En Ginza Cafe

February 21, 2012

En Ginza Cafe

En Ginza (pronounced as ‘Ann Ginja’) Cafe is a dining place nestled in a corner of the newly opened Tokyo Street on Level 6, Pavilion, a popular shopping centre in Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur. ‘En’ refers to circle while ‘Ginza’ refers to a trendy area in Tokyo. The restaurant is owned by En Group, a Singapore-based restaurant chain, which opened its first restaurant 11 years ago. According to Mr. Raymond Ng, the Director of En Group, the group’s restaurant in Kuala Lumpur is actually its 23rd branch and it has no intention to slow down.

En Ginza Café offers the culinary fusion of Japanese menu and French bakery, which is its unique selling point and different from the other Japanese restaurants in Kuala Lumpur. You will be hard-pressed you are looking for sushi and wasabi in this restaurant since they don’t serve those typical dishes. However, if you are up for an interestingly unconventional dining experience and intend to surprise yourself, En Ginza is definitely the place.The interior of En Ginza is simple yet elegant through generous use of wood. The lighting is also soothing, making the restaurant’s ambience remarkably inviting and comfortable. During our visit, Gaya Travel team sat in one corner where we could observe the entire restaurant. We must say that Mr. Raymond Ng and his team must have put their hearts and souls into setting up this place.

En Ginza Cafe

Wafu Pumpkin Bread Bowl Soup

Wafu Mentai Spaghetti

Chicken Katsu Curry Udon

Our dinner started off with Wafu Pumpkin Bread Bowl Soup, whereby the plain pumpkin soup and served in a bread bowl. The soup was creamy and replete with pieces of pumpkin matched well with the cream. Japanese tofu with Anchovy Salad then followed. The mixture of fresh tomatoes, lettuce, tofu and anchovies topped with onion dressing was rather irregular yet titillating.After we finished off our appetisers, we were served with the entree dishes: Chicken Katsu Curry Udon and Wafu Mentai Spaghetti. Udon is a type of Japanese noodle made up of wheat flour cooked in curry gravy and served with a piece of crispy-fried chicken fillet. The richness of the curry enveloped the plain udon while the chicken fillet complements the taste. Wafu Mentai Spaghetti (or in in other words, prawn spaghetti with fish roe) possesses lighter and creamier taste that washes away the spiciness of the curry.

En Ginza Cafe

Our favourite part was the dessert and we had Tofu Cheesecake. Who would have thought that tofu – the traditional Japanese food made from soy – could be brilliantly developed into a cheesecake and tasted marvellously? We were quite taken in with the light taste of tofu mixed with the creamy taste of cheese. Should any of our reader happen to order this cheesecake in En Ginza, be sure to slather some strawberry sauce (which is also provided on the side) onto the cheesecake to truly end your dining experience on a high note.

We ended our fabulous dinner with freshly brewed café latte containing macaroons, which is the restaurant’s signature beverage, among others. As its name suggests, En Ginza is indeed a trendy and happening venue where family and friends could meet and feast over extraordinary gastronomical delights.