Senya — Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur

Much like another patron who left a review regarding the refusal of entry by the staff here due to vaccination status, I had a similar experience just yesterday (18/9/2021).

Extremely disappointed with their completely nonsensical reasoning of not accepting our MOH-issued physical vaccination card (FYI: already completed 2nd dose more than a month ago which is clearly displayed on the card) and the staff kept insisting that the MySejahtera app was the only accepted proof of vaccination (a member of my party didn't own a smartphone).

Thus, we were refused entry because of this inane and illogical policy by the company which was the only reason provided by the manager who kept repeating it again and again when we insisted that their refusal of acknowledging the physical vaccination card is against the MOH-issued guidelines on F&B SOP for dine-in.

The physical vaccination card acts as an alternative method for showing proof of vaccination in the event the individual doesn't own a smartphone. So why is this establishment completely disobeying this alternative? It's not like the cursory glance the staff gave when some of us showed our MySejahtera status screens were convincing (example: it could have been a screenshot instead of the actual app).

Maybe this haughty establishment thinks that only those who own smartphones can afford to dine-in here. Or that physical cards are easier to forge than an app (maybe the Malaysian IC should be replaced by an app on smartphones now?). Or the way your vaccination status is displayed is more important than whether you are truly vaccinated?

I regret that this review is not at all about the food served here since the first hurdle itself was about entry into the restaurant; what a shame.

FYI: Robotaya Izakaya which is just a few shops away gives a much better bang...

Been meaning to come here for years to try their Hokkaido pork don and I finally did on a weekday night. Dishes were hit or miss.

Service was, unfortunately, pretty bad. We had to ask for the menu after being seated for several minutes, had to constantly flag down staff to refill our green tea and the servers couldn't be bothered to clear our dishes when they were already at our table, placing down later orders. We went after 8pm and they had a handful of tables but they were definitely not packed so, unsure why service staff were so inattentive that night.

Tamagoyaki was decent but not great either. The gyozas were so-so, a bit too dry and crispy for my liking, and I didn't enjoy the filing either. They weren't juicy enough and lacking flavour. The salmon ebi furai roll was of subpar quality and the salmon didn't seem very fresh.

We ordered a skewer of chicken skin and it was rather disappointing as it was underseasoned and not crispy enough. The fried ebi tempura was nice and light though.

As for the donburi, portions were huge. There was so much rice that we couldn't finish it. The Hokkaido pork don was pretty great and there were very generous with the pork slices. The slices were nicely marinaded and charred. The Tokyo pork don, on the other hand, was bland and boring. Would suggest skipping it completely.

If you're thinking of visiting this place, I'd suggest ordering only the Hokkaido pork don and skipping everything else. There are plenty of other Japanese restaurants at Publika to satisfy...

This was one of my favourite Japanese restaurants in KL when I first got introduced to their famous pork don many years ago. The place used to serve up a good warm ambience for diners and has undergone a full renovation to further enhance the comfort for their patrons. Today we ordered their famous pork don which came with miso soup and their Senya bento set which was actually one of their lunch sets available daily. The pork don held up its taste well after all this while. I recalled how much I relished the tasty slices of their pork belly that were very well marinated and grilled beautifully to give that smoky charred edges. The fluffy Japanese rice laid underneath the generous serving of pork slices and the soft boiled egg added a nice creamy texture that helped to bind all the ingredients together. The miso soup was simply average tasting. I'd say that while it did not disappoint, it was certainly a much more impressive experience in my first few visits. I would also suggest to bring back the pork don in their daily lunch sets. Moving on to the bento, the sashimi salmon belly slices with ikura and the salmon puree was decent but the unagi turned out to be rather fishy and the meat was chewy unfortunately. The chawanmushi was good but nothing truly stood out here. Overall, I still think the pork don is worth trying if you haven't and their other fares were decent enough to...