Rakuken 樂轩 — Restaurant in Johor

Chanced upon this restaurant while hanging at Midvalley South Key during Valentine day.

Saw it was semi-packed. Checked on Google reviews, and saw the average 4.5 stars.

I decided to queue thinking the food should be decent. First 20 minutes, I saw 2 vacant table, but no one bothered to let us lead us to the table. I thought cause the table is reserved, so I decided to wait. Turns out the table all along was available, but they were too busy.

So I went in hopefully thinking the food should be good since they take so long for service.

Ordered a Kuro Buta Tamagotoji set. By right there is a hotpot portion that is supposed to be served with solid fuel to keep it warm.

Food arrived slightly warm not piping hot, solid fuel burnt out long ago.

Tried the tempura, prawn is not fresh and texture is soggy as hell, I thought I was eating fried porridge, very disappointing.

The worse thing is, I got another order of chiraishi don. The cooked food arrived first. After 30 mins, my order of chiraishi don which is mainly raw fish not ready. Asked the waiter, no one bothered to give me an update on the ETA.

Decided to cancel the order because I too hungry and the lack of updates is making me very uncomfortable.

In the end, I decided to cancel my order. The cashier obviously not very happy with my decision, I also feel bad.

Come here enjoy meal, left feeling hungry and guilty. Not a very good...

I had a disappointing experience during my visit, and while I understand that not every day can be perfect, there were a few things that stood out that could be improved.

For instance, when we were seated, they forgot to serve us the small dish, which was offered to all other tables. When I mentioned it, the staff member didn’t seem to acknowledge the oversight but rather seemed surprised, asking, "Do you want it?" It would have been more reassuring if they had apologized for the mistake and quickly made it right.

The service at the new location felt very different from my previous experiences at Raku Ken’s old spot. At the old location, the staff made us feel genuinely welcomed—offering a warm greeting, introducing daily specials with enthusiasm, and even opening the door for us both upon arrival and departure. It was always a more personal touch, and the service was very attentive.

At the new location, however, the staff seemed more focused on checking if customers had reservations than offering a warm greeting, which felt a little impersonal. Additionally, the pace of service seemed slower, and it was unfortunate that we didn’t receive a simple "thank you" as we left, even though we passed right by the staff.

I truly hope the team can return to the standard of service they once had, as it was a big part of what made Raku Ken such a special...

My family and I were very excited about eating Japanese for our daughter's birthday lunch. We ordered the salmon maki which tasted very good, except for one fatal mistake they made.

The one I ate had a rather big flat piece of bone, presumably from the salmon on top. My daughter also ate abt 2 pieces from that plate of maki. (There were 8 pc)

I feedback to the staff, and didn't expect for any refund (though it wld be nice if they extended any gesture as a form of apology). But not only did I get none of that, all I got from the staff, was a "ok I will check". My husband was the first person to feedback and that was the response he got. I went up to her again to say the same thing, only to get the same response.. I have never had any form of salmon/fish sushi with bone found in it. And that is unacceptable to me.

I get that your restaurant gets very good reviews and thats justified because your food is good. But what taints the experience is when something goes wrong and no amends or apology is given. That to me, is bad service. Compounded with the fact that it is a kid friendly dish that my daughter enjoyed. So it's ok if she choked on it?

I should have...