Tatsu Japanese Cuisine at InterContinental Kuala Lumpur: Buffet dinner review

Sean Yoong $$$$$, Buffet, Japanese, Pork Free, Restaurant, Reviews & Articles, Sean's Restaurant Reviews 10 Comments

This review is brought to you in part by Tatsu.

If Japanese buffets are your guilty pleasure, InterContinental KL’s Tatsu hopes to help you indulge to your heart’s content, serving up a smorgasbord of all-you-can-eat sushi, teppanyaki temptations, tempura and more, in one of the city centre’s most sparkling settings for Japanese fare, every Saturday evening until 26 November, 2016.

Sashimi and sushi

Most customers flock first to the sashimi and sushi counter – a natural reaction, since the crowd-pleasing components of freshly sliced salmon, tuna and butterfish beckon here, bolstered by a solid selection of familiar sushi; we favour the tempura prawn and katsu chicken rolls, but the offerings topped with marinated scallops, seaweed, jellyfish and shrimp prove pretty popular too.

Explore the entire counter to the end – you’ll discover a collection of petite preparations that may comprise several surprises such as onsen eggs, alongside vegetarian attractions like braised eggplant in sesame dressing and traditional blanched spinach.

Hot fares

Moving on to the hot fare stations, we were encouraged by the presence of oden – the first time we’ve encountered this Japanese winter stew on a KL buffet line. Scoop up hard-boiled eggs, daikon, konjac and fishcakes from a hot, covered pot of dashi broth for a satisfactory bowl of soul food. Chikuzen-ni is another unexpected treat – simmered chicken balls with carrots, lotus roots and konjac. Other warm offerings might include fishcakes with cheddar cheese, deep-fried squid, and chawanmushi.

Live teppanyaki

A live teppanyaki kitchen highlights the hard work of chefs who whip up medleys of grilled rib-eye beef, prawns, salmon, butterfish, chicken, squid, mushrooms and vegetables for eager customers. We like how the buffet here is calm and unhurried – behind the scenes, food is efficiently prepared and meticulously replenished, so patrons can simply stroll up to the counters whenever they like to make their choices, without forming long lines or enduring patience-taxing waits.

A la carte, cooked to order dishes

The buffet also includes a la carte items, cooked to order and delivered to the table at their optimal texture and temperature, including salmon and Spanish mackerel teriyaki, tempura moriawase, deep-fried oysters (our favourite of this bunch) and chicken sukiyaki, as well as two types of hand-rolls (California and ebi tempura).

Desserts

With more than 75 dishes available we were too stuffed to appreciate dessert, but the sweets selection boasts good-looking cakes, red bean soup with mochi, mixed fruits, classic manju confections stuffed with red bean paste, and ice cream – even the green tea here is a notch above the norm, with a deep, resonant flavour. The buffet costs RM118 nett per adult and RM69 per child aged 5 to 11 years. Thanks to Tatsu for having us.