Review: Ippudo Malaysia, Bangsar Shopping Centre

 Lot G110 Ground Floor
Bangsar Shopping Centre
Jalan Maarof
59100 Bangsar
http://www.ippudo.com.my/

 You'd think that the last thing a Japanese would want to eat when in Malaysia is Japanese food but really, that's what my Japanese dinner companion (DC) wanted. Thus, I suggested this place which was great because neither of us been there before though in our (mis)communication, he may have wanted something else but couldn't really say it since he was struggling with English and I was with Japanese.

 If any in your company has their birthday that month, they'll give you this jumbo drink.

 A non-alcoholic fruit punch, it has a slight sour taste without being overly sweet. Not sure if it was free or payable (at a discounted price).

 Ippudo pork bun RM 7: juicy braised pork belly served with Ippudo's special sauce.
Love the soft bun. The melting fatty pork is almost to die for. Wished I didn't have to share this.

Salmon belly sashimi RM 35
Rather generously thickly sliced and fresh but only 5 pieces. Such a tease =(

Kushiyaki RM 55: grilled meat and veggies on skewers. You can either opt for this set or pick from the ala carte menu. From left to right:

• Zucchini with karaka miso - slightly spicy
• Salmon cubes with salmon roe - a different take on salmon which was enhanced with the lemon sauce
• pork bacon with soft boiled egg - it is hard to go wrong with bacon & egg except when you are trying to impress your date that you have to stuff it into your mouth. 
• ebi mentai yaki - grilled prawn topped wtih spicy mayo and prawn roe on top took a fair bit of effort to eat daintily as the flesh was stuck to the shell. So much so that my amused DC suggested that I just eat it like a barbarian bite it instead of trying to pry it off with my chopsticks. 
• karubi cubes with cherry tomato & lady fingers - awesome beef steak cubes cooked until medium well, the perfect done-ness for beef.

Ippudo Hakata-style gyoza RM 12
The skin was thin and pan-fried until slightly crispy. The filling had a nice touch of herb, not overpowering the meat.