Umeshu Sushi & Bar @ Glenmarie Industrial Park, Shah Alam

Japanese Cuisine at Affordable Prices!

A recent foodie round up at Umeshu Sushi & Bar had us all very satiated with the very affordable and scrumptious Japanese restaurant discreetly hidden in Glenmarie Industrial Park, Shah Alam. Thanks to dear foodie buddy Yvonne, Umeshu is a real gem that was just waiting to be discovered.

Umeshu Sushi & Bar opened in March 2015. It was a perfect spot as there were no Japanese restaurants nearby and the owners are well-aware that there are colleges nearby and Japanese cuisine is always a crowd pleaser for many. To cater to all the students and those living nearby, the owners made their prices very affordable and yet serves up very delicious and decent Japanese dishes. Umeshu also offers delivery services within the nearby area and college with 1 hour advance order.

Seafood delivery takes place every 2 days to ensure that every item is kept as fresh as possible. The owners also made sure that most of all their sauces and dressing are made in-house such as soy sauce, sweet sauce, sesame sauce and more to keep their dishes as homemade as possible.

The restaurant is decorated with simple and pleasing design. There are booths or regular seating. Since the restaurant has a long space, catering to big or small parties are not an issue too. There is even a lovely long tatami room for privacy.

Moving to serious eats, we had a classic favorite of Edamame (RM3.30) as we try out their Bavaria non-alcoholic malt drink that comes in Pomegranate or Peach. The fizzy malt drink is pretty enjoyable…

Dinner continue to our first appetizer of Jikasei Niku Miso Hiyayakko (RM5.30) or Cold Tofu with Umeshu met Miso. Simple, fresh and easy to enjoy… the flavours are quite intense and vibrant from the soy sauce to miso while the spring onions and tobiko added more textures and flavours.

Japanese salads are often really easy to enjoy. These salads are never heavy and always uses minimal ingredients to showcase the freshness of the seafood that is very often paired with salads. Ours was Soba Avocado Salad (RM10.90), a healthy soba noodle, avocado, corn, seaweed and greens mix paired with creamy dressing.

We also had another appetizer of Salmon Avocado (RM6.90), cubed salmon with creamy cuts of avocado dressed in a tangy and creamy dressing and finished with a sprinkling of shichimi togarashi powder. So delicious!!

Sushi time and these are definitely a crowd-pleaser as we checked out some sushi and maki rolls from Umeshu’s sushi bar. Salmon Zukushi (RM16.90) is faultless, a lovely platter for salmon lovers. Salmon sashimi, salmon sushi and salmon roll with mayo is creamy and delicious. With that price tag, I’ll gladly order two platters for myself.

Another personal favorite of mine is their Aburi Salmon Sushi (RM4.90 for two pieces). Creamy cuts of salmon is lightly brushed with teriyaki sauce, lightly torched and served with pearls of salmon roe and a dab of mayo. Simply scrumptious!

Goka Irodori (RM16.90) is a role one would love when one wants a little of everything in their roll. Sushi roll with pickled daikon radish and cucumber is covered with slices of assorted sashimi, finished with a drizzle of mayo and topped with ebiko.

Another roll to check out would be the house signature roll of Umeshu Special Fried Salmon Roll (RM13.90). Albeit a less healthy version of maki but is yummy as the maki roll has salmon, cucumber and cheese inside, crumbed and fried still crispy outside. A drizzle of sauce and a touch of ebiko sealed the deal. There’s more adventurous rolls to tempt diners with Fire Oyster Roll, King Prawn Roll, Norway Roll, Fire Spider Roll and more.

We edged in slowly to mains and had the Salmon Kobuto Teriyaki (RM10.90) to start. The grilled salmon head has a nice teriyaki glaze. It may need some effort to pick through the head but the fleshy bits are silky smooth and creamy.

Seasonal Pan Fried Salmon Bone is a dish the chef whipped up especially just for us. There is a lovely spicy note to the dish. The salmon bone still has a fair bit of meat on it and we did our best to polish this clean too. The additions of onions and bell peppers with other bits of vegetables made the flavours sweeter. Not in the menu but do ask the waitstaff…

More Yakimono followsw with Ika Maruyaki (RM14.90) or Roasted Squid and Saba Shioyaki (RM14.90). Both nicely grilled and sufficiently satisfying in flavours and textures.

Steak lovers will definitely enjoy the Teppan Gyu Steak (RM18.90). The steak was gorgeously charred and remained tender and juicy. Served with mashed potato, corn and broccoli on a sizzling hot plate, it was certainly a delicious main course. If you prefer your steak a bit more rare, make sure to let the staff know.

We moved on to more classic favorites in Japanese cuisine. We had two tempura dishes of Tempura Moriawase (RM15.90) and Tempura Mantis Prawn (RM8.90). The Tempura Moriawase was a classic mix of fried tempura prawn, capsicum, eggplant, pumpkin and mushroom. Nicely executed with light crispy batter and sweet prawns with various vegetables cooked well.

The Tempura Mantis Prawn were more unique as I haven’t seen this much in Japanese restaurant. Still, I am not complaining as these were decent too with the crispy tempura and tempura sauce.

If there is one thing to order at Umeshu, it’s their rice dishes! We had three and all 3 were indeed awesome in flavours and textures.

Ishiyaki Salmon Tobiko (RM15.90), a hot stone bowl rice topped with salmon, egg, ebiko, spring onion and special sauce. Mixed these all together and it is sublime! Crusty bits of rice coated with egg yolk and lightly cooked salmon, sauce and ebiko is such an amazing dish that I will indeed return for. I had two helpings from this portion because it was just too darn irresistible…

Kamameshi or Kettle Rice, is the traditional Japanese way to prepare rice. The special Kama or iron pot makes a perfect single dish meal as one can also add any other ingredients in and cook them together. Then the rice is usually served in the pot at tableside as it will also keep the rice warm. We had two varieties of Kamameshi of Gomoku Kamameshi (RM20.90) and Unagi Kamameshi (RM29.90).

Gomoku Kamameshi is assorted seafood, chicken, mushrooms, burdock, aburage, spring onions and ebiko while Unagi Kamameshi is Japanese grilled eel with mushrooms, burdock, aburage, seaweed and wasabi. Choosing one is not easy as both are really aromatic, flavourful with crispy bits of the fluffy rice. So choose either one depending on your favorite ingredient and you won’t be disappointed as these make great tummy fillers as well as sharing meal.

Umeshu also has lots noodles dishes from ramen, soba to udon and we tried their signature Ishiyoki Curry Udon (RM10.90). The thick and creamy Japanese curry is moreish, leaning towards more savory than sweet. Just my kind of flavour as I do not enjoy sweet curry. Serving bubbling hot in hot stone bowl, the udon comes with a tempura whole egg, seafood and spring onions. This one is really pretty decent in my books.

We also had a large bottle of Umeshu Wine from Choya, classic Japanese plum wine that the restaurant is named after. Perfect to go with the dishes if you asked me…

We barely covered their menu at Umeshu Sushi & Bar. All of us really thought that the prices are very reasonable for their dishes served and portions are good too. Umeshu definitely serves much credit for their effort in serving up affordable and scrumptious Japanese cuisine. Must-orders for me are their Salmon Avocado, Aburi Salmon Sushi, Teppan Gyu Steak, Ishiyaki Salmon Tobiko and Kamameshi!

UMESHU SUSHI & BAR (Pork-free)

8, Jalan U1/36,

Glenmarie Industrial Park,

40150 Shah Alam, Selangor

Tel: +603 5567 9692 / 013-232 6338

Email: ume.sushibar@gmail.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/Umeshu-sushi-bar-824111654301588

Business Hours:

Mon-Sun: 9am - 9pm

Closed on alternate Sundays – please call for confirmation