Monday, August 29, 2016

Food Review - Zipangu (Shagri-La KL)

Location
Located on the 1st floor of the Shangr-La Hotel KL, right in the heart of the KL Golden Triangle. Surrounding the hotel are landmarks such as KLCC, Pavilion KL, Sungai Wang Mall.
Getting There
You can get to the Shangri-La hotel very easily even if you are not a resident in the Klang Valley. This is because Shangri-La KL is located in the heart of the KL Golden Triangle. It is but a stone's throw (1 block) away from KLCC. You can walk over from KLCC, drive to Shangri-La or even take the Monorial which has a station (Bukit Nanas Station) right in front of the hotel.Service
The service staff go out of their way to meet diners' requests to the best of their ability if any. For example, if the diner has a selection of meats for the teppanyaki, or if particular type of item is out, they will get it for you and bring it to your table with a smile.
 Ambience
As you enter Zipangu, there is a welcoming counter which doubles as a Bar. This place has a see-thru glass wine "cellar" as you make your way into the restaurant which makes it very Instagrammable. There is also a waiting area behind the counter just in case diners want to wait for their party members before being seated. It is very well lit. The light colored timber flooring and wood furniture contrast very well with the dark ceiling and some of the dark grey stone ware decor.

The Open Concept Kitchen also makes the place look very classy and curious diners can see what the kitchen staff members are doing.Taste
I have had the good pleasure of dining at Zipangu more than once and I have to say that never once was I ever disappointed. They do actually have the highest quality of food to present to the diners. I recall there was once they had the imported Japanese Rock Melons in their dessert section. All I can say is WHOA !!!! The melons were so aromatically sweet that the difference is so pronounced that it would be next to impossible for one to find this level of quality from a local source.


Of course, when you dine in a Japanese Restaurant, Sashimi would be a key component. The choice of Sashimi is very extensive and needless to say, fresh and delicious.
Taste
I have had the good pleasure of dining at Zipangu more than once and I have to say that never once was I ever disappointed. They do actually have the highest quality of food to present to the diners. I recall there was once they had the imported Japanese Rock Melons in their dessert section. All I can say is WHOA !!!! The melons were so aromatically sweet that the difference is so pronounced that it would be next to impossible for one to find this level of quality from a local source.

Of course, when you dine in a Japanese Restaurant, Sashimi would be a key component. The choice of Sashimi is very extensive and needless to say, fresh and delicious.
Variety
There is enough variety for even the most avid diner. Zipangu has the separate sections as is typical for a 5-star Japanese Buffet experience:
- Deep Fried
- Sukiyaki
- Sashimi / Sushi
- Teppanyaki
- Noodles / Rice
- Desserts (incl. ice cream & hand-made chocolates!!!)Fish BrothValue For Money
Well, as they say, you get what you pay for and the buffet price here would be not among the lowest. So this is a good place for special occasions where only a 5-star experience is the order of the day. However, after having said that, you truly get the value of what you paid. So yes, Zipangu gets High Value For Money ratings.

Custom-made hand rollsThe Desserts - there are just too much variety and any single visit would certainly not be enough for one to try them all (well at least for me it was the case).

Hand-Made Chocolates - yummy!
Even the Ice Cream come in so many different flavors.
Plus the most important part, the buffet comes with coffee !