Saturday, January 19, 2013

Tsuruya Japanese Restaurant @ e-Gate Penang

For those who frequent e-Gate at Penang, one will surely have seen the Japanese restaurant there called Tsuruya. This restaurant has been there for a couple of years already and commands a steady stream of regulars. They have recently released a couple of new items to their menu and I was fortunate enough to get to sample it recently. This menu is targeted for those looking for authentic Japanese snack food which are great complements for some beer or sakae! Thus, for those who like some drinks and great Japanese snacks, this is something that you can consider to try at Tsuruya. Enjoy looking through the blog post ya.

Its right next to Old Town Kopitiam at e-Gate.

 The simple exterior. You can choose to sit inside or outside but its typically kind of hot outside

 They have a wide selection of Sakaes as well as Japanese branded beers here
 To start off, why not try their Gobo Salad. The gobo is thinly sliced and then deep fried. This was very appetizing and at only RM8 per plate.
 Of course, any Japanese restaurant would surely have green tea served
 Take a breather to admire their unique lightings

 This is their Pork Yaki Niku, which is basically BBQ marinated pork. The pork was very tender and flavorful. This one is slightly saltier and thats why its great with beer to wash it down. This one is going for RM15.
 This is the Ton Pey Cheese Yaki. Well, hot plate with a cheesy egg omelette really can't go wrong and this is really a typical Japanese snack. For RM16, its a little pricey but this one is surely filling and good for 2 to 3 person to share.
 Now, besides the Gobo salad earlier, they also have the Gobo Tempura for the same price. Now this is for those who like a little more bite as the thicker slices of Gobo retains its chewiness compared to the salad version. I personally like the salad version more :)
 BBQ items just can do no wrong as complements for drinks and the Buta Buta Tare, RM10 for 2 sticks is surely one of them. This is pork belly slices skewered with vegetables, ladled with Teriyaki sauce and then BBQed!
Besides the above, this is the Tomato Bacon Maki for RM10, you get 2 sticks with 3 rolls each of cherry tomato that is wrap with bacon and then grilled. When you bite into this, you first get the aroma of the bacon and then the burst from the tomato. Love it
  Now, at first I had no idea what this was as the name Mentaiko Yaki at RM18, sounded like something very unique. Well, this is actually flying fish roe at its original form and I have to say, on first bite, it was as if I was eating salt. It was salty and you should definitely squeeze a good amount of the lemon juice onto it. BUt again, with sakae, this is nice.
 Hehe, skewered minced pork on a stick and BBQ. For RM5 per stick, this is probably the least impressive of the samples for the night. The meat was just too compressed making it abit tough.
 A unique twist to tempura prawns, the Ebi Fried Cheese Tare, RM18, you get 3 large prawn tempura that instead of being coated in a thick tempura coating, they have modified it to be shredded sweet potato. It comes with a unique dip that Tsuruya came up with and its nice to see a new twist to all time favorites.

 And finally we sampled their White Dragon Maki, RM20, where you have a nice roll with a top layer of salmon. I really enjoyed this maki and it really is a good filler to end the night.
Finally we also got to meet the chef at Tsuruya, chef Lee Cheng Siang. Good work and keep it up!
 Just look at the crowd still there even though its already about 10pm.

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