Sakae Sushi @ Cheras Leisure Mall

Sakae Sushi is a well established brand in the market with their conveyor belt sushi concept.  They have many branches throughout Malaysia and quite a few here in KL and Selangor.

When we want affordable sushi, we would visit Sakae Sushi @ Cheras Leisure Mall.  I've eaten here many times before (though the last time was quite a while ago).  They have launched some new items on their menu and that was the reason for our latest visit.

I am glad that they have refurbished their restaurant (with some new furniture) and now uses the first-of-its-kind iPad interactive menu system that allows customers to make their orders directly whilst maintaining a tab on their bill.  The use of technology definitely speeds up the ordering process and offer customers unprecedented convenience.

 

As we are not huge fans of sashimi, though I do eat it sometimes, we prefer to order the "cooked" dishes more....and here were our orders.......

First up, we ordered Fried Soft Shell Crab @ RM16.90 which was served with a side salad and a very slightly spiced cocktail sauce.  The soft shell crab was light and crispy...very nice!

Next was the Salmon Asparagus Yaki @ RM15.90 which happens to be one of the new items on the menu.  This was lightly grilled salmon which was then wrapped around asparagus sticks and served with a teriyaki sauce.  The salmon was alright but some of the asparagus sticks were rather 'old' and so was rather fibrous.

We also ordered a classic Japanase dish of Tempura @ RM13.90 consisting of lightly battered vegetables (carrot, sweet potato, brinjal, green capsicum and mushroom) and seafood (3 pcs of fairly huge prawns and 1 pc of fish) served with a tempura dip. The seafood was fresh, the batter was light and it was fried to crunchy perfection (and it stayed crunchy for quite a while as well)!

Then came the Ika Karaage (Fried Marinated Squid) @ RM12.90.  The batter for this was thicker and saltier and needed a squeeze of lemon to cut through the saltiness.  I didn't like this as much because the squid was chewier.

As my son also likes Unagi a lot, we ordered the Jyo Unagi (premium river eel) sushi @ RM12.90 but, unfortunately, this was not the version he liked.  This unagi was served cold, it tasted kinda 'funky' and the texture (especially the skin) was rubbery.  What he wanted was the Unagi Kabayaki---the grilled version (dipped in a sweet soy sauce and then grilled).....we made a mistake!!  [#Tip: So only order if you see the word "kabayaki" or grilled because unagi that is not grilled tastes awful.]

The Salmon Mentaiyaki @ RM15.90 was grilled salmon with mentaiko mayo.  Mentaiko is marinated roe (of Pollock or Cod, it seems) and its flavour is heavenly! 

Here's a closer look....the salmon was grilled just right, with a layer of mentaiko on top, while the salmon skin was very crispy.  It was served with asparagus at the bottom and a salad in Japanese soy sauce.  It was immensely appealing....and easily the best dish of the day! 

The Ebi Mentaiyaki @ RM10.90 (another new item) was grilled prawns with mentaiko mayo.  The prawns had a lightly charred taste and the mentaiko mayo was again delicious...yet another winner!

A 'must order' sushi item and our all time favourite is the Salmon Mentai @ RM5.99 which is half-grilled salmon with mentaiko mayo (the one in the pic is 2 portions).  The slightly 'torched' salmon has this amazing smoky aroma and, when topped with....what else...the mentaiko mayo, is just simply irresistible!! 

The Nama Hotate Mentai @ RM9.99 (also a new item) which was half-grilled scallop, with mentaiko mayo (again), had a very soft texture when you bite into it....just divine!

Another new item on the menu was the Tamago Mentai Maki @ RM7.99 which consisted of Japanese omelette, mini ebi tempura, egg crepe, Japanese cucumber and (of course) mentaiko mayo.

[#Tip: As far as I'm concerned, just order anything that has mentaiko in it and you simply can't go wrong!]

The Fried Salmon Skin @ RM5.99 was cut into very small slithers and deep fried till crunchy....something that your kids will definitely enjoy!

One item I never fail to order is the Ikura Chawanmushi @ RM5.90, steamed egg with ikura (salmon roe), chicken, gingko, crabstick and mushroom.  I preferred this to the Sakae Chawanmushi just because it had the salmon roe which provided a popping sensation and burst of flavours when you bite into the little morsels.

We also had a couple of sushi from the conveyor belt and one of them was the Aburi Shiro Maguro @ RM1.99 (half-broiled butterfish with teriyaki sauce).  Another was the slightly 'torched' Japanese Omelette @ RM3.99 topped with mentaiko mayo.  The other was my son's favourite, the Chuka Idako (seasoned baby octopus) sushi @ RM3.99.  Another cheap sushi is the Tuna Mayo (I love tuna) @ RM1.99 also. 

I consider these 'fillers' (if you're on a budget) as they are cheap and (even if you're not on a budget), you can still order these to 'fill you up', otherwise your bill may be more than the average RM50 per person.

My Personal Opinion

This is the place to go for some affordable and fairly decent sushi (taking into consideration the price we pay)....and obviously good enough for return visits as their menu choices are quite extensive.  Ordering is quick and simple with the iPad interactive menu.

Unfortunately, I was not able to try some of their newly launched dishes as they were no longer on the menu.

Likes:  Grilled salmon and just about anything with 'mentaiko' in it, on it, around it....just put it everywhere will do.....and 'torch' it real good!!!

Dislikes:  Their ungrilled 'unagi' and noodles...so not good!

Sakae Sushi
Lot L1-48-7 & 8 Level 1
Cheras Leisure Mall
Jalan Manis 6 Taman Segar
Cheras
56100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-9134 8587