After enjoying our dining experience at Momotalo Yakiniku in Desa Sri Hartamas recently, we wanted to try the other Japanese barbecue in the same area.
But that was before we realised that the same Japanese barbecue place has another outlet nearer to us, Kannichikan Yakiniku @ Old Klang Road, which took over from Gyutaro Yakiniku that was previously managed by them as well.
Taking the stairs to the first floor, the place looked spanking new. Besides the main dining area, there are also some partitioned spaces for a more private dining environment (which we chose to sit). The place was pretty quiet when we were there on a weekend and, glancing around, I noticed that the place is mostly patronised by Japanese and foreigners (I think we were the only locals that evening). If it's good enough for the Japanese, it should be good enough for us, right? ;)
Looks like Christmas came early at KNK (this visit was in early November!) seeing that they're all decked up already for the coming holidays. It's beginning to look like Christmas....everywhere we go! ;)
Right after our orders were made, the first things to arrive were a plate of raw cabbage, garlic and the sauces.
On one side was a salty dark sauce that looked like a combination of soy with sesame seeds and spring onions and a wedge of lemon on the other side. On the table were two small containers filled with chopped garlic and a chilli paste.
Unlike Momotalo, the server did not offer to mix the dipping sauce for us, neither did he mention how it should be mixed. We were on our own. Luckily, from my experience at Momotalo, I knew roughly what to do and proceeded to mix the sauce ourselves. So, I spooned some chilli paste and fresh garlic into the sauce and added a squeeze lemon.
Mixing everything together, I did a taste test. OMG, it was too spicy...I must have spooned too much chilli paste into it. I think it would have been better if the server mixed it for us (like how it was done at Momotalo).
Realising my 'mistake', I asked the server for more soy so that I could add that to my dip to reduce the heat. She brought me a big plate of soy and I poured some over into my dip. It was much better. The balance I used as a dip (which I ended up liking more) as it had that zesty tang of lemon juice in it.
After liking our first experience with beef tongue, that became our very first order here...a combination of Beef Tongue + Under Tongue Meat + Pillar Tripe @ RM37 (marinated in just salt and pepper). But they ran out of tripe (not that I minded), so we were given more of the other two meats instead.
First impression when I saw the beef tongue was that it didn't look anything like the ham-like round discs of meat we had at Momotalo before.
Taste wise, the beef tongue (on the left) was also not as flavourful and tender as the one I remembered eating at Momotalo. I ended up liking their under tongue meat (on the right) more as it was (at least) a bit more marbled.
I saw Australian Wagyu Ribeye @ RM52 on the menu and I wanted that. I think this was one of the cheapest wagyu beef on the menu. Needless to say there were other more premium Japanese wagyu offered...but those were also at premium prices! :'(
There were six fairly thick slices of wagyu ribeye together with some slices of pumpkin and eggplant. You can also see that the beef wasn't that well marbled either.
Trying my darndest not to overcook my ribeye...I think I did a pretty good job! :P
Maybe because the slices were cut a bit bigger and thicker, I found it more chewy than I thought it would be. Maybe if I had a knife to cut it into smaller pieces (instead of having to chew it apart with my teeth), it probably would have felt more tender. The flavour was alright but, in the end, I didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped.
Of course, Pork Belly @ RM24, marinated in their in-house sauce, is a must-order if it's on the menu.
This fatty cut of meat grills really well....coz once the fatty bits get into contact with the coals...it's sizzle, smoke, the more sizzle and smoke, the better! ;D
Just look at the well caramelised edges of the pork belly slices...yum!
We enjoyed this so much, we immediately ordered a second helping....but, as you can see, we got a leaner cut than the first plate.
Less fat, less caramelisation happening! >:(
End result....still good but not as good as the first plate.
With enough orders of meat, we went with the Seafood Moriawase @ RM71 featuring a mixed seafood of marinated salmon, prawns, scallop and squid.
All four types of seafood were really fresh.
Of the four, my ultimate favourite was the prawns. I liked that the body was deshelled which allowed for more of the lovely smoked flavour to penetrate the prawns...and ultimately more caramelisation as well. Ridiculouslygood! ^o^
Besides the prawns, I absolutely loved the salmon. It was so fresh you don't even have to cook it all the way through. The extremely soft and tender texture of the salmon made it difficult to lift them off the grill without breaking bits of the flesh. So tasty :)
The squid andscallopswere decent too.
We didn't need to order any vegetables since we got some pumpkin, eggplant, corn, onions and cabbage with the dishes we ordered.
Rice is RM4 a bowl.
Refillable Green Tea @ RM6 per person.
Complimentary juicy and sweet Watermelon Slices at the end of the meal.
The produce was certainly fresh...but the salmon, prawns and pork belly stood out against the rest.
Since there was no offer from the servers to grill the meat for us, I had to assume that this was a GIY...'Grill It Yourself' kind of place (unlike Momotalo where they'll ask if you want them to do it for you). They use "binchotan" or what is known as white charcoal here which has a much higher temperature than black charcoal, so grilling time is minimal. We did overcook our first round of grilling but we learned quickly not to leave it on the mesh for too long. Though service was attentive, it wasn't very proactive. I noticed the servers peeking into our 'cubicle' ever so often (which was kind of awkward at times) but they offered no assistance whatsoever (in the grilling) except to clear the empty plates. They also failed to notice our half empty glasses and didn't offer to refill our green tea. Throughout our meal, the servers gave us only one small plate each (to place our cooked meat) which I felt wasn't the most ideal since we had to distribute the meat immediately once they were taken off the grill. I would have preferred to have different plates to place the different proteins and we can each take what we want and eat at our own pace. So, I asked for more small plates. Well, guess how many they gave us? Just two more! O_o I didn't know that plates were such a 'precious' item here. So, even though overall service was alright, it fell short of my expectations.
My Personal Opinion
Service aside, the food was still good though prices are notably higher than Momotalo. Since the beef didn't shine, I'll probably skip that and just concentrate on the seafood and pork. Your opinion will probably be swayed by the mostly Japanese clientele you see frequenting this place but I actually prefer Momotalo for the beef and service.
The one thing I did like over Momotalo is the brightness, cleanliness and availability of partitioned spaces for a more private dining. The place does deserve a revisit if I want a mainly seafood (and pork) BBQ though I'd rather give the one in Desa Sri Hartamas a try instead of this one...just to see if there is any notable difference. In the end, did it endear me as much as Momotalo did? Probably not! ^_~
Restoran KNK (Kannichikan Yakiniku) 23-1 First Floor 3rd Mile Square 151 Jalan Kelang Lama (Batu 3 1/2) 58100 Kuala Lumpur Tel: 03-7972 4011
The one thing I did like over Momotalo is the brightness, cleanliness and availability of partitioned spaces for a more private dining.
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