Get ready to sizzle with one of the best yakiniku experiences in town! BBQ is no longer exclusively associated with American cuisine. Sure, American barbecue has its standard for what barbecue should be, but don’t let that deceive you – Asian nations aren’t backsliders when it comes to grilling!
Due to readily-available meat cuts, no other nation can compete with Japan when it comes to BBQ – in our humble opinion. And we’ve got a new spot where you can try amazing Japanese BBQ – Asumo SS15!
For those who aren’t familiar with yakiniku: it’s a style of barbecued Japanese cuisine that’s been growing in popularity over the past 70 years. The meat is cut into bite-sized pieces by the chef, then brought to diners’ tables.
The fun part is that you can cook the meat on a tabletop charcoal grill, and dip the pieces into myriad special sauces before eating. While many yakiniku restaurants are now operating in Kuala Lumpur, Asumo offers a modern Tokyo-style rendition.
The name of the restaurant is not just cute, but carries a meaning. Asumo, which translates to “tomorrow, again” in Japanese, was used in the hopes that customers would return again and again. The restaurant brings forth sophisticated Japanese interior design, which is driven by the belief that the overall ambiance of a restaurant, from the design to the lighting and crockery, influences the taste of the food. And we think it actually does!
Asumo imports whole, halal-certified wagyu cattle from Miyazaki and Tokushima prefectures in Japan. Once the wagyu arrive in Kuala Lumpur, a Japanese master butcher with over a decade’s worth of experience carves the highly-marbled meat, dividing it into specific cuts for customers’ tables. Much like the techniques used in cutting sushi, the taste and texture of the wagyu for yakiniku differ based on the direction, type, and thickness of the cut. Asumo can offer a larger variety of cuts than what is normally available, at a very attractive price.
It was the first time for some of us in trying wagyu beef – and we had lots of expectations. Besides wagyu, we also tried out other amazing dishes served at Asumo. Here’s what we had:
Of course, we started with the beef slices. One great thing about Asumo is that they let you mix your choices of meat. We chose half wagyu beef and half Australian Beef. Texture-wise, both meats were super tender, but wagyu was obviously more tender than the Australian variety. When it comes to both meats, you can easily bite into them and feel it melt in your mouth. The most obvious difference was the taste.
The wagyu wasn’t marinated in any sauce, which means we just grilled and ate the meat. We dipped the wagyu in Asumo’s signature sauce – blended with 8 kinds of vegetables and seasoning – and it really enhanced the overall taste. As for the Australian beef, it was marinated. Hence, it has a sweet and savoury flavour. We loved both meats but we know nothing beats wagyu meat. The signature at Asumo is the Wagyu Omakase Platter. With 10 different bite-sized cuts of the highest grade Japanese beef, it’s the first of its kind in Kuala Lumpur. Each cut is accompanied by a tag introducing the cut, and several sauces and salts to dip the meat into once cooked.
To complement the beef slices, we also had other side dishes. First we had the Kale Salad. Given that we were having lots of meat options, we thought it was a sensible idea to add some greens to our meal for balance. The kale salad had chunks of tuna and cherry tomato drizzled with dressing. So, it wasn’t just a veggie dish, as it had other ingredients to avoid it being of only one taste, and it was light enough to not detract from the other dishes.
Next, we had Assorted Kimuchi. There were 5 kinds of kimuchi: Chinese cabbage, cubed radish, shallot, tomato and garlic chive. Although it reminded us of the Korean kimchi, we still enjoyed this variety, with our favourite being the garlic chive. The kimuchi was full of flavour and fermented well. If you’re fond of spicy food, you’ll love this, because the spiciness kicks in shortly after you take a bite.
We couldn’t get enough of wagyu, so we ordered the wagyu meatball. Honestly, you’ll never want to have any other meatball once you’ve tried this. Most meatballs have lumps in them, which make them chewy and sometimes difficult to enjoy. But the wagyu meatballs at Asumo blew our minds.
There were extremely tender. There were no lumps whatsoever. The flavour was intense and juicy and instantly melted in our mouth. The best part is you don’t need to add any sauce! It’s perfect on its own.
Asumo also offers good soups. We had two types: Wagyu Tendon Stew and Egg Soup. The stew was super rich and very savoury. Just one mouthful was all we needed to get a burst of flavour. For Korean food fans who love Korean Bulgogi Soup, you’ll definitely love the Wagyu Tendon Stew.
The egg soup was also delicious. It’s not too eggy and it paired well with the other dishes. After we had a couple of meaty items, the egg soup was perfect to wash our palate before hopping onto the next meal. Both the soups tasted amazing – rich and more importantly, very homey.
What’s an Asian doing with no rice on the table, right? Asumo has an entire page just dedicated to rice dishes, and we got to try their signature, which is the Garlic Rice. This Japanese-style garlic rice is roasted with dry garlic flakes, giving it a crunchy texture. Although garlic can something be overwhelming, this dish was perfectly balanced.
Call this an appetizer or dessert, but we’ll have this dish at any time of the day. You can forget about regular potato chips, because Asumo has one of the best potato chips we’ve ever tasted. Super thin, and light but crispy all the way. Seriously – we couldn’t stop eating them, and wished we had ordered more! The chips weren’t too oily and unlike other chips, Asumo’s sweet potato chips stayed crunchy till we ended our meal.
Now comes our favourite part of any meal: DESSERT!
Asumo has a wide selection of desserts that’ll be sure to impress. The first dessert we tried was the recommended Sweet Potato spring roll with ice cream. It sure sounded like a heavy thing to eat, especially after chowing down lots of meat. But actually, it was a really balanced and good dessert. The spring roll was super crispy and crunchy. Paired with rich vanilla ice cream, this combo was just amazing. Sweet and savoury in one go!
Next up, we tried the pudding. Steamed at 89 degrees and seared on its surface before serving, this pudding sure is smooth and will melt in your mouth. Overall, the pudding isn’t too sweet – just the top layer. It complemented our meal perfectly.
Last, but not least, was the Matcha Tiramisu. Just to be clear, this isn’t the regular kind of tiramisu you would expect. The matcha tiramisu is made with mascarpone cheese and layered with sweet red bean paste and covered with matcha powder on the top. It was kinda hard to comprehend the flavour. After all, we’re used to the coffee flavour in tiramisu. It was a good dessert though. Not too sweet or over-powering and it was indeed creamy.
Our time at Asumo was great. The staff made sure to assist us with our needs and they were super friendly too. The atmosphere and environment of the restaurant is really calming. Although the place is a maze with its nooks and dim lighting, it felt cozy. What we loved most is that it gives you privacy. As a diner, you’ll be seated in separate compartments, which ensures that you’ll have your own space and less disturbance.
But if you don’t mind open space, Asumo also offers open booth seating, with specially-designed lights affixed to the exhaust system. Another thoughtful addition is the free valet parking service. Since Asumo is located right in the heart of a bustling neighbourhood where parking can be tricky during the dinner rush, the free valet service adds another level of convenience for customers.
Another thing to note is that wagyu beef is extremely expensive these days and you probably won’t have it very often. With that in mind, Asumo is mindful to keep customers coming back. Hence, their menu is quite affordable. For first timers, they even have a signature lunch set that consists of a charcoal-grilled yakiniku set and a tempura and fish set. Also, each set comes with rice, cold noodles, potato salad, miso soup and green tea.
To us, this set is worthwhile and really affordable. Not only that, the restaurant’s opening promotion features 100g of yakiniku beef with eight side dishes, starting from RM100 per person.
Click here to view Asumo’s menu.
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