Review: Aoyama - The Green Room

Venue: Desa Sri Hartamas
Overall comment: Interesting & delicious Japanese fusion food :)
Halal: No

Aoyama has been around for 11 years. Since its opening, it has been serving its customers faithfully with an extensive variety of Japanese dishes. Over the years, Aoyama has moved into the Japanese fusion-food market, where it entices the adventurous to try the innovative dishes that are well thought of by Aoyama's chefs. They do not rely on their menu all the time, but encourage their customers to try out the recommended dishes, some of which are limited to a certain season/period of time, depending on raw ingredients' availability.

Located at Desa Sri Hartamas, Aoyama is opened for both lunch & dinner, where most of their lunch crowd consists of workers from neighbouring offices, while their dinner crowd are mainly families who live nearby. The interior of the restaurant boasts a Japanese-fusion concept instead of the typical Japanese concept when they first started. Apart from the tables out at the open-area, Aoyama has a private function room that fits 20 persons comfortably for those who prefer to enjoy some private time with family & friends.

I was very blessed to join Foodirector/ Nomsterads in this food review. It's a re-visit to Aoyama for me as I've been here YEARS ago, probably when they first started. During this food review session, we were introduced by Nicole, to some of their best-selling items from the menu as well as some new dishes that are off-the-menu. Here are some of the recommended dishes along with my review :)

Four Season (RM15.00/serving as below - on the menu )

This is a mini-size of 4 different cold dishes/appetizers. They're basically seafood dishes served in a platter of 4 types for those who would like to have a bit of this & that. Starting clockwise, you'll find the Tako Wasabi (Wasabi Squid). I find this an acquired taste as it is tangy (lemon-y) & the wasabi is quite evident. The squid pieces are chewy & quite interesting in taste. The dish next to it is the Sebu Kai (Shellfish) in one of their many made-in-house sauces. It's also quite a teaser to the palate ;) You'll also find the common Jellyfish with Sesame & the Marinated Baby Octopus. As both of it had the fragrance of sesame seed + sesame oil, those who love this aromatic ingredient will enjoy the dishes without a doubt.

Ko Ebi (RM10.00/serving as below - off-the menu)

This simple yet famous dish was one really enjoyable snack. The fried shrimps were crunchy, flavourful & very addictive. Once you start on the 1st shrimp, you'll keep wanting to dig in & finish the whole plate on your own...perhaps have seconds! The 'must have' for a plate of crunchy shrimps: Karage powder! That's the powder used to deep-fry the 'pop-corn' chicken. Yums! This dish is a must-try!

Special Salad: Salad Sashimi with Salad & Pine Nuts + Suzuki Fish, Jellyfish, & Goma Sauce (RM28.00/serving - on the menu)

After digging into the sinful & yummy Ko Ebi, we were served a balanced & healthy plate of 2 salads. I love the sesame seed/goma sauce used for the suzuki fish salad & the various textures all in one salad! :D You'll find juicy tomatoes, crisp salad leaves, crispy fried beancurd sheets, & the fresh slices of fish & jellyfish. Really tasty.

This other simple sashimi salad was also very delicious as it was served with toasted pine nuts, sesame seeds & a light salad dressing. Thumbs up :)

Wakazaki (RM6.00/half portion as below - off-the-menu/seasonal)

Another MUST TRY appetizer/snack. It's like "Japanese version ikan bilis" that goes very well with beer/liquor. You'll have to ask the waiter if this is available as it's seasonal. I'm split as to which is more enjoyable; the Ko Ebi or the Wakazaki...hmm..both are really good but the "crunch-level" is different ;)

Oki Ebi Teppan (RM58.00/current market price - off-the-menu)

This is the one restaurant that I've come across prawn roe chawanmushi! *drools* You'll find a LARGE prawn (almost like a baby lobster) that's cut & pan-fried "teppanyaki-style" 'til it has that smokey taste & the prawn's roe is added to the sauce on top of the steamed egg. Yums. The prawns were nicely cooked (over-cooking it will cause the prawn to be hard & chewy like chewing gum) that the flesh is still "spring-y". The chawanmushi's texture is pretty smooth & firm, but it was a tad too salty. Hopefully they will reduce the salt in the future.

The "large-head prawn"

Scooping out the prawn roe onto the chawanmushi

Wagyu Tomato Beef (RM48.00/serving - on the menu)

The 'secret' is hidden in the tomato...foie gras & Shitake mushrooms! Wah, this dish is really sumptuous! It has all the "high-class" ingredients: Wagyu beef, foie gras & Shitake mushrooms. I love the different layers of texture from the tender & juicy Wagyu beef pieces (with the Teriyaki sauce), the soft & flavourful foie gras, the spongy Shitake mushroom, & even the juicy tomato + crispy "thin-sliced" deep-fried garlic! Fuyoh...really delish!

Hisuji Steak (RM22.00/serving - on the menu)

This is for burger patty lovers. A combination of lamb & mutton, packed into a patty & pan-fried to perfection. Then, it is cooked in the sweet & savoury "katsu sauce", which is slightly sourish from the worcestershire sauce. The best part appears at the 'end of the show', where the patty is placed on a sizzling hot plate & a bowl of raw egg is poured onto the hot plate!

Check it out..."lambton" burger island with a sea of eggs!

Moist patty - bursting with flavours!

Celeste Maki (RM28.00/serving - off-the-menu) + Volcano Maki (RM22.00/serving - off-the-menu)

It's my 1st time seeing a "blue" maki & it just looks SO fascinating! Nyonya kuih...Smurf...Doraemon...these things played up in my mind :) VERY unique & creative, not to forget very natural as well :D

The secret to the blue colour comes from the humble Blue Pea flower. The maki is named Celeste Maki as 'celeste' means "heavenly" & yes, it is quite heavenly indeed ;) The blue rice wraps a good portion of lobster salad & tempura prawns! Biting into it is just heavenly!

The Volcano Maki on the other hand is indeed an explosive volcano experience in your mouth! The mayonnaise that you think is just "thousand island sauce" is actually a spicy home-made sauce primarily consisting of small, round chilies from Cameron Highlands (I suspect it's the Chiltepin, a type of small, hot pepper), Togarashi powder (Japanese chili flakes), tobasco sauce, salt & mayonnaise. Power! The maki comes with crabstick, cucumber & tanoki (tempura flakes). Thumbs up!

Fusion Tuna Plate (RM50.00/serving -made to order)

This wasn't served to us but to another table's customer, who ordered it. We just thought it was really pretty, so we took the opportunity to snap a photo of one of Aoyama's many customized orders!

Non-Spicy Kyushu Shoyu Ramen (RM28.00/serving - on the menu)

I've never been a great fan of Shoyu Ramen, but I have to say that this one is actually very tasty! The broth reminds me of home-made ABC soup as the base of the soup uses chicken bones, radish, onions, leeks, & Kombu (a type of edible kelp that's widely used in East Asia). It's a must try if you love ramen & naturally-sweet tasting soup :) They only serve 10 bowls per day - so do make your reservation!

Spicy Kyushu Shoyu Ramen (RM28.00/serving - on the menu)

This is the spicy version, where the same chili paste that's used for the Volcano Maki is used in this soup. I find it "burning"! It's either my tolerance towards spicy food has taken a dip or it's REALLY spicy! Like a "ma lat" (numbing spicy) soup! Each bowl of Kyushu Shoyu Ramen comes with sweet corn, peas, golden mushrooms, black fungus, half a boiled egg, sesame seeds & 2 pieces of chicken rolls (chicken thigh that's rolled-up with ingredients & steamed, before it hits the grill with some Teriyaki sauce).

"Springy" Ramen

Home-Made Ice-Cream (RM8.00/large scoop or RM16.00/set of 4 scoops)

Ocean Blue, Macha Red Bean, Vanilla Yuzu & Goma

When you're feeling down & blue, come over to Aoyama for their Ocean Blue ice-cream! It'll certainly cheer you up, especially if you love some cold, smooth ice-cream with a touch of sea salt! The blue colour is from the same Blue Pea flower & this ice-cream just reminds me of salted caramel. Quite interesting.

The Macha Red Bean ice-cream is one of my favourites. It has a very evident green tea taste, slightly bitter, but feels very refreshing. Love it!

The Vanilla Yuzu is something very unique as well. I was expecting a strong Yuzu flavour, where it's very sour & slightly bitter, but this one was really mild. It's more fruity than sour/bitter as they add Yuzu sake into the simple vanilla ice-cream, to give the ice-cream a mild alcoholic fruity-twist! Yummy!

The final one that we tried was the common Goma ice-cream, which was very fragrant compared to the many that I've had previously. This one has peanut bits, white & black sesame, thus the nutty fragrance to the smooth ice-cream. My 2nd favourite ice-cream...heeheee...

Thanks for the lovely meal & hospitality, Nicole :)

Map to Aoyama - The Green Room

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For those who have yet to try Aoyama, they're currently having an Udon/Soba lunch set promotion, with 4 different sets to choose from at RM9.90+/set. Each set comes with a side dish of your choice & a bowl of miso soup. Give it a try!


Aoyama - The Green Room
8, G-Floor, Jalan 27/70A
Desa Sri Hartamas
50480 Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysia
Business hours: Mon - Sat: 11:30a.m. - 2:30p.m., 6:00p.m. - 10:30p.m. & Sun: 11:30a.m. - 3:00p.m., 6:00p.m. - 10:00p.m.
FB: Aoyama


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


Overall:






I love Japanese food,