Bayan Indah Culinary Resort, Sungai Pencala(near TTDI/Damansara Perdana)
Yea, the price is pretty affordable in general..
iamthewitch recently posted..Taiwanese Food at Fong Lye Restaurant
i heard from my frends that u need to book in advance if u wan to eat at sushi zanmai coz it always packed with people..
wyyv recently posted..OriNat Cafe@ Kampar
Really? I didn’t know they even allow booking since there’s always a queue outside..
iamthewitch recently posted..Taiwanese Food at Fong Lye Restaurant
yeah.. always crowded.. and i’ve never tried sushi zanmai before.. =P
kenwooi recently posted..London Needs Ken!
You can give it a try and see what’s the hype about
I had the same thought as you. Always seeing the long queue and wonder to myself is it really that good and that i should try it out one day.
Looks like I’ll most prob give this place a miss since I don’t want to be queing for ages.
nrewq recently posted..Ole! Ole! THE HEAT IS ON-WORLD CUP FEVER @ Bentley’s Pub Hotel Nikko Kuala Lumpur
Yea man.. don’t know why there’s always a line outside. I wonder if it’s because of the name or really because of good food. Don’t think I would wanna queue again…
iamthewitch recently posted..Taiwanese Food at Fong Lye Restaurant
I rather pay RM29 for Japanese buffet at Kikyo !! lol This is my first and last visit to Sushi Zanmai.
LOL! Buffet again???
iamthewitch recently posted..Taiwanese Food at Fong Lye Restaurant
The Sushi Zanmai branch in The Gardens is also very busy all the time…. guess it’s the hype with Japanese conveyor belt food.
Baby Sumo recently posted..Ko Hyang Korean Country Delights, The Gardens
LOL! We should open a Japanese conveyor belt restaurant then!
i cant get the hype too..the long queue is just so well..not my kinda thing.
lotsofcravings recently posted..Vary Pasta @ Damansara Jaya
Yea I don’t think I would queue again..
OMG!! Your blog is so interesting. I will link your blog in my personal blog: http://agnes1409.blogspot.com/
Nice to meet you!!
agnes sim recently posted..NL 05610
Thank you! Nice to meet you too
You are true, I will see long q whenever I go 1U, but for me their food just so so only, I prefer Pasta Zanmai
mimid3vils recently posted..Nambawan Restaurant & Cafe
Pasta Zanmai better eh? I’ll give it a try next time
iamthewitch recently posted..Taiwanese Food at Fong Lye Restaurant
Normally we also have the unagi rice…but seems to be ok each time we had. Yes, order the sushi is so much yummier and presentable than the belt one.
Mommy Ling recently posted..Last Minute Work
Maybe the unagi that we had that night was not that fresh… Perhaps should have ordered the sushi instead
Honestly speaking, looking at the queue, I won;t even bother! Haha! I hate queues!! No matter how good the food!
foongpc recently posted..Random Notes 13
Haha I don’t like queuing too but I was just too curious to know what these people were lining up for!
My brother tried there once and told me the food was lousy so I didn’t go. Lucky me! : )
foongpc recently posted..Random Notes 13
LOL!
I wonder why people still queue up for it!
Beats me!
I prefer Pasta Zanmai anytime! Usually go to the one in Mid Valley, How come 1Utama no Pasta Zanmai?
I should try pasta zanmai one day.. most people are giving good comments about it!
Is Pasta Zanmai and Sushi Zanmai both from the same company?
Yep, they are from the same group (www.supersushi.com.my)
Forgot to say…there is a Pasta Zanmai in 1U…it’s just behind Shojikiya…hard to spot…
I like Sushi Zanmai. But I find that when I go during peak times, the stuff I usually order is of lousier quality than when I visit during non-peak periods. Maybe branches matter too. The one in Sunway Pyramid is quite consistent with their quality.
JoyceW recently posted..Bejeweled Blitz is SERIOUS BUSINESS
Really? Perhaps I should give a visit to the Sunway branch, WHEN there is no queue! LOL!