Friday, March 20, 2009

Food Review - Xenri – D’Garden Terrace


NameXenri – D’Garden Terrace (Wisma Hap Seng) Food
Japanese Cuisine (Halal)Location2nd floor of Menara Hap Seng (opposite of Shangri-La, KL)

Getting there
It is located within the Menara Hap Seng building, right opposite the Shangri-La KL. The other landmark to lookout for is the Beach Club along Jalan Sultan Ismail. It is located diagonally across from it.
Parking
There are ample parking spaces within the Menara Hap Seng building. Diners at Xenri will get free parking (parking ticket will be validated upon bill settlement)

Service
The service is top-notch and impeccable. There is usually a queue for the walk-ins for the weekend buffet. The hostess greets all walk-in diners and for those that are willing to be on the waiting list, she calls back once there are available seats.

The wait staff is also very attentive to the diners’ needs and requests (as there are also menu-ordered items for buffet diners). They also replace any used chinaware & glasses very quickly. Too quickly, in fact. I had to tell them that I want to re-use them to play my part in reducing water usage. AmbienceThe place is nicely designed with separate dining rooms for families or small parties ala Japanese-styled rooms while there is a common dining area for smaller tables near to the buffet lines.

The buffet lines are separated into the following islands:
- Starters/Salads
- Sushi/Sashimi
- Desserts/Ice-Cream
- Drinks (Hot & Cold)
- Main Courses
- The Grill & Soups

The well-designed lighting which was not too bright made the place very cozy & comfortable. The place is suitable for a romantic dining experience as evidenced by quite a number of couples dining there.
All the chinaware is Xenri-branded.

The brightly-lit main wall backdrop behind the sushi counter provides a modern & tasteful stark contrast to the mainly dark flooring and furniture.

TasteThe taste of the items is exquisite! But honestly, there are simply too many items to be had and still maintain the level of utility of when one first enters the restaurant.

Special mention has to be made for the oysters (both the Rockerfeller & Raw) as they are HUGE! I have not seen them this big before. Each of their shells are between 5-7 inches!
The other item worthy of mention is the baked whole salmon. The size of the salmon was also quite big – almost 4-foot long. The fish, although big, was superbly done as the moisture was still very much maintained intact although it was fully and thoroughly cooked. Various parts of the fish were sampled (from the tail end to the head) and it was consistently excellent.

Presentation
The items are all delicately made and presented. Please refer to the photos.
Makes one want to try everything that is available.
VarietyThere are just too many items and too much variety to be sampled in just 1 visit.
Value for Money
Very good value (but depending on what items one likes, more value for money especially so for those who love sashimi, oysters and the myriad types of seafood available)
Overall
Great food with good décor & ambience with an impressive spread of items to choose from, even for those who are finicky eaters.
Downside is that it’s quite hard to get a reservation to dine there.

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