JASON FOOD REVIEW

Kanikawa

Avenue K, Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur

Every visit to this shop

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Jason's verdict

8.4out of 10
Great
Stops
1
Dishes
17
Visits
1

The verdict

Great

Jason scores Kanikawa 8.4, calling this RM298 weekend lunch buffet at Avenue K a quality, variety and value package that punches way above typical buffets. The unlimited A5 Shimomuragi wagyu and fresh sides feel a level or two above buffet standard, but scallops were mushy and pre-cooked crab stringy. He recommends eating the king crab with the weekend-only shabu-shabu broth.

Highlights

  • Price: RM298 weekend lunch, unlimited A5 wagyu, king crab, caviar and Häagen-Dazs
  • Taste: A5 wagyu tastes like beef butter and sides impress, but scallops are mushy and pre-cooked crab stringy
  • Ambiance: Upscale Japanese buffet at Avenue K with a weekend-only shabu-shabu station
  • Other: Prices rise RM3-8 from December; grab the thick wagyu cut and the durian paste

Dishes tried

  • Salmon sashimi

    fresh, creamy fat, one of his favourites

  • Unagi sushi

    quality indistinguishable from a sushi bar

  • Tako wasabi

    sedap, slimy with nose-burning jelly wasabi

  • Caviar

    fresh with a strong salty ocean taste

  • Salmon roe

    fresh, part of the impressive sides

  • Yellowtail sashimi

    listed among the fresh side dishes

  • A5 Shimomuragi wagyu brisket

    beef butter, insane fire, grab the thick cut

  • Shimomuragi brisket thin cut

    thinner lines, not as rich, not as good

  • Oyster

    sweet salty mineral water with cucumber, lemon helps

  • Prawn

    okay, pre-cooked, just needs heating

  • Scallop

    mushy pasty meat, the lowlight

  • Snow crab

    pre-cooked, stringy, not moist, day-old feel

  • King crab

    gigantic claw, chunky meat, best with shabu-shabu

  • Shabu-shabu

    weekend-only, adds moisture to the crab

  • Japanese rice

    slightly less sweet than he is used to

  • Häagen-Dazs ice cream

    unlimited, sweet finish to the meal

  • Durian paste

    go for it, a hidden gem

Full transcript705 words

Snow crab caviar A5 Shimomuragi Unagi sushi Salmon sashimi And they also have king crab All of this is unlimited for RM298 weekend lunch It's called Kanikawa at Avenue K Starting with the sides Salmon sashimi first One of my favourites Unagi Wasabi taco Khao Caviar Damn Salmon roe Yellowtail fish So far side dish I am impressed Seafood is all fresh Maybe the Japanese rice is a little less sweet than I'm used to The quality of this unagi is hard to tell the difference to a sushi bar quality Taco wasabi Sedap I like the sliminess of it Somehow this jelly-like wasabi is gonna burn your nose Salmon is fresh You feel the creaminess from the fat Even the caviar is fresh The salty ocean taste of this is strong So far their sides does not seem like buffet quality It's like one or two levels above A5 Shimomuragi brisket All the Shimomuragis I've tasted Sedap The fire is insane One cut done You just need a second to realise it's good And that is without any seasoning Even I grilled myself but it was still mad in my mouth already You can crackle in the oil and fat This is the kind of beef cut you cannot get from a normal buffet Think of it as beef butter It just leaves that aroma that you crave for more But at the same time you can get jalap quite easily They've got two different cuts of the same brisket Grab this one and run girl The thinnest lines in my opinion Not as rich Not as good Seafood While waiting for all of this to cook I'm gonna try their oyster Got some bad experience with oysters in Thailand Fresh hang from the lemon helps It's like eating sweet salty mineral water with cucumber Actually the prawn they already cooked it for you just need to heat it up a bit Scallop looks quite juicy I think I might have overcooked it Either that or it's not that fresh Because the meat inside is very pasty Let me put another one slow crab meat Scallop It's not everything but the seafood that I tried Seems to be the low light The prawn was okay Stringy plump prawn Scallop I've tried cooking it various times But it still retains a level of mushiness Snow crab I think the fact that it's pre-cooked And it goes for the prawn as well It makes the meat feel more hardened Even though it still has a briny ocean taste It's still stringy But it's not moist It's not juicy It just feels like a day old kind of snow crab King crab on the weekend Look at how gigantic the claw is These guys really don't want you to eat them Weekend price From what the staff told me starting December It's going to be RM3 to RM8 The weekend also includes shabu-shabu Which I think the weekday doesn't have Just for reference The one time we ate king crab at Zaman Koo Costed us RM498 for 1.4kg How does the meat look? Even though it's also pre-cooked The fact that the meat is much more chunkier More stringier I recommend eating the crab with shabu-shabu It helps to add more moistness and juice with the soup Thick chunky meat Obviously better than the snow crab Or the horsehair crab Let me conclude with this unlimited hagenas With the typical buffets I've used to sukiya Keitam BBQ It costs 4 times or more less this price But after trying their stuff The quality, variety and value Punches way above its weight Their typical BBQ Their sides They have fishball, lobster ball Inoki This one you got karabia Tako wasabi Sashimi And a lot of other stuff that I haven't tried yet And some more of their A5 Wanyu Shimomura-gyu Doesn't feel like buffet quality Their seafood is mostly fresh But the scallop was meat mushy The crab don't grill it Because they pre-cooked right It's gonna make the meat more kachot And also moist and bouncy Eat it with the shabu-shabu Oh and if you see their durian paste Go for it With what they offer 8.4

8.4/10

RM298-298 · A5 Shimomuragi wagyu brisket

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