Groovy!

Funky sushi in the new wing of One Utama Shopping Centre....

While my mum and I were on our monthly shopping trip in One Utama shopping centre, we decided to stop by the new Japanese restaurant there called Sushi Groove. It's located on the Ground Floor of the New Wing (Oval section) and is pretty easy to find (near the main escalators).

The Lunch:

The theme at Sushi Groove is modern and funky - dark wood, sleek fittings and an interesting feature wall with what looked like lit up Morse code. I liked the overall setting there but found the remix/ borderline techno music they were playing to be a bit too loud and quite a fair bit annoying.
(Or maybe I'm just too getting too old for all this "feng tau" music)

The traditional Japanese restaurant of "Irasshaimase" (welcome) has also been thrown out the window in the effort to be different. Here, you'll be greeted by a chirpy chorus of "GROOVY!" by the waiters and waitresses instead:
Interior of Sushi Groove...
There was a good range of reasonably priced and interesting starters and sushi rolls. Of course, there are some classics like the Agedashi Tofu and range of sashimi but there are definately a lot of unusual things that you won't find at other Japanese retaurants. Some of them, like the Flying Geisha Roll - deepfried inari (beancurd skin) stuffed with spicy tuna and cream cheese - sound yummy but unhealthy though!

We decided to try out the Yakuza Crisy Beef (about RM7++) as a starter:
The Yakuza Beef
The battered strips of deep fried beef came topped with some yummy onions that had been stirfried in a slightly spicy sauce. The beef wasn't really THAT crispy or tender but I think it tasted pretty good overall.
(I found the savoury and slightly spicy taste very appetising)

Then, for the mains we tried the Baby Dragon Roll (about RM13++) and the Curry Fried Rice BiBimbap (about RM 11++):

The Baby Dragon Roll (top) and the Curry Fried Rice BiBimBap (bottom)
The Dragon Roll was quite nice - a good medley of texture and taste with the tempura prawn, crab salad, cucumbers, avocado and tiny bit of unagi.
(My favourite Dragon Roll is still at Umaiya... which costs 2 times more but tastes about 2 times better)

The Curry Fried Rice BiBimBap was also pretty interesting - the rice had a bit of a sticky texture and a lovely fragrance of curry powder (not very spicy though). It came served in a stone bowl and was mixed with raw egg and bits of tempura batter, tender chicken pieces and bonito flakes. Unfortunately, the serving is a bit too big for the average person so you may feel a little "jelak" (queasy?) after you get about halfway through.

As for dessert, we capped it off with a serving of Black Sesame Ice Cream (about RM6++):
The Black Sesame Ice Cream
I would definately order this again - it was creamy and bursting with black sesame flavour but thankfully not too sweet... I would even say that it tastes better (and so much better value) than most of the black sesame ice creams I've tasted at other Japanese restaurants around town (even the ones at some top KL hotels).

So it's: Funky, modern setting with friendly staff, good range of interesting sushi (as well as a few rice and noodle dishes) and reasonable prices BUT limited desserts and irritating (to me) techno-ish music.

Restaurant Review
Summary Sheet:

Sushi Groove @ One Utama Shopping Centre

Taste: 6
Ambience : 5.5*
Service : 7
Price** : RM 27/++ per person
Parking: Difficult on weekends

* Nice decor but the music irritated me so less points here
** Approximation - 3 course meal, excluding drinks
Telephone No.: 03-7725 3733
Opening Hours: 11am till late

NO PORK SERVED

OTHER REVIEWS:
- Masak-Masak
- Bitch::About::Food
- ~Brought up 2 SharE~
- My Passion, My Life v2.0
- Omoshiroi.org


TAGS: Food, Blog, Weblog, Malaysia, Restaurant Review, One Utama Shopping Centre, 1 Utama, Sushi Groove, Shopping Centre, Bandar Utama, KL, Kuala Lumpur