Daidomon Japanese BBQ Buffet @ Great Eastern Mall, Jalan Ampang, KL

@ Level 3 Great Eastern Mall

Interior

If you are a big fan of BBQ Ox tongue and beef slices, Daidamon's buffet is value for money. For just RM45.90++ per head, you will be able to feast on unlimited amounts of ox tongue, tripe, beef harami, beef ribs, yukke, sashimi, chicken, fish, seafood, hot Japanese dishes, green tea, cordial drinks, fruits, desserts and etc.

Sashimi, Karubi&Harami, Prawns

The buffet package also came along with 1 serving of oysters in a foil, and 1 serving of scallops per person, which we found to be fresh and delicious.

Rosu, Scallops, Honetsuki

Ox Tongue, Oysters, Gyu Tataki

However, apart from the BBQ Beef dishes most of the other dishes were at best, mediocre. Most of the hot dishes on the buffet spread table were cold and soggy, and the salmon sashimi was sliced very crudely and lacking In freshness. Additionally, the fruits and salads on the spread were not covered and I saw a couple of flies hanging around it. The biggest dissapointment of the night was the BBQ prawns. Although it was huge in size, the meat was soft and mushy.

Mushrooms

Yukke Sashi

All BBQ buffet dishes here are served only when ordered. As a party of 4, we ordered many rounds of ox tongue. On our 6th round and onwards, we found that the tongue was more frozen than chilled, and got progressively harder to chew on. However, this could be a one-time off scenario as some of our friends recently visited and did not experienced any frozen beef even after their 10th serving. They however, complained that even when they had specifically ask the waiter to bring a bigger portion when serving, the waiter still brought a small serving of 5 slices only.

Buffet Spread

Verdict:

On the night we visited, there were only 1 or 2 other tables occupied. With such a buffet spread (mixture of bbq meat + sashimis & Japanese dishes), Daidamon should be packed with customers. Perhaps due to their lack of quality control, business is slow and they should definitely start correcting these issues. If you plan to offer buffets, always offer with a generous heart - good portions and high quality. There are so many restaurants mushrooming out every month in the city. It only takes one bad impression before patrons write you off for good.

On weekends the dinner buffet is slightly more expensive at RM 55.90 ++. If Wagyu Beef is your thing, they also offer a dinner buffet with unlimited wagyu at RM 88 ++ per head.

Toothpick says : Will visit again to see whether presentation and quality have improved.


Sandal says : Skip the food on the buffet table. Choose only the made-to-order dishes from the buffet menu.


Address :
Lot 4, Level 3, Great Eastern Mall
No. 303 Jln Ampang
50450 Kuala Lumpur
Tel : (603) 4252 8155

GPS : 
N = 3° 9' 36.75", E = 101° 44' 12.88"

Google Map : 
3.160215, 101.736906

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Ma Maison @ Ampang

Ma Maison - My Home

Somewhere in a quiet residential area in Ampang sits a cozy, warm, simple, unpretentious French restaurant. Ma Maison is the ultimate place to visit if you are craving French fare with reasonable portions and exquisite taste. Sandal and I have been here quite a number of times but this is the first time that we actually remembered to bring our camera along.

Prawn Bisque @ RM16

Oysters directly flown in from France @ RM8/pc

For starters we had the prawn bisque and two air flown French oysters. The prawn bisque was perfect; light with a strong aromatic flavor of prawns and saffron unlike Ze American counterpart of comfort soups which are usually too thick and creamy. As for the oysters, they were not only fresh but sweet and Chef Bertrand (the owner) was kind enough to give us one extra complimentary oyster.

Cod Fillet @ RM46

For mains I had the Cod Fillet with basil and lemon butter and Sandal, the Veal Sweet Bread with green peppercorn which is actually the glands of the veal (Sandal being very adventurous today). There was only ONE word to describe the Cod - DIVINE. It was cook perfectly; in timing and in style. The texture of the fish was  succulent, bouncy and firm. In fact, texture wise I have not tasted another which comes even remotely close to, and trust me, I have eaten cod in many different restaurants. The sauce that accompanied it was buttery yet light, and this allowed the sweet natural taste of the fish to shine out.

Veal Sweet Bread with Green Peppercorn @ RM60

Potato Au Gratin

On the other hand, Sandal's veal was actually rather strange tasting albeit having a good chewy texture. The sauce that accompanied it was very nice (Chef Bertrand is a pro at making sauces) but the veals' glands actually had a very strange, bland taste to it. Perhaps it wasn't our cup of tea, after all the both of us are not big fans of organs. So much for being adventurous eh? However, we loved the potato Au Gratin which came with the veal!

For dessert we were looking forward to  the very delicious moist, rich chocolate cake drizzled liberally with vanilla sauce served here. Alas! it was not to be as the cake was sold out during lunch.

** Dear Readers,

    I recently visited Ma Maison for lunch (1st Dec 2010) and found that they have changed 

    their Chocolate Cake recipe. I regret to inform that the new recipe is a disappointment and 

    the texture of the cake was very dry. For any readers who have  visited and  tried the cake 

    based on my recommendation above, please accept my sincerest apologies if you found 

    the new cake to be as excruciatingly bad as I did yesterday.

Romantic Little Gem

If you have never been here, do do drop by. We have tried the beef, foie gras, duck, venison, veal (meat not the glands) and we can strongly vouched that nearly everything we have tried here is delicious.

If you are in KL during lunch hour, they also have a lunch set for just RM 32 nett, where you can choose a main meal from two options given and have a free appetizer buffet which features pate, Kalamata olives, caramelized onions, cheeses, garlic bread, tuna salad, apple salad, egg salad and pasta. All very delectable.

Verdict :

I love love love this restaurant as it is unpretentious and all the prices you see in the menu is nett. Furthermore, Ma Maison offers complimentary plain water (instead of forcing you to buy bottled water at a ridiculous price), and that to me is a mark of a true first class establishment.

Our meal came up to RM 138, and in my opinion, was very reasonable for a French restaurant of this quality. However, do take note that Ma Maison does not offer credit card facilities so be sure to have cash when you bring your date to this romantic little gem.

Toothpick says : Hearty, good food at a reasonable price

Sandal says : One of my favourite dining places

Address :

32 Persiaran Ampang,

Desa Pahlawan,

55000 Kuala Lumpur.

(Open daily except Tuesday)

GPS :

N = 3° 9' 28.92", E = 101° 44' 49.05"

Google Map : 
3.158033, 101.746958