Affordable Japanese Cuisine @ Sushi Mentai

Value-For-Money Sushi, Sashimi and more…

Not everything expensive is good, sometimes somethings affordable can really be pretty good too! It’s certainly not new but Sushi Mentai has been serving very affordable Japanese dishes for a few years already. It may have originated from Johor but today, there are 25 Sushi Mentai outlets all over Malaysia and also one in Singapore. With 3 outlets in Penang, 5 outlets in Kuala Lumpur, 9 outlets in Petaling Jaya, 1 in Negeri Sembilan and 7 outlets in Johor, it’s fair to conclude that Sushi Mentai has grown to be a favorite hotspot for avid Japanese foodies everywhere.

One evening, I visited its latest PJ outlet in Kota Damansara with my family. Open since December 2015, this outlet is already packed to the max upon my arrival. Since my little one always loves the concept of conveyor belt sushi bar, he was excited about visiting Sushi Mentai.

The Sushi Mentai at Kota Damansara looks fancier in décor than the other outlets, simply because the group has started to incorporate a décor theme for all their new outlets. Well designed to maximize seating, one can also catch kitchen actions at the front of the room upon entering. Choose seating from the various booths and seats and the conveyor belt of plates after plates of sushi will run by all the seating to tempt the diners.

What really attracted me and I am sure many other diners are their sushi menu which has only two prices of RM1.80 and RM2.80. That is really affordable pricing. With plenty of choices to choose from, there are also lots of special sushi-of-the-day that is not listed in the menu as well. Needless to say, we started picking our favorites happily.

Sushi Mentai is named after its signature Mentaiko sauce. So there are quite a few choices of Mentaiko sauce sushi available.

Leading the list is Salmon Mentai (RM2.80). Immediately, this one exceeded my expectation since I was prepared for skimpy sushi. However, Sushi Mentai’s sushi are all nicely loaded with decent amount of ingredients with sushi rice. The salmon is delicious! Loaded with the cod roe and mayo sauce before being lightly torched, I was beginning to know that this was going to be a good meal…

Inari & Salmon Mentai (RM2.80) showcase my favorite sweet bean curd skin with salmon, sushi rice and mentaiko sauce. A special-of-the-day, this one piece sushi is yum.

My other half loves eel and so we also had the Unagi Sushi (RM2.80).

Prawn Tempura & Inari Sushi (RM2.80) was also a special-of-the-day together with Prawn Tempura & Crab Maki (RM2.80). I really enjoyed both a lot and still had a hard time believing how something so good is so affordable in price. These are available on the conveyor belt. Must order if you see this on the special-of-the-day list…

We wanted to try their a la carte dishes too and so we controlled ourselves from taking more from the belt despite it all looking pretty tempting. The Chawan Mushi (RM3.80) is decent and comfort food at its best.

Asari Miso Shiru (RM4.80) had good flavours from the miso and I can even taste a sweet and briny note of clam essence too.

My little one’s favorite dish was the Dashimaki Tamago (RM3.80). Although it’s not exactly the same as the other tamago I have had, this version was ok and portion was definitely generous for its price.

Chuka Kurage (RM4.80)

I must highlight the fact that I am pretty pleased with the Salmon Toro (RM11.80). Generous cuts of salmon belly was delicious and creamy. Since it’s a fattier cut from the belly, the salmon literally melts-in-the-mouth with sublime flavour.

The Hokkigai Sashimi (RM8.80) of surf clam was also really value-for-money as this clam is quite expensive in many restaurants.

We moved on to rolls and took on the Salmon Mentai Dragon Maki (RM12.80). I can’t get enough of the salmon with mentaiko sauce and this one had the additional plus points of crispy tempura prawns. At this point, I think I was a fan of this affordable Japanese restaurant.

For those who are carb conscious, there’s also a no-rice sushi roll of Inari Wrap (RM7.80). Sweet crab meat with bean curd skin and shredded vegetables are wrapped in rice sheet before being finished with a dollop of mayo sauce. This turn out to be another winner in my books. I am so going to order this again since its carb free…

More happiness took form in Ebi Mentaiyaki (RM9.80). This time, its prawns topped with mentaiko sauce and broiled. Sweet, savory and definitely creamy!

Served grilled, one also gets 3 pieces of Shishamo (RM4.80) per order.

A generous portion of the Saba Shioyaki (RM11.80) was nicely grilled. I like mine with a light squeeze of lemon to balance up the rich oily flavours of the mackerel. This one is beautiful with crisp skin and moist flesh.

Kaki Fried (RM9.80) has always been my favorite when dining Japanese. Glad to say this one did not disappoint but in fact tasted really good. Plump and juicy oysters were nicely crumbed and fried to a golden nugget. Crispy on the outside, utterly juicy with briny flavours, the oysters are very delicious! On my next order, I am so not sharing this plate…

We order the Kitsune Udon (RM10.80) for the little one who simply loves slurping his noodles with the dashi and bonito broth.

On an overall note, I was pretty satisfied with everything at Sushi Mentai. The experience turned out beyond my expectation. Pricing is affordable and the quality and quantity is honestly very decent for what you pay. No wonder Sushi Mentai is pulling in such a crowd. There are plenty more dishes in the menu that I have yet to try. That said, I will definitely by back as there is also a Sushi Mentai near my house in Kepong!

SUSHI MENTAI

No-16-1, Jalan PJU 5/7,

Dataran Sunway, Kota Damansara

47810 Petaling Jaya

Website: www.sushi-mentai.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/sushimentaimalaysia/

Business Hours:

Monday to Sunday 12noon to 9.30pm