Piggin' Out: Xenri

Restaurant: Xenri
Address: No.9, Wisma Elken, Jln 4/137C, Jln Kelang Lama, KL
Tel: 603-7783 8118

Rommel has been mentioning Xenri for a couple months now and so we finally made a trip to this Japanese restaurant in Wisma Elken, just off Old Klang Road, opposite Pearl Point shopping centre and about 5 mins from Tmn Desa.

It was rather odd to find this really simple, clean and nicely decorated restaurant "in the middle of nowhere". I love the simple zen-like furnishing. (I'd taken some pictures but they didnt turn out nice so I'm not posting them).

We'd enjoyed our Friday night meal so decided to bring the parents there on Sunday night again for my dad to try it out.

The following pictures were taken from both nights:

I ordered the 3 taste mini chawan mushi, which came as a real surprise (although if I'd actually paid attention to the pictures in the menu, there was a picture of this so it shouldn't have come as a surprise). Cost: RM18.

Egg and dashi mixture steamed in egg shells instead of the usual ceramic cups. Each egg is topped off with (1) caviar, (2) uni or sea urchin, (3) crab meat.

Ooh delectable.... Shen, you'll love this since you love anything with steamed eggs. We ordered the same thing again for my dad and he approved.

On the first night, Rommel ordered the sashimi moriawase, cost: RM68. I only took a slice of butter fish, scallop and hamachi while Rommel polished off the rest. Verdict: pretty good and fresh according to him. (I'm not a big fan of sashimi and so I'll abstain from voting.)

I felt like eating grilled fish that day and so we ordered the hamachi kama shio or grilled yellow tail fish head. Yum... grilled to perfection and not as jelak as salmon head.

When we went with the parents, we also ordered the tori karaage. I believe I have mentioned before that at every new Japanese restaurant I go to, I must try this fried chicken dish. It's like my benchmark on whether the restaurant is good. Why? Because despite the fact that it's a pretty simple recipe, not many places can do it well. And how did Xenri fare? Alright I'll say, just alright.

On Sunday night, Rommel had the sashimi dinner set. Sorry I can't remember how much this cost since I dont have the receipt for it.

My dad had the sushi moriawase. Sadly, my dad, the sushi snob, didn't quite enjoy it. He said the sushi rice was alright, the fish were fresh but he just didn't seem to have enjoyed his meal.... "It's all about the experience".... which usually means, he probably wont eat there again unless I drag him there.

I tried their kinoko kama meshi (cooked rice with assorted mushrooms in a pot). Rather bland in my books but maybe that's how it's meant to be. Looks good though, doesn't it?

What I really enjoyed was the hot somen.. I dont usually see hot somen on the menu in most Japanese restaurants in KL so I was really happy to have it. Simple soft noodles in a clear broth. Yum...

And so.... will I go back? Yes because the food is decent, pricing is decent, I like the ambience and location (so near my home) and parking's not an issue. What do you think? Shen, would you want to try it when you come back?