Eatomo Food Co @ Taman Desa

Eatomo @ Taman Desa, which opened its doors less than 2 months ago, is a casual eatery fashioned after a Japanese fish market, showcasing fresh imported seafood and meat dishes at casual prices.  At first glance, it doesn't seem like the average Japanese restaurant that we're accustomed to with its ambience and almost mamak-like decor of plastic chairs and steel-type tables.  

Even their menu is unconventional, printed on paper and filed in a plastic folder with pockets! >.<  And food are mostly served on paper plates and bowls along with plastic cutlery and cups.  It's casual dining, so don't expect too much in terms of ambience and presentation.

As soon as you enter, you'll be greeted by a counter (on the left) displaying their fresh (and seasonal) catch of fresh oysters, sea urchin, mussels, scallops, clams, kuruma ebi, salmon, tuna, tai red snapper, sanma, hamachi and lots more...much like a seafood market.

After hearing about this latest Hawaiian-inspired dish which seems to be in trend now, I've been wanting to try "poke" (pronounced "poh-key") bowls for a while.  One of two poke bowls available here (and their top seller), the California Poke Bowl @ RM19.90 was filled with mixed sashimi, poke marinade, guacamole, crab salad, masago and spicy mayo on top of sushi rice and finished with a sprinkling of seaweed and sesame seeds. The other one is the Spicy Salmon Poke Bowl @ RM21.90.

I fell head over heels in love with this bowl of goodness evoking delightful textures from the ultra fresh cubes of seafood sashimi (I think I detected salmon, tuna, some white fish & octopus), creamy guacamole and crunchy Japanese cucumber and masago.  Tossed in a tasty poke marinade with spicy mayo, the best way to eat this is to just mix everything together....for a mouthful of spicy and tangy flavours in one wonderful bite! ^o^  It's so irresistibly good that I can see myself ordering this over and over again.

Since our first taste of ikura (salmon roe) at Yamaguchi Fish Market, we were instantly drawn to its taste. This is a rather expensive ingredient that's not usually found in lower end Japanese restaurants.  We found it on the menu here and so we didn't hesitate to order the Salmon Ikura Don @ RM23.90.

Sitting proudly on top of a bowl of sushi rice with generous slices of beautiful Norwegian salmon, the Hokkaido ikura was fresh and salty.  Biting into these little pops of sensation and tasting the savoury salmon juices squirting out was pure happiness....though not quite as good as the one we tasted at Yamaguchi Fish Market but still very decent.

Our next dish was the Fried Shrimp Basket @ RM14.90 featuring 6 pcs of panko-crusted, deep-fried jumbo shrimps (ebi furai) served with a temptingly tasty homemade tartare sauce.

The batter on the shrimps were crispy and incredibly light.  The coating was so light you can almost see the thread-like batter.  I enjoyed this thoroughly.

One of the value offers here is their salmon sashimi available in two sizes (12 - 15 slices for the smaller box or a larger pack for RM34.90 with 25 - 30 slices).  Our Salmon Sashimi Box @ RM19.90 came in 3 rows of 6-7 slices per row probably because they were smaller pieces than usual (must be selling out fast that night). Although I would have preferred a slightly thicker cut with a bit more marbling (like some that I've seen on other blogs), I certainly can't fault the freshness or the great value of this box.

Having not quite fulfilled our quota for fresh salmon sashimi for the day (!), we ordered the Salmon Toro Box @ RM19.90 as well and was presented with 5 slices of fatty belly with a beautiful marbling.

Want to see the fatty marbling....here, here, see ^_*


Cute vessels holding wasabi and soy for our salmon sashimi

When I went to take a look at their fresh oysters at the seafood counter, one of the servers was eager to introduce me to something new (that's not on the menu)...their imported live prawns, Kuruma Ebi.  Fun Fact: Kuruma Ebi also go by the names of Wheel Shrimp, Japanese Tiger Prawn or Japanese Imperial Shrimp (and can grow up to 20cm) and reportedly retails for 3,500 - 5,000 yen for half a kilo.  I've seen a video of the shrimps being packed in sawdust but still alive and kicking when unpacked (I guess that's why they can be imported live).  Since I've not tried raw shrimps, I agreed to an order of Kuruma Ebi Sashimi @ RM23.90 to see if it lives up to its price tag! ;)

My first bite yielded a firm bite (unlike the sticky texture of amaebi on my palate) with freshness of the ocean.  It was slightly sweet and very juicy with what I can only describe as a clean, delicious taste.

You can ask for the heads to be deep-fried and they were crispy and had a very pleasant umami taste....must be the deliciousness of the 'brain matter'....kekeke! ;D  Oops, presentation-wise, probably not as good-looking as the one on their Facebook.

So, would I have this again?  Maybe...if I can get round the freakin' expensive price of RM23.90 for just one shrimp (and not two as seen on their Facebook, probably coz mine was godzilla-sized?...hehe!) >_<  Having said that, it is a huge shrimp with superior taste and texture, so you have to ask yourself if you're willing to part with that amount of money for just one shrimp in order to savour this high end ingredient.  Well, price aside, I think you should try it...at least once....for the experience of eating a raw shrimp :)

To finish our meal on a high, I just had to try a fun novelty dessert that's one of the hottest new desserts of the year, the Sakura Raindrop Cake (mizu shingen mochi or water cake) @ RM14.90 (with a pickled sakura flower or RM10.90 without).  Since I love pretty things, I went with the more expensive one with flower, of course! ;) But, when it arrived, I was disappointed that mine wasn't all that pretty visually....it was cloudy and the sakura flower looked shrivelled...T_T....the one in eatdrinkkl was much clearer and prettier! ^_*

This translucent blob-like dessert made with water, sugar and agar was paired with roasted soybean powder (listed as ijumi? on their menu but I know it as kinako) and gula melaka (which they substituted for kuromitsu).

Taste-wise, it was pretty bland.  It gets its flavour from the gula melaka and soybean powder (but, personally, I don't like the texture nor the flavour of kinako).

Texture-wise, it was way too firm for my liking (although this is my first taste of the dessert).  I thought it'd be more jello-like (maybe similar to those Penang coconut jelly) but it turned out to be more akin to a very firm agar-agar (the plastic spoon provided had difficulty cutting through the cake).  I was told it was like that coz they're striving for konnyaku consistency which has a chewier and firmer texture...so there....it's firmer by choice (and they commented that some customers like it that way).  I guess I'm not one of them, so I won't be having it again.

Drinks of Fresh Lemonade @ RM6.90 & Iced Green Tea (refillable) @ RM2.90

Check out a more recent review here.

My Personal Opinion

The ambience and decor here is unlike the type of Japanese restaurants you'd usually encounter, so come here solely for the freshness of the food.

Your best bets here might be the poke bowls....and the freshness of their seafood.  Prices seem reasonable but portions can be a little small, so that will bump up your bill as you'll need to order more.  Great for small-eaters who want to sample more dishes but bigger eaters might need 3 or more dishes to be fully satisfied.  But quality (and freshness) is undeniable.  

Lots more fresh seafood to try.  I am so coming back for more! ^.^

Eatomo Food Co

11-1-1 Jalan 3/109F

Taman Danau Desa

58100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-2303 1608