Shinjiro @ Tropicana City Mall

I've been craving for a 'meal on a stick' for quite a while now....and I don't mean 'satay'! :D  After checking out a few of such places from online food blogs, I settled on the newly opened (less than 2 months old) Shinjiro Izakaya Yakitori @ Tropicana City Mall.

There seems to be a common trend of what looks like patterned waves and clouds showcased throughout the restaurant's decor.  You can find it on the walls, ceiling and floor. 

Interesting boards adorned one side of the wall depicting the 'Land of the Rising Sun' with its characteristic pagodas and bridges (and I've seen these boards change to a different picture and look in other blogs).  The aptly designed tables revealed a compartment underneath the table top where you'd find the menu and order chits.

As you step into the restaurant, you'll be greeted with a glass enclosure where all the grilling action, over a charcoal flame, takes place.  This ensures you won't leave the place smelling of yakitori! ;)  Look, he even managed a smile for me when I snapped the photo.

As the name implies, it's a casual place for after work drinks and small bites, basically food on a stick, although they do offer rice bowls and noodles too for a more fulfilling meal.  If you're not familiar with the individual skewers, you can opt for the Skewer Sets with predetermined skewers that include some of their more popular ones.  I didn't go for that as I wanted to pick my own selection of favourites.

After making our orders, this bowl of complimentary Edamame landed on our table.  I liked that these green soybeans came lightly sprinkled with salt.  This was served chilled (unlike other places where it's usually served at room temperature), so expect a little bit of water condensation at the bottom of the bowl.

Then, came the onslaught of skewers one after another.  The skewers come with 7 types of sauces...sweet and sour, chilli, garlic chilli, salsa, teriyaki, sesame pistachio and shio (sea salt and pepper).  You can choose your own sauces if you have a preference, otherwise leave it in the able hands of the chef to pair each one with his recommended sauce.

First up, from the Seafood Section, you have a choice of Salmon, Fillet Mackerel, whole Pacific Saury, Tuna, Shrimp, Scallop, Squid, Squid Tentacles and Pregnant Fish.

The Salmon @ RM8.90 was cooked just right, with a pink centre, for a fresh and tender bite.  Simply divine!

The Shrimp @ RM8.90, you can taste the smoky flavour when you suck on the shrimp head and shells.

If you're wondering why there aren't any Squid Tentacles in my blog post, it wasn't because I didn't order, it was because there weren't any left! T_T

From the Beef Section, there's Sirloin, Fillet + Enoki, Fillet + Asparagus, Minced Beef Ball, Tripe, Liver and Lungs on offer in the menu.

I went with the Sirloin @ RM8.90 which was absolutely tender and juicy with just a bit of seasoning to bring out its full flavour.

The meat was cooked to medium judging by the pinkish centre.  The Sirloin turned out to be one of my top favourites...you have to order this, it was outstanding!

We tried the Minced Beef Balls @ RM6.90 made up of three succulent meat balls on a stick sitting on teriyaki sauce for a nice balance of savoury and sweet.  This was equally decent and would have been better if they hadn't been too heavy handed with the pepper.

From the Poultry Section, you have a wide selection of Thigh + Leeks, Thigh Teriyaki, Breast Fillet, Chicken Nugget, Wings, Skin, Gizzard, Liver, Heart, Back End (eww), Duck Breast and Quail Eggs.

The Chicken Wings @ RM6.90 gets you two pieces of the wingette, butterflied and grilled to perfection.  They managed to get the skin so crispy while the meat remained tender.  It was so, so good that we immediately ordered a second serving.

The wings, seasoned with just shio, were perfectly seasoned (though some may find it to be over salted but I think not) with a smoky, fragrant and crisp skin....hands down the best skewer of the night for me!

The Chicken Skin @ RM4.90 was downright crunchy and immensely fragrant.  This took the longest time to arrive and was the last skewer to be served.  One bite...and we knew we wanted more!  Who can resist sticks of crispy chicken skin, right?

The server told us that it would be at least a 20 minutes wait....so, we ordered two more sticks (and it was worth the wait).  If you want to try this, make sure you order enough the first time round, so that you don't have to wait for your re-orders ;)

Of course, whenever I see quail eggs on the menu, they call out to me.  This is the Quail Eggs @ RM4.90...cute and delicious as always!

As usual, we should round off our meal with some compulsory vegetables for a bit of balance.  Under the Vegetables Section, you have Mushrooms, Sweet Potato, Sweet Corn, Okra, Leek, Tomato and Crispy Tofu.

We chose the Sweet Potato @ RM5.90 and, when it arrived, it was unlike those with a deep orange flesh that we're more used to as these are Japanese sweet potatoes which have a purplish (or reddish) skin with white flesh which turns golden (yellow) when cooked.  They were served with a bit of melted butter (maybe I'll ask them to omit the butter the next time) and were sweet and just soft enough....I liked them...heaps!

We also ordered Okra @ RM3.90 which came charred and nicely soft.  It was simple but appetising.

Next was the Crispy Tofu @ RM3.90...I'm sorry but this qualified as vegetables since it's listed in the vegetables section! :p  It featured three cubes of totally crispy tofu served with bonito flakes and teriyaki sauce. 

I noticed that most of the skewers came with either shio or teriyaki, no complaints there as I liked most of them with just shio (and not drowning in sauce) to let the food speak for itself.  Anyway, you can't go wrong with shio and teriyaki, two of the more popular flavourings.  It was an interesting sight to see the chef season his skewers...he sprinkles the shio onto his skewers from a distance. 

And if you find an oddly shaped ceramic vase on the table (with no flowers), that's because it's meant as a vessel for your discarded/used sticks....how handy :)

Besides just having skewers of awesomeness (which I don't mind at all), we also ordered the Mix Tempura @ RM18.90 to try.  The tempura mix consisted of two pieces of prawn, squid and sweet potato each.  This tempura was different from the usual tempura batter as it was coated in crushed bean curd pieces before being deep fried that offered a super crunchy texture to the tempura.  Great eaten with the sesame pistachio sauce to give it a bit of saltiness.  Anything crunchy always get our seal of approval!

For our last fulfilling dish, we went with a bowl of Unagi Rice @ RM28.90.  What came threw us off a bit as we were expecting just unagi and rice (like all the usual ones we've had) but this one was made with egg and lots of vegetables (broccoli, lotus root, cauliflower, red and green capsicum, mushrooms and onions).  Of course, there were unagi in it too but in tiny chunks.

There was quite a fair amount of gravy in this rice bowl, although flavourful, we found the pepper taste a bit too overpowering.  Also, we would have appreciated if the description of this dish was more detailed (to highlight the abundant vegetables) so that we could make a discerning choice if we wanted this version with vegetables.

Green Tea is @ RM3.90 and Water @ RM1.90 and both are refillable.

My Personal Opinion

It was a very good meal on a stick I've had in a long while.  I came off totally satisfied with my dining experience here.  Shinjiro is affiliated to Torii, also a yakitori specialist, but this one comes with a more acceptable price tag.

My top picks are......hmmm, it's difficult to narrow down my top picks coz I liked almost every skewer that I had but the few you shouldn't miss would be the sirloin, chicken wings, chicken skin and salmon...for now.....till I try all the other sticks as well ;)

The highlight at Shinjiro is definitely their skewers and that is what I'll stick to when I return (and I foresee myself returning again and again).  In fact, I'm so pleased with this 'meal on a stick', I'm on the hunt for more of such meals! ;D

Update:  I was told the restaurant has since closed (yet another one that didn't make it past its first year which I'm not sure why as I loved their skewers!)

Shinjiro Izakaya Yakitori
Lot G-06 Tropicana City Mall
3 Jalan SS20/27
47400 Petaling Jaya
Selangor
Tel: 03-7732 2986