Even in Malaysia, eating Japanese food is quite high-class food. There are cheap sushi shops that are circling on a conveyor belt, and there are shops that sell individual items at pop-up stores and sell them for takeaway, but the quality is different, and if you eat a lot of items containing good salmon, eel, tuna, etc. Finally, it is never cheap.
To eat Japanese food at “Bukit Bintang”, which is the busiest street in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, you have to make up for your pocket and choose a day to eat.
However, for someone like me who likes buffet style, especially Japanese-style buffets are almost like heaven.
This is because, at a buffet restaurant where I can only choose and eat dishes with high-quality ingredients, I am armed with the confidence that I can enjoy much more good stuff than I would in a non-buffet, which is my specialty.
This is a Japanese a la carte style buffet restaurant called “Mitasu” that I would like to introduce here. In other words, you can choose the number of items from about 60 dishes specified on the thick menu board, mark them on the paper placed on the table, and hand them over to the employee.
For example, if I want to eat salmon sushi, I mark the salmon sushi and the number as three plates. Since two pieces of sushi are usually served on a plate, if it is three plates, six pieces of sushi are served on a long pretty Japanese plate at once.
The problem is that the first order is given to the employee and the time limit starts to set to about two hours, so you have to do as many items as possible when placing an order at once. Because it takes quite a time to prepare and bring the food from the kitchen to the table. So, even if you sit for two hours and place a lot of orders, three to four times will be the maximum possible.
However, the food is really delicious because the kitchen makes it delicious and fresh depending on the food, hot or cold, every time you order. Even with the naked eye, it comes out beautifully plated and mouth-watering. So, it’s different from having the buffet food displayed in the most conventional restaurant setting and scoop the food by yourself on a plate. In that usual buffet setting, what you eat can be over-poured on the plate we like to devour, but it doesn’t look that appetizing, pretty or delicious with the naked eye.
But here, you can eat slowly because you can place an order and wait for the food to arrive while talking with friends and family. So this “A La Carte Style Buffet” can make you enjoy the chosen food more delicious and satisfying.
Another thing to keep in mind is that there is a steep penalty for every 100g of leftover food to avoid wasting food unnecessarily.
Since the penalty is quite high, you should never order a large number of foods that you will never eat or not able to smash. You may end up crying at the penalty for being greedy that you will have to pay a higher price than the price of the actual fixed buffet.
Speaking of sashimi that anyone must love to eat in Japanese cuisine, the sashimi here is really good. It’s good to have quite a variety of types, including salmon and tuna.
I usually seldom touch any type of fried food items at buffet restaurants, but the crispy prawn tempura here is so good I couldn’t stop getting more with every order.
I am told that there used to be raw oysters, but when I went, there were none.
In fact, my favorite fish is mackerel, so I have enough food for every type of mackerel on the menu. In particular, some of them are grilled mackerel, stewed mackerel in miso, etc. I am absorbing all the omega oils. If I eat too much mackerel, the oil will quickly flow into my mouth. After that, I couldn’t switch back to eating only fresh, clean sashimi.
Although it is a restaurant that focuses on fish and seafood itesm essentially, there is also beef rolled in mushrooms and lamb meat and more on the menu. Of course I do love the meats as well.
I’ve been to Mitasu several times, but I still vividly remember more than five plates of mutton I ordered together with a friend who is a Muslim colleague in Malaysia. haha!????
Last, not least, drinks include water and Japanese tea, served hot or cold. The drinks are available in the self-service corner. On the menu, there are many types of noodles and rice bowls commonly eaten in Japanese restaurants. There are also green tea and chocolate flavored ice creams, so you can enjoy dessert after eating enough food.
For Mitasu, the buffet price per person is around RM80(US$18) including tax. After service charge and sales tax of 16% are added. You can’t find a restaurant in Bukit Bintang where you can eat with this quality at this price.
During this Covid time, the price may have gone up even more now, so be sure to check with Mitasu Restaurant.
You must make a reservation for Mitasu. If you just go without a reservation, you will be upset because there are no tables. It is always crowded, so it is essential to make a reservation by setting the date and number of people.
And one good news is that Mitasu has opened one more restaurant on the outskirts, so you might consider going to a less crowded place instead of going to the first one in Bukit Bintang, which is way too busy and packed.
Honestly, it is one of my personal top 5 restaurants that I definitely want to go back after the Covid period is over.
<Address>
Mitasu Japanese Restaurant
Central Plaza, 2506, Jalan Sultan Ismail, Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur
Mitasu Japanese Rest – Old Klang Road
Lot 306, Jalan Klang Lama, Batu 3, 58000 Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur