Koi Zen Japanese Cuisine, Kuantan

This was my first love for Japanese restaurants in Kuantan - Sendo No Ya! It has changed its name to Koi Zen now, but the food quality & service remains just as the "good old days" - ichiban! They have also moved to another location since a year or less than 2 years ago, but I've never had the opportunity to head back there til lately. Ah....love it....

Here's introducing Koi Zen, the new Sendo No Ya!

Interior of the restaurant

It's surely different from their previous outlet (top photo compared with bottom photo of previous outlet). It's more spacious & very straight forward. It doesn't feel as "Japanese", but the food is good, so that's all that matters :D

Even the tea cup is different already

What happened to the old ones? Hahaha...

Here's what the 3 of us had that night:

Tori Age Tama Don (RM13.00/bowl)

It's deep fried chicken pieces with a fried egg & rice - the way Amos loves it...hahaha...as long as it's fried chicken, you'll have a happy Amos.

Gyu Don (RM15.00/bowl)

This is Aaron's favorite. He can order this each time he comes here & it will still be as good. The beef slices are tender & not over-cooked, while the runny egg yolks when mixed with the rice just makes the whole bowl of rice & meat absolutely delectable! Ah, seriously, this is by far the best Gyu Don (at such a price) that I've ever had in my "whole life". If you happen to know of any good ones that I should try, let me know! I'm keen to do so ;)

Unagi Bento (RM23.00/set)

I would have ordered my usual Chirashi Bento each time I dine at Sendo No Ya/now Koi Zen, but it will take longer to prepare & I was quite hungry that time (and had a movie to catch as well!). Unagi was my 2nd choice - I love unagi. The portion of unagi wasn't very generous, but it was acceptable. Thank goodness the taste is pretty good. I was disappointed with the so-called curry though. I'm not even sure if it's a curry or just a stew. There were potatoes, chicken slices, onions & carrots in a watery gravy that looked like the Japanese curry...ergh...not nice! So salty some more :S

Stamina Roll (RM28.00/roll)

It's actually unagi roll, which was really tasty. There are roughly 6 pieces per roll & each bite comes with a juicy piece of grilled eel on top of a maki roll with some fish roe, eggs, & vegetables (I can't recall the actual ingredients off-hand). I enjoyed this so much.

Map to Koi Zen

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We paid a total of RM90.20 for the above, inclusive of 3 cups of green tea (refillable) & 10% service tax. For a Japanese meal, it's not too expensive, really. We were full & satisfied, which was the most important :) When it comes to Japanese food in Kuantan for such a price, I'll always recommend Koi Zen!


Koi Zen Japanese Cuisine
B-30, Lorong Seri Kuantan 80
Star City
25300 Kuantan
Pahang Darul Makmur
Tel: (+609) 566 0222



Ratings:
Presentation: * * * *
Price: * * * *
Environment: * * * 1/2
Taste: * * * *
Service: * * * 1/2


Overall:

I love Japanese food,