The mushrooming of Japanese restaurants on the isle of Penang recently demonstrated that Japanese cuisine is much in demand, loved by Penangites or perhaps to cater for higher crowd of Japanese expats and visitors!

At present in suburb township like Bukit Jambul, there are more than a handful to pick from if you want to dine Japanese. Tsuruya Restaurant at i-Avenue Business Center opposite Bukit Jambul Complex is one of them. Next to Penang Road Transport Department (or JPJ), the facade of Tsuruya is decorated with tall potted planted and looks inviting.

As I entered, I was greeted by a Buddha statue in sitting posture. Of the bricks as backdrop, this corner was lighted up with some lovely candles. From here, the waitress would be waiting to assist you to get a table. Both left or right turns would lead you to be seated in tatami-style of seating which is arranged in a row. The row is designed in block whereby each table is separated by string curtain and provided with a shoes rack each.

Seven of us fitted just nicely on a table. Some of my friends had been there before and they recommended set dinner owing to its value for money. Each set would be served with rice, miso soup, chawanmushi (steamed egg custard), salad and fruits. Tsuruya does offer an a-la-carte menu as well but some dishes like Sukiyaki is only serving for a minimum of two people and above.

I picked 'Chicken Teriyaki and Horenso Itame' Set. The chicken was deep fried and cooked with BBQ sauce. Being a fan of salmon, My Significant Other asked for 'Sake Shio and Yasai Itame' set which was a piece of grilled salmon with salt and also served with fried mixed vegetable.

One of my friends' pick was 'Saba Shioyaki and Buta Pi-Man Itame' set. This set offers a mackeral fish to be
grilled with salt and served with sliced pork and green pepper.





While 'Kushi Katsu & Kare-Raisu' set is a deep fried pork cutlet served with Japanese curry rice. Apperance wise, this dish looked innovative!

Food presentation, interior and ambiance are excellent. However food quality and service, there are rooms for improvement. Hope things will get much better on the my next visit.

Direction:

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