Sushi Ryu — Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur

Disappointed. Don’t bother going there. Not worth your time and money.

I took my partner to this place last week as we were travelling and exploring KL. I was shocked by both the food quality and level of service at this premium price range.

Let’s talk about the good first: The layout of the place is nice. Yes I agree with some reviews here the bar table is a bit cosy but it was manageable and unfortunately, that’s all the good things I have to say about this place.

The bad:

Food: We ordered the premium omakase set (~1000RM/AUD$330 per person). The quality of the fish was just average. Like many other 1 or 2 star reviews, the cut wasn’t fresh. They use a lot of caviar and foie gras in their dishes (and I guess that’s where the premium pricing is charged). That being said, I would much rather you guys spend the money on the quality of the fish and buying the right kitchen equipment. The fact that you used a normal teaspoon instead of a mother of pearl spoon to serve caviar, it shows how inexperienced the chefs are.

Service: It was unclear to us how many dishes we were going to get that night as they didn’t have the premium set listed on the menu. We were very confused by the inconsistency of the dishes being served to us and the table next to us (we both got the premium set but the couple next to us came in 15min later) which leads us to the biggest mistake that this restaurant made of the night. They left out the Otoro dish for us and not until I asked the sous chef about it during dessert, she first denied it but then the head chef and her went to the back and realised they messed up. They served us the otoro after dessert and positioned it as it was a gift from the restaurant. If it was truly a gift to us, why serve it after dessert?

Throughout this awkward interaction, the head chef was nowhere to be seen and there was no apologies from anyone. I understand it is embarrassing to make such simple mistakes but I much rather you own up to it than position it as it was a gift like you did us a favour.

The team handled this...

Decent meal and I wouldn't say anything fantastic, just average, hence the rating. If you say Omakase "experience", then sadly to say, there isn't any experience to start of with. The service is fast and by the time we sit down, the first course is already served in just a couple of minutes, as if it has been pre-ordered. The food is okay (so-so), nothing special. There are so many chefs/cooks behind the counter, easily 5 of them and everyone is doing something in the food that we are going to eat. There seemed no system. Everyone fingers are on the food. They don't seemed to have 1 head chef that leads the counter because everybody is doing everything. Example one guy slice the fish and then put it one side - for at least a good 10-15 minutes. The freshness of the fish is totally off. And then came a junior cook that prepare the 1st, 2nd and 3rd negiri and OMG, he is not properly trained and he squeezed and squeezed and squeezed the rice and the fish until all the freshness no more. Then came a more senior cook that has better skill to prepare the 4th - 7th negiri and then the junior cook came back again in the 8th negiri. Seriously, this restaurant lacked the Omakase flow and system. Because I am not full, I still ordered a Waghyu Don to just fill my stomach but also not impressive. Overall, me and my partner feels like it is Express Omakase, No System, Many Cooks, Many Fingers on the food and last but not least, Fresh becomes No Fresh Omakase. If you had been around town to hunt for Omakase experience, I don't think I will come...

Here’s a quick review of our #omakase meal at @sushiryu.kl. We had the smaller lunch Omakase (RM279 per pax) set. We started off with the Ryu Signature White Fish. What a great starter! The white truffle oil is insanely fragrant and the #tobiko just bursts with flavour inside your mouth. After that, we had the seasonal #sashimi and #chawanmushi. I must admit, I can’t remember the names of any of the fishes but damn they were all so fresh and tasty.

.

We were then served the #Nigiri sushi. Each Nigiri was perfectly assembled and seasoned by the chef. With a tad of wasabi under the fish. I’m salivating just typing this again from the memories. The next dish was an optional add on. I obviously went for the Mini Wagyu Don. It really was Mini, but that didn’t stop it from packing a ton of flavour! Thinly sliced #Wagyu (dressed with more white truffle oil!) melting in my mouth. The Olsen #Tamago with rice complimented the dish well.

.

To end the meal, we had #Miso soup and some seasonal desserts. The miso soup confused me for a bit, as there was no spoon included. I then found out that you’re supposed to just drink it out of the small bowl 😂 The dessert was a citrus sorbet and dango (a type of rice flour dumpling). Great way to end a flavour...