Home Food Reviews Suki-ya, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur

Swish swish...

Shabu-shabu is something I often crave when I’m feeling down or when it’s raining. It’s the second best thing after steamboat, because the latter comes with an option of tom yam broth which I can’t do without. But the thing I like about shabu-shabu is the fact that meats take only a couple of seconds to cook because they come in tissue-thin slices.

After my post on Yuzu’s shabu-shabu buffet, a few readers recommended that I try Suki-ya in Pavilion. The buffet cost RM29.80++ per pax for lunch and RM39.80++ per pax for dinner. You are only given 120 minutes/2 hours to enjoy the buffet so if you’re a fast eater like me, you’re in for a treat. Otherwise, talk less and get started on eating!

I had them all!

Kimuchi & shabu-shabu

Diners get to choose 2 out of 4 types of soup base – shabu-shabu, sukiyaki, miso and kimuchi; I opted for the shabu-shabu and kimuchi broth. The waiter filled our pot with the selected broths, asked for our meat preference (chicken, beef or lamb) and within minutes, we were swish-ing away. You’re basically your own chef as you get to decide how ‘done’ you want your meats to be. Don’t expect the kimuchi broth to taste like kimchi jjigae. This was not as piquant, making it a pleasant soup base. I didn’t care much about the shabu-shabu broth as I found it rather bland.

Lamb

Beef

Chicken

Vegetables and fishballs

Sushi rolls are available during dinner

Take it out too soon and it’s mushy. Leave it in too long and it becomes a rubbery tragedy. Between the three meats, I liked the lamb and beef best. The chicken was nothing to shout about as it was not marinated and quite fatty. But the lamb and beef slices – although not of the best cut – were tender and tasty when eaten with the dipping sauces. My favourite was the sesame dipping sauce; I had two refills of this. The ponzu sauce is a lighter and tangier option for those who can’t stand the richness of the sesame dip.

Dipping sauces

Pasteurized eggs

Chocolate & Japanese Rice Ice Cream

Suki-ya serves pasteurized eggs which can be used as a dipping sauce if you’re having sukiyaki. Otherwise, it tastes just as good when cooked in the soup. I like my egg yolk to be runny and the freshness of the egg was evident. For dessert, you have a choice of Japanese rice or chocolate flavoured ice cream; I personally liked the former. It had a subtle rice flavour and was mildly sweet with a slightly grainy texture. Those without a sensitive tongue might mistake this for vanilla ice cream.

Dessert bar

One for the road!

All in, I found the buffet good value for money and the air-conditioned atmosphere makes dining at Suki-ya quite comfortable. But expect to come out of the restaurant smelling like shabu-shabu.

Ambiance: 6/10
Price: 6/10
Food: 6.5/10 (pork free)
Verdict: Good value for money and the food quality is fair.

Suki-ya,
Lot 6.24.04
Tokyo Street,
Pavilion KL.
03-2141 4272


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30 comments

lotsofcravings April 3, 2012 - 10:03 am

i didnt think shabu shabu would be as bad as say bbq in terms of smell.

about the broth; its apparently pretty much tasteless as its konbu and water put together, so not much of a stock at all.

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Bangsar Babe April 3, 2012 - 10:14 am

It wasn’t as bad, but you will still smell a bit like meat. :)

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ulric April 3, 2012 - 10:10 am

The correct way to make the shabu-shabu broth taste great is to put lots of mushrooms n vegs in first and wait for d flavours to come out =)

I like to mix the ponzu, miso tare and goma tare sauce together on a 1/5:1:1/2 basis to get awesome combo of flavours for dipping…hehe =)

Yep…agree tat the beef and lamb r the best…and also like to raisu soft-serve ice-cream…glad u liked it too…haha :D

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Bangsar Babe April 3, 2012 - 10:15 am

Waaaa…so detailed! Next time you teach me la. :D

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ulric April 3, 2012 - 10:18 am

I learnt this while I was in Japan on vacation…a kind waitress took d time to explain how is it done to us noobs…haha =)

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Bangsar Babe April 3, 2012 - 10:23 am

Ah…okok. Thanks for teaching this noob how to eat. Hehehe. ;)

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ulric April 3, 2012 - 1:41 pm

Oh…which reminds me…the chanko-nabe is ideally suited for u…a super-size daily hotpot for sumo wrestlers…took 4 of us to finish it n non-stop burping afterwards…hahaha :P

Bangsar Babe April 3, 2012 - 1:48 pm

Hahahaha!! Me?! I don’t think I can eat as much as a sumo-wrestler…

Choi Yen April 3, 2012 - 10:28 am

Is there still a long queue?

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Bangsar Babe April 3, 2012 - 10:29 am

When I went, there wasn’t a queue. Got there around 7pm. But by 8.30pm, got queue. About 10 people lining up…

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Baby Sumo April 3, 2012 - 10:36 am

It’s really good value for money. I ate my fair share of lamb and beef when I was there LOL

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Bangsar Babe April 3, 2012 - 10:43 am

Maybe we should do lunch…and see how much meat we both can put away. That or Spasso la. :P

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Baby Sumo April 3, 2012 - 8:57 pm

Like that those buffet places will takut when they see us coming LOL

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Bangsar Babe April 4, 2012 - 8:55 am

Later they put a pic of us on the front door and say “No Entry”. :P

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ulric April 4, 2012 - 9:20 am

I also scared tat I m a ‘small fry’ next to u both ‘big eaters’…hahaha :P

Bangsar Babe April 4, 2012 - 9:45 am

Hahahaha…we might eat you if there’s not enough meat. :P

ulric April 4, 2012 - 9:50 am

The thought had crossed my mine…hahaha :P

Simple Person April 3, 2012 - 12:29 pm

last time I went inside to have a look in the restaurant ..
there are lots of food over there…
I choose Spasso instead .. coz I will be overeating if eat over there..

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Bangsar Babe April 3, 2012 - 1:09 pm

Hahaha! Eat moderately lo… ;)

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Michelle April 3, 2012 - 2:20 pm

i love shabu shabu too!

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Bangsar Babe April 3, 2012 - 4:17 pm

You can make this easily! :)

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Sean April 3, 2012 - 2:58 pm

it’s pouring in KL right now! seems like a good day for Suki-Ya maybe :D

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Bangsar Babe April 3, 2012 - 4:17 pm

Exactly what I was thinking…lol!

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The Yum List April 3, 2012 - 3:05 pm

I love shabu shabu but I’m afraid I’ve been spoiled by Japanese home cooking. Every place I try outside of her house now just doesn’t compare…

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Bangsar Babe April 3, 2012 - 4:18 pm

Lucky you! I would like to have authentic homecooked Japanese food too…

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Adam April 3, 2012 - 3:06 pm

2 hours should be enough to work through a buffet. But kiasu people like me will probably cook all the meat first to get more helpings! lol. Good to see a value for money buffet in a usually-expensive place like Pavilion though!

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Bangsar Babe April 3, 2012 - 4:19 pm

Hahahaha!! I did that. Ordered more meat WHILE cooking the meat in the pot. :P

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Kf April 3, 2012 - 6:18 pm

the sushi is only available for dinner, lunch no sushi. i hope you amend this just in case. i hope im not mistaken as this was what they told me last time when i went for lunch.

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ulric April 4, 2012 - 9:22 am

Yep…correct. Sushi only available for dinner. =)

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Bangsar Babe April 4, 2012 - 9:44 am

Thanks for clarifying!

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