Here's something very overdue - our visit to Uokatsu was during LC's birthday in August. After many tantalizing food photos and raving reviews, I had to find out for myself if the quality of the food was as good as the photos.
Click to zoom in on the menus!
The 2 page menu may seem short but it's extensive - there's sashimi, grilled seafood, rice dishes, snacks, drinks and desserts to choose from.
The sushi chef here seems to be Japanese so that may ensure good quality sushi and sashimi at all times? They work within a very confined space and the restaurant itself probably only has 20 tables so be prepared to say 'hi' to your table neighbor that may be seated just 15 centimeters away from you.
Green Tea was RM2 per person and is refillable. There was a floral scent in the mild tasting tea. Not to my taste nor LC's.
I was hoping to catch their homemade dried saba but it was not available so I settled for a Salt Grilled Saba [RM6.50]. You get a half-portion of deliciously well-cooked saba, succulent without the usually strong fishiness of the saba. I'd say the dried saba would've been even better.
Because there was no salmon sashimi on the menu, LC ordered the recommended Ocean Trout [RM19.50] as it was said to be the most similar to salmon. It turned out to be very different from salmon sashimi. Boo. The slices however were thick and probably have a nice chew to it. If trout is your thing, this would've been good.
LC's order of grilled shishamo [RM12] was delicious. It was the fattest shishamo I've ever had and it tasted fresh from head to tail.
The mentai rice [RM19] at Uokatsu made many rounds on instagram and I can see why. The mentai was fresh and creamy on top of the slices of tamago. The only downside is the small portion - we want more!
The Grilled Whole Japan Squid [RM24] was one of the highlights of our meal. The squid was cooked really well, with no rubbery textures, not even from the tentacles. We were not too fond of the sauce it came with but the squid was tasty enough on its own or with a slight dip into soy sauce.
After having the squid and saba, our confidence in the food was quite high so we decided to order something a little extravagant on the menu - the [RM100] Unagi Kabayaki. We had high hopes for the unagi, at that price we were hoping that it would at least match the quality of unagi we had in Osaka's Kuromon Market.
Our verdict? Sadly not worth the RM100 paid. The unagi was tasty yes but the flesh was really soft as though it has been refrigerated for too long. The texture was a real disappointment for us and when consulted with the waiter, we were told it's meant to be like that. Strange.
We're still glad we made the trip to Uokatsu though. The grilled items and the mentai rice were excellent, I can't say the same for the rest. If the craving for really good grilled saba and squid kicks in, I know where to go for a fix.