Akamomiji – The Latest Japanese Restaurant in Ipoh?
February 22, 2009 | 21,424 viewsAkamomiji has piqued my interest since its renovation period sometime during the Chinese New Year. Located in Medan Ipoh Bistari (yup, don’t you get that sense of deja vu ….), this latest addition to Ipoh’s line up of Japanese restaurants opened few days ago to much fanfare, almost fully booked every evening, and prior reservation seems to be the norm, lest you decide to casually waltz in and capitalize on the furore/chaos that is surrounding almost all newly-opened outlets. Josephine Cafe and David’s Diner come to mind, naturally.
Occupying 2 shoplots of space, the restaurant is brighter than its counterpart, Kizuna, and a tad more spacious. With a sushi bar that can seat about 5 guestsService was far from satisfactory however, let alone impeccable. But given the fact that the place is rather new; the new staff and new management deserve a second chance (least in my humble opinion) and time to improve before being put on the gallows. I mean, before passing any judgmental opinions. Some may disagree on this, I’m sure, as discerning diners may categorize first impression as a make-or-break experience, and the proprietor’s better impressed, or else.
But seriously, this IS Ipoh after all, whereby quality and quantity of the food comes first, while dining experience comes a close (or distant) second. And credits to be given where credits are due, all the staff were in fact, rather friendly and approachable. Just lacking in terms of training, and more vitally, hands-on experience. Imagine to be seated and without any menu nor attention for a good 5 minutes. But with that said, the waitress was rather accomodating, topping up our cups of green tea every now and then.
Chuka Wakame @ RM4.80OK, let’s move on to the food. Before that, Ipohans must have heard about Kizuna japanese restaurant? Situated a stone’s throw away from Kizuna, the owner of Akamomiji is in fact, from the management of Kizuna. Still on good terms or not, I don’t know. But for sure this is a strong contender to Kizuna (and even Waraku, to some extent), business-wise, as all of them are located within the same area.
Chuka Idako @ RM4.80Our orders got mixed up somehow, and we were served more dishes than we initially ordered. But we relented and gobbled up everything that was put in front of us. Such hungry souls eh?
The appetizers of marinated seaweed (Chuka Wakame) and marinated baby octopus (Chuka Idako) came in dainty portions, but served their functions as appetizers well. Sweet, slightly tangy, and spicy (for the seaweed), the appetizers teased the palate for more to come. The baby octopus were crunchy to the bite, served on a bed of julienned cucumbers. Refreshing.
Unagi and Tamago Sushi
Kyushu Nigiri Sushi (Platter of 9 pcs) @ RM25.80The staff explained that the fishes are freshly flown in from Japan every Tuesdays and Fridays. Hmm, Waraku seems to import their supplies on the same days as well. Suspicious?
It’s already Sunday, (meaning we could be savouring on Friday’s supplies) the slices of fish remained fresh, sweet and succulent. Especially tempting was the roes (tobiko?), VERY ‘crunchy’ and QQ, every bite released squirts of juices. A far cry from Sushi King’s, believe me.
Ebi Kisu Tenpura @ RM16.80
The prawns and fish tenpura was disappointing though. Not exactly LARGE prawns, the platter consisted of 2 prawns, a slice of fish, and a piece or two of vege only. And the batter was nothing to shout about, nor was the accompanying generic tenpura sauce.
Una Jyu @ RM23.80We were served with the Una Jyu (grilled eel with sweet teriyaki sauce on rice), something none of us ordered. And we digged in before realizing it was not in our order list. Oh, but what the heck, the thick, juicy and well-marinated slabs of eel were perfectly grilled, with its juice retained, and none of the cold, fishy taste. Thumbs up to the unagi!!! With complementary miso soup.
Chicken Teriyaki Jyu @ RM11.80
The chicken was succulent, and tender. Simply served with strips of seaweed, and sprinkling of sesame seeds. Sufficient to be a complete meal, or a light lunch. Also came with a bowl of miso soup.
Ninmiku Chahan @ RM3.80And ultra-light eaters can order any of their variety of fried rice, from garlic to crab fried rice and silver anchovies fried rice. The garlic fried rice was good; fluffy and fragrant from the garlic cloves, perfect as an ala carte order to complement your salads, grilled meats, hot pots, or even the kushiyaki (which sadly, was not available this particular evening). They serve okono-miyaki (japanese omelettes) as well, but unfortunately was not available for orders on this visit.
On the whole, the meal was above average, with rather reasonable prices to boot. The meal cost us less than RM100 for the four of us. But of course, we did not go crazy with the orders nor order any sashimi, given the fact that it’s 2 days too late to sample their freshly flown supplies from Japan. But there’s always another visit, when the craving comes, ya? 🙂
Location :
AKAMOMIJI JAPANESE RESTAURANT
36-38, Medan Ipoh 1E,
Medan Ipoh Bistari,
31400 Ipoh, Perak.
Tel : 605-546 8368.
It’s directly opposite the row of shops with SSTC Italian Cafe, Kafe Tim Curry Mee, and Serai Sate Kajang. Visit any of those links for directions.
AKAMOMIJI JAPANESE RESTAURANT
36-38, Medan Ipoh 1E,
Medan Ipoh Bistari,
31400 Ipoh, Perak.
Tel : 605-546 8368.
It’s directly opposite the row of shops with SSTC Italian Cafe, Kafe Tim Curry Mee, and Serai Sate Kajang. Visit any of those links for directions.
#Updated 24/3/2009 : Here’s The Star Online’s compiled version of this article #
I was told too that fishes from Japan flies in every Tues..so I guess they all get it from the same supplier?
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so this is the place u were telling me abt…looks good and yeah take us along for the 2nd visit.una jyu..yummy.hehe.must try this!
precious pea: congrtas ur article on seafood is up in the star today.
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wow… good discovery, MotorMouth!!! haha…
was in a SuShi mood past few days.. ended up paying a visit to Sushi King in order to satisfy the craving and my ‘little’ soul.. 🙂
hmm…nxt time i know where to seek ‘treatment’ when my sushi mood attacks me.. hehe..
yeah..true true.. take us along for the nxt visit la.. 🙂
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didnt really had a good experience at Kizuna, but this plc seems more promising…but Jap food stil lacks behind in Ipoh compared to KL.
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nice sharing, must check this out as well. BTW, the standard at Waraku has dropped tremendously during my visit last month. That’s why I didnt post it…..disappointed…
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Same people who runs Kizuna and yet, it’s opened so near to eac other?? :S
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The sushi looks so fresh and definitely delicious….
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Probably not related to the food, but I wonder if they charged you for the food that they wrongly served to your table? 😛 The unagi definitely looks TEMPTING! I’ll give that a try next time I’m in Ipoh!
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The tempura looks like a real downer, but the chicken teriyaki jyu totally redeems this place. I shall be on the lookout should I ever venture into Ipoh (and not feel like the thousand other things on my priority list to eat) 😛
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Precious Pea : u mean those restaurants in KL got their supplies on Tues as well? gee … maybe it's law of nature. Mon catch must be freshest?
FCOE & KCA : yeah, we can always go for lunch with the Rambutan gang, but sadly they do not serve set lunches.
thenomadGourmand : Japanese food in Ipoh cant be charging an arm and a leg, unlike Kampachi, Iketeru and such. therefore some compromise on the quality by using as much local products as possible, or skimp on the ingredients. Seriously, this place reminds me of Kizuna a lot, from the menu to the setting.
SimpleGirl : one thing for sure, Waraku's grilled meat on skewers (kushiyaki) are tasty, and cheap. but kinda sad they dun have most variety on the days I went.
jason : erm, I guess the boss ventured on his own, and detached himself from Kizuna. Can't be digging up stories from the pitiful staff right?
Selba : yeah, delicious sushi's the way to go! just read ur post on Teppan meal. heheh ….
iamthewitch : yeah, they did. and we paid, not reluctantly though. as the Una Jyu was really nice.
550ml jar of faith : yeah, stay away from the tempura.
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any good restaurant around in Greentown???
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wow, ipoh is exploding on the food front huh? i rmbr just a few years back there was only ONE jap restuarant (jusco) rite? lol.. fantastic.. more choices for us, i say!
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oh well..at least theres japanese food in ipoh lor..
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Ah well… if the unagi’s good, count me in!
Signed,
Major Unagi Fan.
LOL
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NKOTB : in Greentown, erm, you can give David's Diner a try. Or Nasi Vanggey in the afternoon. Chinese food : Overseas Restaurant, Soon Fatt, and there are steamboat such as Good Times which uses charcoal instead. But nothing special, at least to me though. Indian fare : Pakeeza's been around for some time. Yum Yum (nyonya&thai) also not bad.
Cumi & Ciki : the Jusco one, (Moritomo) has since ceased operation, and came out on its own, as Kizuna. so there goes. major ones in Ipoh include Kampai, Waraku, Kizuna, and Akamomiji. The rest I cant judge as I've never been, or rather paltry affair.
Joe : erm, there has always been, just that not as fancy/high end/popular as those in Klang Valley.
Life for Beginners : oh can i join your club then? =P
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The only Japanese restaurant I’ve patronized was Kizuna. Very expensive. The bill for two comes to RM70.00.
So, when I read that the meals cost less than RM100 for four, this must be real cheap!
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With the lack of Japanese food in Ipoh the more the merrier. The unagi slab is huge. Yum.
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Hey nice photos, R u taking wf ur h/p? Haha.. Let’s go n hve a try…someday..
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ahlock : erm, if you order the sashimi, or go crazy over the sushi orders, i’m sure the bill will multiply. 🙂
worldwindows : yeah indeed. the dearth of good Japanese restaurants in Ipoh, in fact, good restaurants for dining are really hard to pinpoint here.
TallGal : hahaha… already know yet wanna ask? 🙂
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how long has this been opened? i really dun know abt it. not expensive ler….i think sushi king is more costly than this!
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sounds very exp by ipoh standards hor…RM16.80 for two prawns a piece of fish tempura???
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yeah, the tempura looks bad but the unagi..hhmmm..seems like a very big slab there. i likez!!! oh yeah, j-food costs a bomb when we go crazy with the menu. i abstain all the time too! haha!
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Less than RM100 for four persons!! Worth it! and the unagi looks tasty^^
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i guesse the food here must be good.I heard the owner was the partner to the guy who owned kizuna.
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Mummy in Vain : erm, at the time of this post, this place was opened not long before.
FBB : erm, and some other vege tempura as well.
Nic : yup, but the sight of all those dishes on the table …. salivate, BABY!
Anonymous : yup, can be considered as one of the best, by Ipoh’s standards.
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Akamomiji Japanese restaurant, i highly recommended for business meeting as the environment there, is suitable for business discussion. Further with fresh food serves plus a friendly operation manager, her name is Constance who always recommends a nice food for me to eat. Every time i travel from KL to Ipoh, I have no chance at all to miss this japanese food…what else with the price is reasonable…
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Dude! It really seem delicious! Too bad cant find it in google map. So all i need to get there is a map n time. XD!
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[…] Akamomiji Japanese Restaurant […]
[…] sounding names. Yes, there WERE some connections back then, and established relationships with Akamomiji and to some extent … even A Lai I. But everything dates back to the days of Moritomo; that […]
[…] Shop in Medan Ipoh Bistari; a relatively new eatery (about 3 months’ old) on the same row as Akamomiji Japanese Restaurant, and directly opposite of Kafe Tim coffee […]
Dun u think that u should check out properly the backgroup before u make the story into your blog. Very pityful…..so big blog, but always fake statement was there…………this is the partnership from kizuna where they have partnership problems and they have split into this two japanese restaurant. Formally they were together when they are at gold club, at Tiger Lanes, I guess many ppls aware of this and finally when they have problems with it, they separately open the next shop so the things is almost like in kizuna and also the staff mostly also from kizuna. How’s to read ur blog is semua particular tak betul………….
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Heard about this restaurant, so tried it out tonight. I must say that the food is good but it was a night i would like to forget. About 20 minutes after i made the orders, the food still had not been served while the group at the next table who came hardly 5 minutes got their food at the same time as us but they were served most of their dishes while we were given just one plate of roosted squid. While i waited for the next dish, i asked one waitress if we could have the rest of what we had ordered, she just stood there and gave me a blank look, saying nothing. i was irritated and asked if she understood what i said, then only she rudely answered back that she would check it out but that was all she did and i had to repeat the same query to another waitress. I am not complaining but just pouring out my frustrations to get some self feel good sentiment.
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Great blog! Sorry to change the subject, but, since Nashville is a big up and coming city, I’m looking for a great Nashville sushi restaurant or Japanese restaurant. Have you heard of any good ones? There’s a new one called Nomzilla Sushi Et Cetera, but I’ve only seen a few reviews. Here’s the address of this new Nashville Sushi Restaurant , 1201 Villa Place, Suite 101 Nashville, TN 37212 – (615) 268-1424. Thoughts? Thanks!
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[…] No : +6017-539 9287 Opens from lunch hour onwards, until dinner. No breaks in between. *Same row as Akamomiji Japanese Restaurant and opposite of Ko Pi Tim (think it’s renamed to Kafe Teen or […]
hello there
is this a pork-free restaurant?
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