Yamaguchi Fish Market @ Kampong Pandan

Ever since I've seen pics of the food in this place, Yamaguchi Fish Market @ Kampong Pandan, and the reviews from my favourite food blogs, I've been dying to try but the steep prices had been the one dominating factor that had always held me back.

Finally I thought...to heck with it....I've got to try it.....at least once! :D  Yamaguchi Fish Market shares the same premise as Caffeinees cafe with free and ample parking within its premises.  The concept is like a Japanese fish market where high quality and fresh seafood is brought in for the customers dine-in and purchase.  

That's why, upon walking in (through Caffeinees), you'd be greeted with tanks filled with the freshest possible live seasonal fish and seafood (crabs, scallops, sea urchin, prawns, oysters, etc.) awaiting guests dine-in pleasure or to be brought home at wholesale prices.

Overall, the restaurant is not that big as the tanks and sushi counter takes up more than half the space already.  Stepping in on a Saturday evening, I was surprised to find that most of the tables were reserved but we did manage to secure a table since we were early.

Glancing through the menu, you'd notice that it showcases a combination of Japanese and Chinese styles of seafood preparation.  However, we were disappointed that one of the Top 10 recommended dishes, the Yamaguchi Eel Rice @ RM38 wasn't available (we were planning to order that) and neither was their Salt Baked Tai Fish @ RM48 (not that we were planning to order that).

In the end, we went with the Yamaguchi Grilled Seasonal Seafood Platter @ RM116 (also one of their Top 10 dishes) for sharing.  It was filled with grilled pieces of king crab legs, scallops, prawns and red snapper fillet. The moment the dish hit the table, you get a whiff of that lovely smoky aroma.

The prawns were large, firm and fresh...especially loved that smoky flavour imparted in the shells.  Sucking the juices from the prawn heads were truly enjoyable and almost therapeutic...hehe! 

I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into the plump and juicy scallops which were beautifully grilled.  I ate one (the bigger one, oops) before realising I had not taken a photo of it.  So, here's the remaining scallop...plus one scallop shell! :D

The king crab legs had minimal and difficult to get at flesh but what they yielded was fresh and juicy-sweet meat.

I see some blogs referring to this fish fillet as Tai (sea bream) but our server told us it's snapper (don't know if he meant tai snapper or red snapper), so I'm not sure which is correct (or if they're even the same fish). Whatever it was, the snapper fillet was firm and flaky, delicate and sweet in taste.

Next was our order of Grilled Salmon Fillet @ RM28 which arrived looking like a western-style pan-fried salmon fillet with a side of salad.  I was certainly not expecting it to look like this.  In the menu, the pic of the grilled salmon was flanked by charcoal-grilled saba and Hokkaido squid, so I was expecting it to look...well, grilled.  This one looked out of place, more like something out of Caffeinees' kitchen! >.<

That aside, the pan-fried looking salmon was nice and fresh, just a bit overcooked and a tad dry as the centre wasn't as pinkish as we would have liked.  This was served with a fairly fiery green chilli padi dip which was rather odd (if it was served with something like our local "ikan panggang kembong" aka grilled Indian mackerel...that I would understand).

The side salad of lettuce, cucumber, yellow bell pepper, cherry tomatoes and mushroom was served with what looked like a mayo and whole grain mustard vinaigrette.  Although I hate mustard, this dressing I found to be somewhat tangy in flavour, so I liked it (then again, maybe whole grain mustard tastes a whole lot better than regular yellow mustard which taste like crap?).

As with more premium Japanese restaurants, one should always try their ultra fresh sashimi (a hallmark of their existence)...and I felt that my experience wouldn't be complete without doing so.  If you've been following my blog for a while, you'd noticed that I seldom feature sashimi in my posts even when dining at Japanese restaurants and that's because it's not my no. 1 most favourite thing to eat (although I do eat it...it's a "can-have" but not necessarily a "must-have" for me).

So, I went ahead and ordered the Sushi Mori @ RM78 featuring 8 pieces of assorted nigiri sushi. Unfortunately, the menu didn't detail the types of fresh fish sushi we'd be getting (probably because it depends on what's fresh and in season, so what we got was different from the pic in the menu).

We got these 8 pieces of assorted nigiri sushi instead....and I've no idea what some of them were due to my inexperience in (and infrequency of) eating sashimi + I didn't get to sample all of the sushi.

I read from sixthseal's blog that we're not supposed to share (for etiquette reasons) and that we're supposed to eat it in one bite (that I know and it's even acceptable, encouraged even to eat it with our hands)....hmmm, sorry but I don't live by those sushi standards or rules (even if that's the correct/best way to eat sushi)...kekeke...(actually, there're more rules but let's not get into that right now)!  We like to share our food....and I like to eat my sushi in two bites...and with chopsticks! :P

Coming back to the Sushi Mori, there were some obvious and easily recognisable sushi and one of them was the uni (sea urchin) sushi.  I've never had uni before and so I ate this one.  The uni was fresh and buttery still but probably not as supremely fresh as the live ones (of course).  The briny taste of the ocean, coupled with the richness, creamy texture and melt-in-the-mouth feel of the uni was everything I had hoped for (just like my first taste of foie gras).  I absolutely loved it...more please!

Luckily, there weren't any live uni available (the uni for this sushi came from a box), otherwise I'd be in two minds as to whether I'd be willing to fork out RM150 for one (although the server did offer uni sushi at RM100 for 5 pcs).  I think I'd rather save money for a live one ;)

Another instantly recognisable sushi was the ikura (salmon roe) sushi.  I've not had this before, so I couldn't help but stole a few salmon roe (two only, ok maybe three) from the sushi...kekeke....the burst of liquid and saltiness from the ikura in my mouth was amazing.

The other two easy to recognise sushi were the salmon belly and amaebi (sweet shrimp) sushi (the latter of which I was offered to eat)...tastes like the sea with a subtle sweet flavour and sticky on the palate.

Finally, it came down to these 4 sushi that I couldn't recognise (perhaps my esteemed fellow food bloggers, who are so much more well versed and experienced in sashimi than me, can enlighten me...by just looking...and not tasting!) XD

Out of these four, I did eat one of them...which I think is probably some kind of toro (fatty tuna) sushi. Although it was somewhat like pale pink in colour, I doubt that it was the medium fatty tuna belly or chutoro (and definitely not the super fatty tuna belly or otoro) since these two can be quite pricey (RM24 & RM28 for chutoro and otoro respectively here would cost a third of the platter's price already for just once piece).  But it did have a soft, buttery and melt-in-the-mouth texture with a rich taste (could it actually be chutoro?...nah, impossible!)....anyway, I didn't like it because of the lingering oily taste in my mouth.  Well, if that was indeed toro, at least now I know I don't fancy fatty tuna sashimi....hehe! ;D  Maybe, if it was aburi (flame grilled) toro (just to heat up the oils and melt the fats a tiny bit), that I'm willing to bet I would love :)  The afficianados might think I'm crazy but it's like how I like my beef charred and medium rare...but not rare!

So, what were the rest of the sushi?  I'm hoping you can tell me.  When I'm at the market, I can't even recognise our local whole fish (except for a few obvious ones) let alone these already sliced up ones.  Could it be hotate, hamachi or kampachi/kanpachi (yellowtail) or tai snapper sashimi?

When placing our orders, our server was kind enough to alert us to their promotion of Salmon Sashimi @ RM10.

This was definitely a value deal seeing that you get 5 thick slices of salmon sashimi with more than an acceptable degree of freshness and taste.  

If you're not a small-eater (we weren't), the above dishes would probably not fill you up...and that's why this salmon sashimi promotion is a godsend....I suppose you can order more plates of it to fill you up (but we didn't).  So, we came off RM300 poorer but only 80% full! >_<

Orange Juice & Ice Honey Lemon @ RM10 each

My Personal Opinion

There's no denying that the seafood is fresh and top quality, so expect to pay a bit more.  A meal here can easily cost RM200 per person...or more if you want to taste the good stuff.

Certainly not cheap by many's standards, so it's not a place you can visit regularly.....perhaps for those special moments in your life.  

Do I see myself coming back here?  Maybe yes...if I suddenly feel the urge to eat live uni (or talk myself into paying an insanely hefty price for it)....or maybe no...as I may want a different dining experience somewhere else since I have to spend that kind of money.  Having said that, the food is really fresh and good and worthy of revisits...but only if your wallet can handle it....I wish mine could! T_T

Yamaguchi Fish Market
No 16 Jalan Kampong Pandan
55000 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-9284 6686