Papasan Canteen • Japanese Fusion • Cheras — Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur

Great food. Generous portions. Reasonably priced. Excellent customer service. This place is easily deserving of 4/5 stars... Except it isn't, because the ingredients used aren't as premium as their regulars have claimed.

Don't get me wrong, I think the food's solid, it's just not amazing. In a sea of neo-cafe eateries popping up all over Klang Valley like wild mushrooms, Papasan Canteen is your run-of-the-mill minimalistic eatery that appeals to the younger, social-media savvy crowd. It is a Chinese-Japanese fusion food cafe. Pound for pound. Blood for blood. Doesn't get any more unique nor different than that.

Tried their iconic Karaage Kare Rice and Mapo Tofu Hotate aka Scallop served with rice, with a side of Miso Mayo Cauliflower Salad, Kimchi, and Wakame Salad. Hints of Chinese seasoning comes through in their Wakame Salad, reminiscent of the wakame found in Chinese Yee Sang. Their Miso Mayo Cauliflower salad, though innovative and ingenious as it is, fails to blend with their greasier, punchier main courses.

Japanese natives would cry foul knowing their iconic karaage has been defiled with a blend of what I assume to be Chinese spices and herbs that go with the usual marinade of ginger and shoyu. Though incredibly tender and juicy, their karaage lacks the clean flavors and authenticity expected of real karaage. It is goodness in every bite, but the greasiness that lingers as an aftertaste leaves more to be desired. Unlike the traditional kare that manages to retain a certain level of spice and sweetness, the curry at Papasan has been dialed up a notch in sweetness. It lacks the viscosity one expects to find in Japanese kare, and demonstrates a higher level of sweetness.

Their Mapo Tofu Hotate, while mind-numbingly spicy as they promise, lacks a good balance of spicy, savory, and refreshing notes. It's hard to tell what's at play here, is it the peppercorns that are the star of the dish? Or the scallops, which should infuse natural sweetness into the sauce, only it doesn't. The scallops are fine, they're fresh but they don't taste like the sea. Every few pieces here and there, I taste a piece with extra fishiness, suggesting prepacked and frozen seafood used in their seafood dishes.

Papasan owes much of their widespread social media presence to the media outlets that feature them. It may upset some to hear this, but it is simply your overhyped Chinese-operated Japanese eatery slightly outside the heart of the city. Generous portions and reasonable prices is a hard combination to beat, and the crowd will claim it is easily one of the Japanese piece-de-resistance eatery the area has to offer. Droves after droves of patron pour in to support their iconic Karaage Kare Rice, but as far being an actual Japanese eatery goes, the brand has much to learn.

But don't let my personal opinion sway yours. Be your own judge and taste their food. Cast your verdict and decide for yourselves. Would I recommend this place to a friend? Absolutely. Would I drive 18-23 kilometers to satisfy my karaage cravings? No way. All things considered however, the owners of Papasan deserve credit. Google says my review is 3/5, but really, it is a 3.8/5. Perhaps with further R&D and finetuning, this place could easily be a 4/5. It's not going to be Japanese eatery, but it's going to be a solid Chinese-Japanese eatery....

Came here to use my birthday voucher. It's my first time at this branch. I've been to their Kuchai branch several times. This branch is about 2/3 the seating capacity compared to kuchai. As usual their operating style is they don't take pre-bookings. You need to give your name and pax no. and you linger outside to wait for a table of your size to be seated. The cuisines are more towards japanese fusion style which you'll hardly find elsewhere. They are very beautifully plated. I came here because I received a birthday voucher for a Omu Curry Rice (5piece), but when I came, they only give me a discount of the 3piece set, not sure why. Anyway, no biggie. The Omu Curry Rice (5pieces) is the japanese style curry which is hardly spicy to Malaysian standard but still has some curry taste to it. The fried chicken however is really crunchy, nicely battered and fried. It is quite fulfilling for 1 person for the 5 piece, which I think is meant to be shared. The omelette is nicely done covering the rice underneath. To me, it's not a strong flavored dish but texture wise is amazing thanks to the fried chicken cutlets. I'd rate it 4/5. The Spicy Scallop Mapo Tofu Rice is also beautifully plated. The scallops are big and generous. This one has a much stronger flavor profile to it thanks to the sichuan pepper. I think it's the spiciest dish they have. I wouldn't also say its very spicy to Malaysian standard, but its enough to give some depth of flavor to it. I enjoyed it. I'd rate it 4.5/5. The Smoked-Duck Salad is great for those who doesn't want any carbs. The duck itself is well cooked. The salad's dressings are pretty tasty too which complements the raw salad very much. IMHO, I think it would be more interesting if it has some hard boiled duck egg into the recipe nicely tossed with the salad. I'd rate this a 4/5. I saved the best for last which is the Durian Carbonara Spaghetti with Soft Shell Crab. If you're a durian lover, this is a must-try! The star is actually the spaghetti coated in the durian carbonara. The curry leaf adds a tinge of fragrant to it too. There's 2 red chili on top, which may look spicy but its not really the spicy kind of chili padi in fact I don't feel any heat from it also, so feel free to just bite it whole. The soft shell crab itself is nicely fried to crisp texture but I feel it lacks some flavor. It does has some paprika powder sprinkled on it, but i don't feel any heat from it. I'd rate this 4.5/5.

Overall it was a pleasant meal. Staff was friendly and helpful. I'm not a fan of ordering from the app, wish they could take order the conventional way. Other than that, it's a pretty good experience, and I'm happy to...

Nice and clean environment. Well, the design of the interior is meant for sharing so do not expect privacy set up like per table, unless you got a group of 5 or 6 and above pax then u may request for a table. Warn you, they only allowed you to go in only if you, whole gang or your partner is already there standing in front of their door. They will ask how many person your group is, if anyone of them not here yet then they won't allowed entry to the cafe. Since this is a cafe, food expectation should be lower to cafe food standards. Fusion is their restaurant theme, so do expect so new and fancy stuff offered in the menu.

We ordered, Durian Carbonara, since its name have reflected the uniqueness.. the taste of the Carbonara is good as it goes so well with hints of durian. Durian lover, Please do not expect the whole pulp of durian fruits in it. The carbonara come in a good portion, side with deep fried soft shell crab sprinkled with paprika powder that make it more outstanding. OK the price is RM 27.. verdict worth it. Then we ordered the salmon bomb bomb, this is something that u can find in normal sushi restaurant those like sushi mentai, sushi hero.. big sushi wrapped in salmon and tip with bursting big salmon roe. In Fact, nothing special with this one, the only thing to compliment is the sauce accompanied with the sushi worth the mentioned. It is not the thousand Island or salad dressing, but the taste is uniquely blend to match the sushi. This 2 bomb cost RM24, We too ordered a Japanese pineapple curry udon, well this one is a let down. As the name already mentioned, it is a Japanese curry, but it is being blend in with the pineapple in order to create the tangy feel and taste of it, but too bad the taste or the outcome is so bland. It's neither the curry, pineapple or the udon is outstanding.. well the only commendable is the bowl of udon is topped with 2 considerably big prawn otherwise, this is now really suggested. It really look like ASAM LAKSA ya.. but it tasted so bland. Then we ordered another dishes, scallop spicy mapo tauhu rice. Orite, this dishes is very generous, the scallop and tauhu is plenty. Taste wise is still acceptable, but please do not compared it with the ori mapo tauhu.

For drinks, I have ordered nanyang ahmoi. Expresso with coconut milk, ok.. nothing to shout..if the ice cube is made from the expresso of coffee, the it is much better as the normal ice cube will surely affecting the drink and it become tasteless once u resume to drink it after your meal. Overall,...