Kintsugi Japanese Restaurant - The Gardens Mall — Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur

Very short review: Claypot A5 whack you beef - 5 stars Nagano Walnut Soba - 3 stars 5 piece sushi with dry aged fish - 5 stars

Long review: Signature Wagyu Donabe Set This set consists of the following Mizuni Salad Homemade tofu with shredded perilla leaves (taste like one with its strong aromatic taste) Charcoal grilled fish with snow daikon Mushroom miso soup Raindrop cake with black sugar from Okinawa and soybean powder The star of the set - claypot rice with A5 whack you beef.

Number 1 and 4 tasted pretty run of the mill and I'm not complaining as these are just side dishes. For Number 2, just imagine you are eating very cold and very silky tofu with what tasted like shredded perilla leaves together. I like number 3 as it was a familiar taste of a grilled block of fish that I think is mackerel. Snow daikon tasted like daikon. I didn't like number 5 for these reasons - the soybean powder tasted like the kind of protein powder that a muscle builder would drink. No offense to Okinawa black sugar but I grew up with palm sugar so I think this dessert would taste better with palm sugar instead. Naively, I thought the 'raindrop' would be more watery but it was actually quite firm in its consistency.

And now for the star of the set, number 6. This one is good. Really good. The chef decided to combine the side dish of oxtail rice with the whack you beef rice from the Nagano Walnut Soba Set. What we got was a very welcoming beefy flavor. When the server opened the claypot cover, I could taste the aromatic beef flavor with my nose. I do think that the raw egg yolk also played an important part to the taste of the rice, giving it a buttery and creamy taste. There were 4 pieces of that A5 whack you beef that were tender without being greasy.

Signature Nagano Walnut Set Shashimi of tuna belly and scallops Chawanmushi of crab meat and truffle Minced oxtail rice Mushroom miso soup Raindrop cake with black sugar from Okinawa and soybean powder The star of the set - Nagano Walnut Soba

Refer to the whack you beef set above for number 3, 4 and 5. Number 1 was two pieces each of the tuna belly and scallops sashimi. The former has that definite melt in your buttery texture that did not require much chewing while the latter was really tasty with its sweet flavor that is expected of a fresh scallop. A win! Number 2 however did not have any discerning taste that I am familiar with except for the taste of steamed egg. Perhaps the combination of crab meat and truffle oil (?) give rise to a new kind of taste that escape me.

As for the star of the set, it was a very nice visual experience with the walnut oil being frozen instantly by the liquid nitrogen and then "grounded" into a frozen powder by a spoon. This reminded me of my time as a Masters student grinding orchid leaves into its powdery form with liquid nitrogen for DNA extraction. The frozen and grounded walnut oil was then transferred to a plate of soba. Before that, I was asked to grind up some walnuts. The server then added a dipping sauce to the ground up walnuts. You're supposed to mix the frozen walnut oil with the soba first and then savour the noodles with the dipping sauce. My verdict is if you like that distinctive nutty flavor of walnuts you will like this dish. I found it to be a bit too mild in taste and not savoury enough. As walnut goes rancid easily, I am glad that there is no rancidity detected with this dish.

5 Pieces of Sushi The raw fish on each piece of sushi is dry aged fish. It was curiosity on my part when I decided to add this to my order as I have never tried dry aged fish for a sushi dish before. I did not regret this addition as each piece of sushi was more flavorful than its non dry aged version. Amazingly, the raw dry aged fish tasted fresh and has a firmer texture. I like this more than the claypot whack you beef and it was no doubt the highlight of my dinner.

Another visit to Kintsugi is called for as I am curious about its Omakase experience. I am also sold on their dry...

I recently celebrated both my parents' birthdays at Kintsugi, and unfortunately, it was a huge letdown. Despite its high rating, the food quality was severely lacking. We tried their signature dishes, as well as lunch sets and à la carte, but nothing impressed.

The recommended Wagyu Gohan was overly salty, completely masking the natural wagyu flavours, leaving my mouth numb from the seasoning. The crab and truffle chawanmushi started off fine but quickly became overly sweet and unpleasant. The crab korokke, despite its high price, was underwhelming and mediocre—completely tasteless. I couldn’t taste the uni paste or the cognac it claimed to have. The foie gras ice cream was similarly disappointing, offering a one-dimensional salty flavour with no depth. The oxtail rice was essentially just plain rice cooked in oxtail broth, with no special flavours, and to make matters worse, we found a very hard piece of fat in the dish. While they compensated us with a complimentary birthday dessert for my parents, it didn't make up for the poor meal.

Their grilled fish was dry and tasteless. The server even warned us it was a "rather dry" part of the fish and recommended pairing it with shaved radish, which barely helped. The only redeeming dish was the walnut soba, which was refreshing, but that alone couldn’t salvage the experience. Even the raindrop cake was simply a basic glorified agar agar.

Overall, it was a major disappointment, especially for such a special occasion. With mediocre food and inflated prices, I wouldn’t recommend Kintsugi and certainly won’t...

I had the most wonderful experience. I had previously visited for their omakase, but this time I was curious by their newly launched à la carte menu and everything was absolutely on point!

One of the highlights of my visit was the the Nagano Walnut Soba Set, which was part of their signature set meal. At RM 138, it came with 6 dishes and it was truly worth every cents. The flavours were outstanding, and the presentation was exquisite. Turns out, this dish has been voted one of the top 20 dishes in Bangkok, and it totally lived up to its hype.

My friend ordered the Wagyu Donabe Rice Set and it was truly out of this world! This dish was a another showstopper in terms of both taste and presentation. The Wagyu beef combined with the perfectly cooked rice simmered in oxtail broth—it was a match made in heaven!

Another dish that was extraordinary is the Grilled Fish with Yukimi Daikon. The fish came with a side of frozen daikon snow - like literally frozen snow. When you enjoyed it together with the grilled fish, the combination is absolutely fantastic!

I highly recommend Kintsugi KL to all foodies and those seeking a different Japanese dining experience. Whether you choose their omakase or explore their à la carte menu, you can expect an experience that will leave you thoroughly satisfied. I'm already counting down the days until my next visit to try more of their amazing dishes.

Keep doing your thing, Kintsugi KL!...