CRIZ BON APPETITE

Japanese beverages are not only on green tea or sake but also on coffee as of today Japan is among the world’s largest importers of coffee. With this statistic, coffee lovers from around the globe are eyeing on Japan’s booming specialty coffee scene with vast imports of coffee beans from great coffee-growing countries around the world. There are various preparation methods available such as aeropress, French press, paper drip and more to cater to the needs of its consumers. Penangites would be happy as a famous Japanese coffee has landed on the shore. Doutor Coffee Japan continues to grow in Malaysia with its fourth outlet now in Gurney Plaza Penang, Malaysia. The opening ceremony is officiated by the Executive Chairman of Texchem Resources Bhd, Tan Sri Dato’ Seri (Dr) Fumihiko Konishi and President of Doutor Nichires Holdings Co. Ltd., Mr. Masanori Hoshino.

The very first Doutor outlet in Tokyo’s Harajuku district which was founded in 1980 by Mr. Hiromichi Toriba was a teeny-tiny 30sqm. Despite its humble beginnings, today Doutor Coffee has an international presence throughout outlets in Taiwan, Singapore and now in Malaysia; with three outlets opened late last year – in Aeon Tebrau, Johor Bahru, Sunway Velocity Mall and Aeon Bukit Tinggi. “While the coffee market is growing all over South-East Asia, Doutor decided to open in Malaysia because they found a good partner in the Texchem Group, which owns 106 Sushi King Outlets in Malaysia, so they know what to do, and we can expand easily,” says Mr. Minoru Mori, the Deputy Managing Director of Doutor Malaysia.

Doutor Coffee is renowned for its roasted beans, which are open-flame roasted, a method that takes a lot of time and involves a labyrinthine process that yields complex, richly flavored coffee beans. As open-flame roasting traditionally only allows for 5kg to 20kg of coffee to be roasted at a time, Doutor developed its own industrialized open-flame roasting equipment to achieve the results that it wanted, using larger quantities of coffee. According to Director of Doutor Nichires Holdings Co., Ltd who is also a Master Roaster; Mr. Masahiro Kanno personally goes to select the beans that Doutor uses from over 10,000 plantations from all over the world, including its very own plantation in Kona, Hawaii. As such, Doutor Coffee practices the ‘3 FRESH’ philosophy; freshly roasted, freshly ground and freshly brewed. Doutor ensures that it provides freshly brewed coffee and fresh food inspired by Japan which is prepared upon order.

The Doutor chain in Malaysia is designed to cater to the different Malaysian taste buds with a beverage menu that not only offers Espresso-based coffee, mixed blends, and hand-brewed coffee of single origin, but also whips up non-coffee beverages for non-coffee drinkers. The hot food choices are prepared fresh and are inspired by Japanese elements and ingredients. There are also a range of cakes, desserts and pastries. Serving artisanal coffee with a modern and contemporary ambience which offers comfortable experiences for their patrons, Doutor aims to be a local hangout spot for ‘Penangites’.

Now let’s head onto some of items served in Doutor Coffee Japan in Penang. Firstly, let’s look at their beverages section where they have Hand Brewed Coffee (RM8.90), Honey Latte (RM12.90), Cafe Mocha (RM11.90), Signature Crème Brulee Latte (RM15.90), Signature Military Latte (RM15.90) and a specially concocted beverage for Penang, the Fizzy Berry Soda (RM13.90).

I quite like the Military Latte as it had the prefect ratio of espresso and matcha to my liking. Moreover, their Signature Crème Brulee Latte was superb as the creamy bitterness combined with the burned crisp of the added brown sugar was simply irresistible.

Next, we have the pasta section where you could try out their Signature Spaghetti (RM14.90), Seafood Tomato Sauce Spaghetti (RM16.90), Mentai Shrimp Spaghetti (RM18.90), Carbonara with Yolk & Bacon Spaghetti (RM15.90) and more. Somehow, their Signature Spaghetti caught my attention the most as the overall dish was colorful and had all the ingredients which I like such as chicken ham, sausage, shimeji mushroom, eggplant, tomato, spinach, onsen egg and sesame. Each mouthful was truly well balanced and heavenly.

As for the rice dishes, we also tried out their Fluffy Soufflé Doria (RM19.90) and Fluffy Omu Rice (RM17.90). Both were equivalent tasty but I fancy the Fluffy Soufflé Doria more due to its unique presentation.

There was also the sandwich section where everyone can indulge into their Shrimp Avocado Sandwich (RM14.90), Shrimp & Tuna Sandwich (RM14.90), Sukiyaki Beef Sandwich (RM14.90), Tuna Cheddar Sandwich (RM12.90) and Teriyaki Chicken Sandwich (RM12.90). I quite like the Tuna Cheddar Sandwich with the oozy cheesiness.

As for desserts, they do have many signature items to tempt your sweet tooth. Some of them include Matcha Soufflé Pancake (RM14.90), Vanilla Soufflé Pancake (RM13.90), Matcha Soufflé (RM8.90), Vanilla Soufflé (RM8.90) and Caramel French Toast (RM15.90).

Since the options in different outlets may differ a bit, do click on the Penang outlet menu to enlarge to have a clearer view:

Overall, I’m pleased with the spreads available here as it caters for all ages under one roof. Moreover, each dish is not more than RM20. Some of the dishes such as their Signature Spaghetti, soufflés and coffee are rather interesting with the right taste and texture to my liking. However, services during peak hours of the day could be a bit chaotic. Please bear in mind that they are still new and would need some time to get everything in proper.

Doutor Coffee Japan is located at the al fresco area of Gurney Plaza, opposite G Hotel and next to Dome. If you would like to buy good quality coffee for your home, this cold brew coffee online is a great option to find incredible flavors and good prices.

Name: DOUTOR COFEE JAPAN @ GURNEY PLAZA
Address: 170-G-41 Ground Floor (al fresco area), Gurney Plaza, Persiaran Gurney, 10250 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: N/A
Business Hours: 10.00am-10.00pm (Sunday-Thursday), 10.00am-11.00pm (Friday & Saturday)
GPS: 5.437830, 100.310012

RATING:
Ambience: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 8/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 7.5/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 7/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

About Doutor Malaysia: D&N Coffee and Restaurant Malaysia Sd.n Bhd. was established as a joint venture company between Texchem Restaurant Systems Sdn. Bhd. (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Texchem Resources Bhd) and D&N International Co. Ltd. from Japan, making it one of the newest subsidiaries under the Texchem Group of Companies. D&N Coffee and Restaurant Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. aims to continue expanding more outlets in 2017 under its brand.

Malaysia’s all-time favorite Halal certified Japanese restaurant, Sushi King from nationwide, would be promoting its “Japanese Curry with a Kick” from 1 April 2017 until 30 June 2017. Sushi King is introducing an exclusive Japanese curry menu with added punchy ‘kick’ to suit the local taste buds and spicy enough to fire up any Malaysian’s savory palate. The special menu would be available for a limited time in which various authentic Japanese fare would be merged with a spicy twist and mouthwatering flavors for those adventurous foodies who love to have “spicier” moments in their lives. Do click on the poster below to enlarge for a better view.

To start off the new introductions, let’s personalize your order. Diners can choose any of the 3 options available for the curry rice, namely Chicken Katsu (deep fried chicken), Seafood Fry (deep fried prawns & fish) or Yakiniku (pan fried beef slices), followed by your choice of spiciness pairing level such as Curry, Tomato Curry and Spicy Curry. Please be warned that even the toughest and most seasoned ‘fiery-food-lover’ do find the Spicy Curry to be such a challenge without triggering the gustatory hyperhidrosis of profuse sweating~ Haha~ 🙂

Summarized Steps:
Step 1: Choose One (1) Main Curry Rice (Chicken Katsu, Seafood Fry or Yakiniku)
Step 2: Choose One (1) Spiciness Level (Curry, Tomato Curry or Spicy Curry)
Step 3: Wait for your personalized dish to arrive

We were then served with the hot plate style Grilled Cheese Curry (RM13.90++), a heat infused version of the Chicken Katsu Curry Rice as above but with an additional piece of melted cheese. The combination was tasty, giving that extra umami flavor into the dish.

The next dish which was the Curry Kiryu Udon (RM13.90++) was quite an interesting dish as it’s hardly available outside of Kiryu City, Gunma Prefecture, Japan. The famous smooth textured flat and wide noodles complemented well with the mildly spiced up curry broth, topped with tempura prawn, kani sticks and a few chopped stalks of spring onions. In fact, I felt in love with the dish at first bite~ 😛

Next on the list was the Agedashi Beef Curry (RM18.90). The dish came with a set of deliciously pepped up fried bean curd, pan fried beef, Shimeji mushrooms and cheese in a nicely spiced up curry base, served with a bowl of steamed Japanese rice, miso soup and chawanmushi. It was indeed a heavenly combination. However, it would be great if the kitchen would have the option for chicken for those non beef consumers.

Sushi King did also introduce 4 other curry based sushi in this promotion, namely Aburi Curry Tamago (flame grilled egg with cheese and curry mayonnaise – RM3.00++), Curry Tori Katsu Gunkan (deep fried chicken with curry mayonnaise – RM4.00++), Curryfornia Roll (crabstick, cucumber, egg and flying fish roe, served with curry piri-piri sauce – RM5.00++) and Curry Ebi Fry Nigiri (deep fried prawn with curry mayonnaise – RM6.00++). I really could not decide which one out of the 4 items served were the best as each item has their unique flavors.

We were also introduced to two new desserts in Sushi King, which were the Matcha Ice Cream Doughnut (RM4.90++) and Vanilla Ice Cream Doughnut (RM4.90++). Both were simply refreshing after a hefty meal of curried meals.

MOTHERS’ DAY GIVEAWAY!

Since Mothers’ Day would be here on 14 May 2017, why not celebrate this eventful day with your loving mother by trying to win yourself some Sushi King cash vouchers? The steps are rather simple as below. Good luck to all~ 🙂

Step 1: LEAVE a short comment in this blog post. (Eg. Nice giveaway, Great place for family gathering, etc.)
Step 2: Go to SUSHI KING FACEBOOK CONTEST, LIKE, SHARE the post and TAG 3 friends. Please end with the hashtag #MySKCurry (Eg. Name 1, Name 2, Name 3 #MySKCurry)
Step 3: COMMENT on my FACEBOOK POST in not more than 20 words after the next sentence, “I want to win some Sushi King cash vouchers to celebrate Mothers’ Day as my Mum …” and end the sentence with the hashtag #MySKCurry (Eg. I want to win some Sushi King cash vouchers to celebrate Mothers’ Day as my Mum is the greatest in this world. #MySKCurry)

Terms & Conditions:
1. This giveaway is only valid for those residing in Malaysia only.
2. Contest period ends at 12.00pm, 22 April 2017
3. The participant will be disqualified if failed to comply to any of the abovementioned step
4. Each participant can only win ONE (1) prize.
5. Winners will be tagged on the Facebook giveaway post by 12.00pm, 23 April 2017. The most creative comments will win prizes as stated below.
6. The organizer’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entertained

Prizes:
– Grand Prize: RM100 x 1
– 2nd Prize: RM50 x 1
– Consolation Prize: RM30 x 1

Overall, I’m so happy that finally Sushi King has finally introduced spicier dishes into their menu, though it’s just for a short period of time. I’m sure Malaysians, who are used to various spicy dishes in their daily meals would be pleased with the many options available. The Kiryu Udon is not something that is common in this region and Sushi King made it possible for us to try it out. It was indeed a great experience for all of us.

The Sushi King @ Gurney Plaza is located at level 2 of the new wing. Just use the escalator up to level 2 and you can see the outlet on the right.

Name: Sushi King @ Gurney Plaza
Address: Lot No. Lot 170-02-58, Plaza Gurney, Persiaran Gurney, 10250 Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: +604-227 5285
Business Hours: 10.00am-10.00pm
GPS: 5.437096, 100.309867

RATING:
Ambience: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 8/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 8/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 9/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

About Sushi King: Sushi Kin Sdn Bhd was established in 1995, introducing sushi on the kaiten (conveyor belt) to Malaysia through its well-known brand, Sushi King. This chain of restaurants serves quality sushi and other Japanese cuisine at affordable prices in a warm and friendly environment. What sets Sushi King apart is the personal touch of serving freshly made sushi on the kaiten for customers to pick up and enjoy. From a single outlet in Kuala Lumpur, Sushi King has expanded to 100 outlets and counting throughout the Klang Valley and even covering nearly every state across the nation, making it the largest Japanese kaiten concept chain of restaurants in Malaysia. Sushi Kin Sdn Bhd is a member of the Texchem Group of Companies, being one of over thirty-five subsidiaries under Texchem Resources Bhd (Texchem), a Malaysia-based multinational, listed on the main board of Bursa Malaysia. Texchem has four core business divisions – Restaurant Division, Industrial Division, Food Division and Polymer Engineering Division.