Don't We Just Love Hokkaido Ichiba?

31 March 2012

You might be sick of sashimi already, but we are not! And we just love the sashimi at Hokkaido Ichiba... For the price we pay, the value is superb. This time, we ordered the Hotate Dama Okinomiyaki, also known as the japanese scallop pizza. Here is how it looks on the menu:

Here is the real thing. The portion is rather big, it is most suitable to be shared among 2-4 people.

The pizza is made from flour and not bready, which gives it a more soft and gooey texture rather than the hardness of a Western pizza crust. The scallops were baked into the flour, which gives you a pleasant surprise every time you find a scallop while chewing the pizza. It is topped with Japanese sweet sauce, mayonnaise and fish flakes, which gives it a rainbow variety of taste and texture. Personally, I loveee mayo and fish flakes, which makes this one of the ultimate pizzas. If you have tried the Takoyaki in Jusco supermarkets and night markets, this pizza is a giant version of it and waaaay tastier.

This time around, we also ordered the Ebi Gyoza (prawn dumplings) but somehow they served us with Chicken Gyoza instead. We raised the mistake and after checking for a few times, a waiter came back to tell us that there was no more prawn and they forgot to tell us that they switched to the Chicken Gyoza. He offered to take away the Gyoza and not charge us for it, but we thought it was fine so we kept the dish. Anyhow, considering that it was before 8pm when that happened, having no more prawns is rather unlikely... giving Hokkaido the benefit of doubt, there is nothing much that we can do. But it does make me like the place less.

Nevertheless, the Salmon Sashimi is just as satisfying as ever. The slices are consistently thick at Hokkaido Ichiba. You would never have to worry about being shortchanged on the Salmon Sashimi here. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for some of the other places that we have visited.

Verdict

Details:

Hokkaido Ichiba @ The Gardens (Facebook)
Lot T-201, 3rd Floor,
The Gardens, Mid Valley City
Lingkaran Syed Putra, 59200 KL
Contact: 012-612 1060

For other reviews of Hokkaido Ichiba, read here:
The Food Ninja (here and here)
It's All About Foods
Niche
My Fatty Journey
Mindy's Corner
Maro^gal Food Paradise

Lunch Delight @ Hokkaido Ichiba (24 March 2012)

It was a Saturday afternoon and we decided to go to Hokkaido Ichiba again to fulfill our need for sashimi. We were given a more private area surrounded by "bamboo sticks", giving us more privacy during our meal.

It was the first time we got to see the Lunch Set Menu. We found out that during lunch hours, the Salmon Sashimi Lunch Bento is actually the same price as the Salmon Sashimi ala carte - RM22! The Salmon Sashimi Lunch Bento also has 7 pieces of salmon sashimi, and it comes with a small appetizer, rice, chawanmushi, miso soup, and fruits. Needless to say, we went for the lunch set.

Once again, the sashimi slices were thick and juicy with a smooth texture. I'd say that the salmon sashimi at Hokkaido Ichiba is one of the best value-for-money sashimi deals.

Besides that Salmon Sashimi Lunch Bento, we ordered another bento with diced beef and stir-fried vegetables, which is also cheaper during lunch hours.

The bento comes with a small appetizer, a bowl of garlic fried rice, chawanmushi, miso soup, and fruits as well. The garlic fried rice was very aromatic (thanks to the garlic) and more or less ruined normal fried rice for me. I just didn't know that fried rice could taste and smell so good.

Judging from the picture, you'd think that the huge chunks of diced beef would be hard and chewy, but we decided to get it medium-rare and it was cooked to perfection. The meat was very tender and filled with teppanyaki flavor with some hint of butter and is absolutely delightfull for beef-lovers.

We were also craving for some green food, so we ordered the edamame ala carte. Our initial impression was that RM7 for a small bowl of peas seemed somewhat exorbitant but when the bowl arrived, it was definitely far from being small. In some other places, the edamame can be somewhat inconsistent as it could either be too salty or too bland. But Hokkaido Ichiba seems to be able to get it just right.

Overall, the meal was more than satisfying and we were pleasantly surprised by the lower price at lunch time. We will definitely try to visit more often during lunch hours.

Read here for our previous comments on Hokkaido Ichiba.

Verdict

Details:

Hokkaido Ichiba @ The Gardens (Facebook)

Lot T-201, 3rd Floor,
The Gardens, Mid Valley City
Lingkaran Syed Putra, 59200 KL
Contact: 012-612 1060

For other reviews of Hokkaido Ichiba, read here:
The Food Ninja
It's All About Foods
Niche
My Fatty Journey
Mindy's Corner
Maro^gal Food Paradise

Sashimi Spree @ Hokkaido Ichiba

While I was only introduced to this restaurant recently, I can easily say that it has become one of my favorite places to visit. I would not go so far as to say that the food is the best, but it is one of the best value for money places that is economical enough to allow me to indulge myself as often as I would like. 

That said, I would like just point out that I did not have my regular camera with me on that day, so I had to rely on my not so trusty cell phone camera. This explains the poor quality of the shots. 

Nonetheless, that was not going to stop us from enjoying our food. As usual, the go-to dish for me is the salmon sashimi. I don't know if it was a new chef that day, or just my luck, the salmon sashimi was cut into very thick slices, more so than the usual, as you can see in the picture below. That, and also the freshness really brought out the taste in the succulent and juicy fish. You could even eat it without the soy sauce and wasabi and enjoy the taste.

Normally, I would order the Kaisen Dama (Seafood Japanese Pizza), but that ends up being too filling most of the time. So we decided to go with something lighter. So I thought, what better time to try to sashimi moriawase. It turned out to be a very pleasant surprise as the sashimi was just as thick as the salmon, and the taste, just as fresh. It contained two slices of toro salmon, kampachi, and maguro each, and a small serving of sliced octopus as well as scallops. I can't say I know what the rolled up, white thing in the middle is, but honestly, it is not something I would miss.

And the final dish is also a usual. We had already mixed it up, so it looked a bit messy in the picture. But that is how salads are supposed to look. I can safely say that this is one of my favorite salad dishes of all time. It combines Hokkaido Ichiba's "special" dressing with salmon and maguro sashimi. The salad dressing tastes sweet and tangy and is stirred with some ebikko to give it a unique texture.

So there you have it, a simple meal with simple dishes. Definitely a lot more sashimi than normal people would like, but it is my favorite food, so I just can't help myself. 

Verdict

Details:

Hokkaido Ichiba @ The Gardens (Facebook)

Lot T-201, 3rd Floor, 

The Gardens, Mid Valley City

Lingkaran Syed Putra, 59200 KL

Contact: 012-612 1060

For other reviews of Hokkaido Ichiba, read here:

It's All About Foods

Niche

My Fatty Journey

Mindy's Corner

Maro^gal Food Paradise