Jac: Sushi again, what can we say? We must have been Japanese in a past life. It’s my third time eating at this outlet in the short span of time it’s been open and we finally get to write about it because we brought the camera in tow. Not quite Japanese fine dining being a kaiten belt kind of outlet, but the reasonable prices and an interesting menu makes it a good choice for those on a budget.

Bran: Despite being a franchise of restaurants, Sushi Zanmai still manages to set itself apart from other sushi joints like Sushi King, Genki Sushi and Sakae Sushi. The warmly lit surroundings make for a more relaxed atmosphere, although we found it a tad bit too dim further within and decided to sit at the counter section of the kaiten belt.

Jac: We started of with a soft shell crab maki. Adequate, run-of-the-mill fare.

Bran: It was alright, possibly not as crispy as it could have been if freshly prepared but since I was hungry, I’d taken it off of the conveyor belt, risking the possibility that it might have made the rounds

Jac: Next was Kaki maki fry roll, which was a fried oyster roll. I didnt quite like it because the spicy mayonaise they used had a green taste to it (spring onions? chives?) that I didn’t like and fried oyster also had no discernible taste whatsoever. The strangest thing, I seem to have forgotten to take a picture of the roll. Think I’ve just committed the cardinal sin of amateur food bloggers, talking about food with no tangible pictures for the reader to look at. Bad blogger!

Bran: I loved the crispiness of the oyster tempura within the maki and while it seemed like there was little to no oyster in the tempura, it was rather tasty otherwise. Be prepared to wait, this was the last of the dishes to arrive, sometime after we’d gotten through the other food. (And don’t worry about Jac’s ‘green taste’. She just hates spring onions and things that taste like it. )

Jac: Bran had the curry ramen. Not something I would choose for myself but I have to admit the sweetish curry was pretty tasty.

Bran: I’d expected this to be one of those typical curry ramen dishes served at sushi joints – blatantly out of the packet and permeating with MSG. How wrong I was! The curry was lovely and refined, and good to the last drop. If you’re a lover of Japanese curry, this won’t disappoint.

Jac: I loved my Niki Soba. The dish of soba noodles in beef broth with slivers of beef strips garnished with seaweed was simplicity at its best. Clean, clear, and satisfyingly flavourful.

Bran: That’s Jac and her love of sweet sukiyaki like soups…

Jac: We’d had plates of the Salmon Mentai nigiri the first time we ate here and I’d been dreaming of the taste ever since so obviously this was a must have. The sliced salmon topped with roe that’s been slightly seared with a blow torch just melts in your mouth.

Bran: The salmon mentai is definitely must-order. I’d even hazard that this is one of Sushi Zanmai’s more defining dishes.

Bran: The scallops were nice and tender, although scallops being scallops, are best eaten as fresh as possible, which is something that we’ll probably never get here in Malaysia. It’s all frozen scallops here.

Her verdict

Ambience: 7
Service: 7
Food: 7
Worth a re-visit: Yes, and even more often if Gardens Midvalley were closer to where we live.

His verdict:

Ambience: 8
Service: 7
Food: 7

I prefer the atmosphere at Sushi Zanmai over all the other common sushi joints – it had a nice blend of relaxed cosiness. The service was also quite respectable and while it did take quite some time for the kaki maki to arrive, it was because they had had to fry up a fresh tempura to go with it.