Saturday, June 25, 2011

Ri Yakitori is one of those restaurants I’ve always wanted to try but have never done so because of its location. The thought of getting stuck in traffic and finding parking in "The Gardens" have kept me away from Ri until I finally had a real reason to visit Mid-Valley. My brother Kim had booked a movie I really wanted to watch for 7:30pm at GSC.

Ri is a Yakitori Bar that specializes in grilled foods with an emphasis on Chicken. Nearly every part of the Chicken is available for order including a few Rice Dishes and also some Beef Skewers. We were seated at the counter where we had a chat with our Yakitori Master-Chef who hails from Osaka while we waited for our food to be grilled.


Complimentary Salad
Complimentary Salad
Our Salad came with a Wasabi and Sesame Dressing. The Lettuce is shredded so finely and had a nice crunch that was very refreshing to eat. It reminded me of the salad I had in Genkatsu, Tokyo.


Grilled Shiitake
Grilled Shiitake
Seasoned simply with just Salt. It was Juicy and packed a lot flavor. Went well with the Bonito Flakes.


Chicken Breast Bone
Chicken Breast Soft Bone (Nankotsu)
I love Nankotsu and the one at Ri was really good. Unlike other places which only served the Softbone, Ri has the Softbone sandwiched between some Chicken Meat that was surprisingly not overcooked.


Chicken Gizzard
Chicken Gizzard (Sunagimo)
The Gizzard was disappointing. It was very dry and overcooked.


Chicken Cartilage
Chicken Cartilage
Another favorite of mine. Somehow at Ri it is a little too dry and I couldn’t not really taste the Chicken Flavor from the Fat surrounding the Cartilage.


Chicken Thigh and Leek
Chicken Thigh and Leek (Negima)
This was good. The Thigh Meat was tender and juicy with the Leeks nicely charred.


Chicken Thigh Meat
Chicken Thigh Meat (Yakitori)
The Chicken Thigh Skewer was very dry and overcooked.


Wagyu Beef
Wagyu Beef
This was not bad. The Tip was a little hard from being too cooked. But the middle and bottom half was very tender.


Gyu Tongue
Gyu Tongue
The Gyu Tongue was a little overcooked and bland.


Chicken Donburi
Chicken Donburi
Kim ordered this. The Donburi was actually pretty good. The egg was left runny giving it a rich flavor to the tender pieces of Chicken Meat and Rice


Overall I had mixed feelings about Ri Yakitori. Some Skewers will well cooked and seasoned but others particularly my favorite Chicken Cartilage, Chicken Gizzard and Gyu Tongue were not very good. However with only two Yakitori Bars I know off in KL Valley I would definitely visit Ri again whenever I have cravings for some Yakitori.

Food: 3.5/5
Service: 4/5
Ambiance: 4.5/5
Price: $$ (Approximately $25 per person)


Contact Information
Address: 7th Floor, The Gardens Hotel,
Mid Valley City, Lingkaran Syed Putra, KL.
Tel: +603-22681188

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