Yokoso Ichiban, SSTwo Mall, SS2

I love Japanese food and frequent Japanese food outlets very often. My last trip to Yokoso Ichiban was a few months back, and I found the food there a notch  above the many Japanese restaurants I have visited. Today, I make my way to SSTwo Mall once again, just to ensure that the food quality remains unchanged.

For the record, Yokoso is owned by a Japanese. In fact the chef is also Japanese.  Every time I walk past Yokoso, it seems empty…but do not be fooled…there are people (customers to be exact) enjoying their meals in the booths…so they are ‘hidden’ from the outside of the shop.

The three of us were very hungry - we could have eaten a horse each! Hence, the long list of food we had.

 Mango & Pink Guava yoghurt – RM6.90 each.  Simply healthy & delicious. 

Salmon salad (RM25). With a price tag that is slightly steep for a bowl of salad, you cant really fault them for the pricing as every spoonful was s great delight. The salmon was fresh,  and the vegetables were too. I love the presentation as well….especially those fat translucent  orange ikura on top.

Edamame (RM8). I liked this as it was steamed to perfection – bright and fresh – not overcooked, and not too salty as well. Purr-fecto!

California maki –  6 pieces for RM18. I rank this as reasonably priced and superior in terms of taste. With every bite, I could tell that great care has been taken to select the best & freshest ingredients.

Garlic fried rice (RM10) – Generous amount of rice cooked with lots of garlic. The only downside was that it had too much seasoning…you know what I am talking about …taste enhancer!

Fisherman spaghetti – this is a set meal. For RM15 you get a mildly spicy plate of spaghetti, a bowl of salad and 2 slices of watermelon…and oh ya, a glass of ice lemon tea. I love the sour sweet taste of the ice lemon juice. It always refreshes me. As for the spaghetti, I’ll say it’s very yummy…I wanted to eat more, but then I had to leave some space for the other food coming up.

Temaki sushi and udon set (RM20). I’ve always labelled this set as value for money and after today’s culinary experience still maintain that stand. 2 hand rolls of different variety – one has tuna, the other ikura. A huge bowl of udon which I would describe as having a  smooth, slippery texture. This set also comes with a bowl of salad, chawan mushi and 2 slices of watermelon. The chawan mushi had a feather light and smooth texture which I found very soothing.

The final instalment for the day was unagi bento. Frankly I don’t know why this is called so as it has some salad, salmon sashimi, unagi and some tofu served with a huge bowl of rice, chawan mushi , miso soup and of course, 2 slices of watermelon. For RM35, this is indeed a whole meal on its own. I love the way the sashimi was prepared –thick slices, allowing us to savour the original texture and flavour of the fish. Eating the unagi was a very pleasant experience as there was no need to search for tiny bones as we often do at many other Japanese eateries.

 Truly ichiban!  (That means number one)

Address: LG56 , SSTwo Mall

No 40 Jalan SS2/72

47300 Petaling Jaya

Tel : +603 7960 7746 / 7748

Mastercard & Visa accepted

Simple Life Cafe, SS2 Mall

Put 5 hungry people, longing for healthy food, together for a Sunday brunch and this was where we ended up – Simple Life Café SS2 Mall. This is an organic café promoting a healthy way of eating. Well, they serve no meat and hence is suitable for vegetarians. (Please note that some dishes contain eggs)

The exterior of the restaurant is pleasing –with an all white concept and the deco certainly reminds me of Garden Lifestyle Café. As I walked in I couldn’t helo but feel a sense of calmness. Service is friendly and prompt.

As we sit down, we are given toe menu and we take our time to browse through the menu. We had the following food:-

This is called the mini steamboat. Priced at RM18.90 it can feed at least 2 very hungry adults. For the soup, we had a choice of burdock, miso or black bean. We chose burdock which is said to be able to treat gout, rheumatism, ulcers, acne, eczema, and psoriasis. I read somewhere that burdock cleanses the blood and was traditionally used to treat snake bites….anyway, a huge bowl was brought to us and in it I could see Chinese cabbage, 3 slices of pumpkin, yam, tofu, sweet corn, carrots and a variety of mushrooms ranging from shitake to enoki…. And if that isn’t enough to fill your tummy, this mini steamboat also comes with a bowl of multi grain rice. I really don’t know what is so ‘mini’ about this steamboat as the portion is huge…well, come to think of it…..the mini thing about it is perhaps the pot used to cook the wholesome bowl of goodness!

BBQ sauce & chillies

The 'mini' pot

This is miso ramen soup – the ramen was well cooked and I loved it. This bowl of ramen comes with wolfberries, sweet beancurd sheets , a braised egg, some sweet corn kennels and some wakame. Wakame – the seaweed – was slightly tough and that was the only thing that I disliked about this miso ramen soup.

Kids meal – we tried 2 – and I must say the kids meal had a generous portion so much so that it is sufficient for an adult. Both sets come with a slice of watermelon, some French fries, vegetarian nuggets, a bowl of soup and a cup of peach drink. The seaweed fried rice was fragrant whilst the tomato macaroni was topped with sufficient amounts of parmesan.

Brown rice nasi lemak – the fragrant brown rice had a light tint of coconut oil that made the rice so appealing. With lots of side dishes such as acar, crispy fried mushrooms, roasted peanuts rending tempeh and fried egg to go with the rice, I could easily devour this plate of nasi lemak without any sense of guilt!

Dessert

Address : LG - 55, Lower Ground Floor, SStwo Mall,

 40 Jalan SS2/72, 47300 Petaling Jaya

Tel : +603 7960 4353

Credit cards accepted