JJJ Ya — Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur

From the outside, this izakaya in Taman Desa looks like it’s been through a few typhoons: faded signage, cluttered windows, a front that suggests a pawn shop more than a restaurant. Inside, it’s a different story: all manga posters, One Piece figurines, and the low hum of beer-fuelled chatter. It's loud, cramped, and smells like grilled meat and soy sauce.

The menu is a long list of the usual suspects: yakitori, donburi, ramen, sashimi, and enough deep-fried options to make your cardiologist cry. When they get it right, it works. The chawanmushi is silky, the pork belly don is solid, and the beef skewers are a repeat offender for good reason. Even the frozen Sapporo mugs earn points for commitment.

But not everything lands. The ramen can taste like someone dropped dry noodles into miso soup and called it a day. The tamagoyaki is sweet enough to qualify as dessert. Yakitori is either grilled to perfection or drowned in syrupy sauce like a meat lollipop. Portions are small across the board, unless you’re ordering ramen, which weirdly shows up like it’s trying to overcompensate.

Prices are reasonable. Not dirt cheap, not fancy. Just fair. Some folks rave, others rant. You’ll find everything from “best Japanese food in KL” to “never again” in the reviews, and they’re both probably right, depending on the day and what you ordered.

Despite all that, people keep coming back. The regulars swear by the place. Japanese patrons eating quietly in the corner suggest the place has legit roots. It’s not some fusion gimmick or influencer bait. This is a working-class izakaya: comfort food, cold beer, and an atmosphere that doesn’t care if your shoes...

It is extremely difficult to not get addicted to the food here.

JJJ Ya offers a wide selection from premium sashimi to hearty dons and magnificent tasting skewers.

If you’re a meat lover, or simply like a heavy dose of rich protein, here should be the first place that comes to mind.

Chashu dons served with a poached egg yolk and a bowl of miso soup is a comforting and hearty meal in a bowl. Slices of flavourful pork belly with balanced ratios of fat and meat, tender, juicy on top of white Japanese rice is bound to make any carnivore happy.

As for the beef skewers, it is close to perfection. Slightly charred, slightly smokey, nicely seasoned and extremely juicy to the point where juices explodes in your mouth. And this can easily pass of as the best tasting steaks. I used to think that steak is best cooked at home. I’ve had expensive cuts of steaks at hotels and fancy restaurants, which I never once really enjoyed, until my visit to JJJYa. I might actually consider saving myself the hassle of cooking steak at home.

In short, flavours here pack a punch, foods here are awesome, hearty and comforting....

Went for dinner after passing by the area the last time i visited tmn desa and it caught my eye. A very cozy izakaya restaurant with plenty of decos to keep your eyes busy but not overly cluttered. Ordered a few food to try and would highly recommend the ox tongue and soft bone yakitori. Ox tongue thickness is nice and are cooked just right. Still tender with a good amount of bite and not too tough. The buta don was ok. Prefer it slightly more charred and the sauce was abit more wet than i would have liked. Senya izakaya in publika which used to be very good had the best butadon and this came close.

However, the most astonishing thing for us was the gizzard karage dish. Did not expect it and it completely blew our mind. It was served with grated daikon on top with ponzu sauce. Good combination as it cuts through the oilyness u get from deep fried gizzard, not that its overly oily anyway. And the gizzard is cooked very nicely too. Not overdone, just right.

Overall a very pleasant dinner and would definitely come back again. Mainly for the yakitori and...