THE next time the thought of having Japanese food crosses your mind on a Friday, try Sime Darby Convention Centre's critically acclaimed Halia restaurant.
Chef Faisal Ismail, sous Chef of Halia with some of the mouth-watering Green Tea cakes with lychee. Pics by Sharul Hafiz Zam
Plenty of scrumptious dishes to choose from at Halia.
The pan-fry station and the Sushi and Sashimi station are located side-by-side at Halia. The long queues at Halia are proof that many Malaysians know how good the food is here.
Fresh sushi and sashimi are also available.
Chef Faisal Ismail, sous Chef of Halia will take you on a culinary voyage to the land of the rising sun in a memorable Japanese-themed buffet that is guaranteed to satisfy your craving for sushi, sashimi, noodles and more.
For starters, head to the noodles section and take your pick of your favourite noodles such as soba noodles, green tea noodles, udon and so on.
"We serve hot and cold noodles. Our hearty noodle soups are made from Bonito or fish flakes.
They are served on the spot to ensure that diners will always get a fresh serving.
"Our noodles come with condiments like chives, spring onions, beancurd, wakame seaweed, mori seaweed and more," he said.
Head to the appetisers section and help yourself to all kinds of tasty salads and starters such as the crabmeat salad, a delightful blend of crab meat, tomato cherries, tobiko (raw egg roe), garden salads like lettuce and Japanese mayonnaise.
Mixed together, the delicious salad combines into a meal that is perfect for weight watchers.
The fried rice is different from the Chinese variety. This one is made with sauteed garlic with egg, rice and soyu and special seasonings like dashi powder, spring onions and fried garlic.
The garlic fried rice dish goes well with the wide variety of dishes on the menu.
Try the salmon teriyaki served with their special teriyaki sauce.
"We don't marinate this dish with spices because we want our diners to taste the fresh, flaky fish," he said.
"Our tiger prawn teriyaki is also interesting as we take sauteed prawns and smother it with teriyaki sauce and garlic.
"If you don't want sauce on your fish and just want to eat it cooked on its own, try the soba shioyaki -- fresh mackerel fish placed in a salamander for five minutes and added with salt before serving it to diners.
The unagi (eel) with teriyaki sauce is cooked on a grill and then coated with teriyaki sauce.
Unagi is a favourite of the Japanese, the way escargot is popular among the French.
A long line of people were queuing at the tempura station counter.
And with good reason, as their choice of ebi (prawns), mackerel, crab claws, shiminji mushrooms, egg plant, carrots, long beans, white radish, chillies and zucchini, among others, are deep-fried in a special tempura batter.
It gets better at the teppanyaki stall where there are tiger prawns, beef tenderloin, salmon fillet, chicken, New Zealand mussels, squid, cabbage, white shiminji mushrooms, green, yellow and red capsicums, enoki mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms and brown shiminji mushrooms to tempt your palate.
"We saute the ingredients that customers choose with some garlic, butter and seasonings like soyu."
"Those who love sushi can head to the sushi and sashimi station."
Raw items like salmon, prawns, soba, white fish, pickles, crabsticks and so on are served here.
"The top half of the layered sushi will feature ingredients like prawns while the bottom half is sticky rice."
Halia also offers freshly barbeccued and grilled items at its barbecue and grilling stations located in the open-air courtyard outside the restaurant.
With food this good, it's no wonder why many food connoisseurs agree that Halia is one of the best restaurants in Malaysia.
Don't leave without dessert.
You'll find rows of delicious creamy pastries of different shapes, sizes and flavours.
If you want a healthy finish to a satisfying meal, opt for fruit skewers.
The Halia restaurant at Sime Darby Convention Centre is located at 1A Jalan Bukit Kiara 1, Bukit Kiara. For details, call 03-2089 3799.
The Japanese buffet dinner at Halia is available every Friday.
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