CoCo ICHIBANYA @ 1 Utama Malaysia Grand Opening

I attended the grand opening of CoCo ICHIBANYA Malaysia a couple of weeks back. Here's the story.

It has been awhile since I've last caught up with the girls - Jia Yeen, Kate, Kelly and Stephanie. What more over comforting bowls of hearty Japanese curry! Oh I couldn't wait to sample.

CoCo ICHIBANYA is an internationally acclaimed, casual dining restaurant that hails from Japan. This Japanese Curry House have over 1,350 outlets worldwide and the first to hit Malaysian shores!

The One Utama outlet seats a maximum of 65 persons in 128 square meters, and exudes a casual, friendly and unpretentious ambiance. And like the name suggests, Japanese curry is their forte.

Taglined "the tastiness you can choose", you'd get to customized your meal here - the curry's level of spiciness, toppings and even the amount of rice!

For someone like me, who can't stomach too much spicy food - way to go lemon & herb! - don't fancy rice aplenty, and like loads of condiments at the side, this sounds like a marvelous option.

CoCo ICHIBANYA Menu and Prices Here.

The curry's level of spiciness ranged from,
Mild
Original Flavor
Level 1: Medium Hot
Level 2: Hot
Level 3: Extra Hot
Level 4: Super Hot
Level 5: Crazy Hot. Are you up for the challenge?

There are over 30 meat and seafood varieties, including chicken, beef, pork, prawns, clams, vegetables and many more. More toppings? Less rice? Definitely doable.

Apart from that, some fusion dishes are offered in their menu, like the spaghetti with curry meat sauce, curry gratin and seafood spaghetti with cream. And everyone knows that Japanese desserts are compulsory orders right?

We sampled a handful of their dishes that evening and here are some of their specialties. 

Pork Cutlet Omelette Curry. RM26.

Pork Cutlet Omelette Curry. RM26.

Grilled Spinach, Bacon and Corn Curry. RM20.

Fried Chicken Curry. RM20.

Fried Fish Curry. RM25.

Seafood Spaghetti. RM22.

The grand opening that evening saw the appearance of some Very-Important-People, notable local celebrities, online personalities and a handful of representatives from local and foreign media houses too.

Among all that I'd tasted that evening, my favorite combination would have to be the fried chicken with original flavored curry - though I figured most would fair well with Level 2: Hot. The fried chicken was nicely done and not at all greasy, whereas the curry had a spicy-and-sweet flair to it.

But of course I gave the Level 5 curry a shot! Just a spoonful, enough to tickle my taste buds. It is hot - green chili type of hot - that slowly hits you and make you grasp for water thereafter - alright, that's just me.

Throughout the brief hour I was seated along with two other strangers, turned out to be quite a riveting affair. They were editors from a local magazine, which caters specifically to the niche Japanese market in Malaysia - the content is all in Japanese. The casual chit chat was short but engaging.

More importantly however, I had a splendid meal at CoCo ICHIBANYA that evening and a fantastic time catching up with the rest of the MHB team. Those Japanese curry concoctions - you have to try it!

Folks in Penang, look out for the second outlet which will be opening in Queensbay Mall soon!

CoCo ICHIBANYA is located at:

Address: Lot LG 333A, Lower Ground (New Wing), 1 Utama Shopping Centre.

Phone: 03-7732-8937

Opening Hours: 10am - 10pm Daily.

CoCo ICHIBANYA is a restaurant chain owned by Fuji Group, the company of Fuji Japanese Restaurant in Thailand, and for more information, head over to http://www.ichibanya.co.jp/english/index.html

This is a sponsored post.