Hanare @ The Intermark Mall
April seems to be the month where I spend the most every year. Many of my close friends’ birthdays fall on the fourth month of the year. Celebrated the birthday of a special someone on 10th April 2016 at one of my favorite Japanese buffet restaurant at Hanare located at the Intermark Mall, Kuala Lumpur.
We made a reservation online via Table App and upon arrival they didn’t seem to be able to find us on their list. Luckily they still had some empty seats left. I guess a phone call is still more reliable.
First stop for me at any Japanese buffet is the sashimi. Loaded up on salmon bellies while we waited for the wagyu beef to be grilled.
Had a few pre-grilled stuff. I never fail to have a shishamo or two whenever at a Japanese restaurant. The ones here were a tad too tough and dry for my liking. Each person was entitled to 3 pieces of toro (tuna belly). The ones today were fresh and melted in our mouths.
Finally our food from the grill came. Best part of the whole buffet – Freeflow Wagyu. Awesome as always and it is the main reason I frequent Hanare. Scallops and prawns went really well with it. =D
Next up was the specially flown Hokkaido oyster which was in season. Each customer is entitled to only one piece each. It was really fresh and I just had lemon slices and a little special oyster sauce with it.
Dessert at Hanare are really commendable as well. They also serve Haagen Dazs ice cream for you sweet toothed people out there.
So, after a very filling and delicious meal, total damage – RM391.78 which comes up to a little under RM200 per person. Expensive I know, but I’d recommend everyone try this and enjoy authentic Japanese food. I’ve been spending a little too much this month, coupled with my recent watch purchase – the Seiko 5, I’ve spent close to RM1,200 in a month! Not exactly setting a good example of frugality but I’d say it was money well spent.
Note: The above post was originally published in April 2016.
Hanare 2017
I find myself at Hanare again today on 9 July 2017 to celebrate another special occasion. Hanare made a major change to their buffet – Free flow Wagyu beef is only available on Sundays at RM180 per pax. On Saturdays, they’ve switched to an a la carte buffet and you’re only entitled to 120 grams of Wagyu beef at RM160.
We arrived at 12pm sharp and got seated right away. Had a slightly unconventional start to the buffet with Matcha ice cream as everyone else clamored to get their Wagyu beef and sashimi.
After taking our time with the ice cream, we moved on to get ourselves some fresh sashimi.
As per Hanare’s policy, each customer was entitled to 3 pieces of fatty tuna. The tuna given this time around was much, MUCH tastier compared to last year’s. Melted right off in the mouth.
I then had some Chawanmushi to prepare myself for some grilled meat! The Chawanmushi was steamed to perfection and I actually had 3 of them.
Started off with some seafood – grilled scallops and prawns.
Filled ourselves with some Japanese red meat. Medium rare as always. We had 3 plates of these. I’m pretty sure that’s past the 120g limit for your Saturday a la carte buffet.
Hanare – 2019
I’m back with another Hanare post for 2019!
Food was good as usual but I noticed that Malaysians are spending much more on food than I thought. The place was almost full.
The Food
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End.
RM391.80 in 2016, a year later? RM419.75. And in 2019? RM417.60!!
So Hanare charged the same as it did 2 years ago. But it got cheaper because we abolished GST.
I’ve been coming to Hanare for a few years in a row now. Usually for special occasions and they’ve never failed to let me down. While glancing through their Facebook page, I’ve noticed some bad reviews and complaints by customers, mainly on the slow wait time for their Wagyu beef and Teppanyaki. I think Hanare has already got a handle on the issue and they’ve actually stationed two chefs there.
The service has always been outstanding as well. We got moved to a nice corner as one of their reservations was canceled. Their resident chef taking the time to explain the various cuts of sashimi, even giving us some salmon belly sashimi to savor. It’s the little things.
So please, give them a try!
Do you guys have any nice Japanese restaurants to recommend?
As always, thanks for reading.
