Saturday 14 September 2024

Chic, Damansara Utama

Back in August when I dined at Jay's Kitchen, I noticed the restaurant next door.


I recognized that it used to be Tomo Ramen Bar but now it is known as Chic with a very eye catching yellow signboard.


This little cafe touts itself as "Probably the Best Chicken Karaage in your neighbourhood". Well, well. I love chicken karaage and it's my partner's favorite when dining at Japanese restaurants. 


So I nipped next door and took a peek at their menu. Japanese Chicken Karaage with Yogurt Dipping Sauce - hmmmm...interesting! 


The menu extends beyond chicken karaage.


There is Unagi Don.


Seafood Don. And lots lots more that I can't post them all.


And oh, desserts too.


These desserts look pretty good.


I sat at the bar seating and that's how the entrance looked like from where I sat.


This is the interior and as you can see, it is a small cosy space. Lighting here is dim, so taking photos is a bit of a challenge.


Right in front of me at the counter were these jars of handmade (pumpkin seed) cookies. I was wondering how these taste like, they were small and thin with a pumpkin seed at the center. 


They serve coffee here. Woohoo! And I was given a sample of the cookies.


These cookies were good, crispy and crunchy, not too sweet. Very addictive I would say.


The coffee is pretty good too. 


It came with a shot of coffee jelly. Just eat the jelly direct because if you add it into the coffee, you can't suck it using the straw. It gets stuck >.<


So this was my order of Signature Golden Karaage Set with Mustard Fruity Yogurt dip.


I chose rice instead of ramen. My bowl of rice was topped with 4 big chunks of chicken karaage and edamame. The chicken chunks were crispy, tender, moist and juicy. Well, it's the best chicken karaage I have tasted so far (in the neighborhood). 


The dipping sauce was sweet and tangy with a mild citrussy note. For those of you who are terrified of yogurt, this dip does not taste like yogurt at all. It's like a good creamy salad dressing. I liked it although the chicken karaage is good on its own.


The (tiny) sides were nice accompaniments though I could do without the potato salad. And I do wish I could have a bigger portion of the pickled cucumbers which were very refreshing.


I have no complaints about the soup, it was nice.

And yes, I ordered a dessert, the Red Bean Strawberry Daifuku.


The daifuku came in this senduk nasi thingy. Notice the little rabbit? Sorry the photo is not clear due to the poor lighting.


At first I thought it was a small jelly but it turned out to be a grape, cut and fashioned into this little rabbit. I was wondering if I should eat the grape and I did hah..hah...

The daifuku is of course sweet by virtue of the sweet red bean paste. I wondered if the strawberries were dipped in syrup as they were also sweet. So one daifuku experience is enough for me.

However. I want chicken karaage again (of dear). I know that deep fried food is not good taken too often.


I won't be back so soon but when I do return, I want the 8 pieces karaage hee..hee..


When I left the cafe, their next door neighbor (Penang Kimberley Duck Kuih Chiap) was drying these trays of carbs. I was glad to see that they were doing all right.

10 comments:

  1. Thank you for your detailed review. It is very enjoyable to read about your dining experience. I am not too fond of deep fried food items now because they tend to be crunchy and crispy enough to make the inside of my mouth hurt a bit though I do eat them. Hahaha, I would eat that grape rabbit too 😋

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    1. Thank you! I used to get that injury on the top of my mouth when eating crispy things. But this chicken was not crispy hard if you get what I mean, so no injury.

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  2. Good that the chicken karaage were crispy on the outside and tender, moist, juicy on the inside. I will enjoy that too. I had green curry chicken with rice and glass noodles and raw cabbages at Changi Airport today for lunch.

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    1. Oh...green curry is delicious! I have not had that for a long time.

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  3. Chic is short for chicken, a very appropriate shop name.

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  4. Hmmm, they don't seem to be very confident when they say "probably" the best chicken kaarage...but glad that it turned out to be the best chicken karaage in your neighbourhood for you...lol. Wow, that's a huge daifuku...with a whole strawberry stuffed inside! Sometimes I wonder what's the difference between a mochi and a daifuku since some mochi also comes with a filling inside (I do love mochi with either red bean & black sesame).

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    1. From what I found out on Google, daifuku is a stuffed mochi but then mochi also has fillings. I guess mochi is the simple one without fancy fillings. I also love mochi, I love that chewy mouth feel.

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  5. I love this place! I can't resist any kind of fried chicken. Is better if the Unagi size is same as shown in the menu, or else I won't be disappointed. >_<
    For the first time I saw redmelon Daifuku (translated as watermelon Daifuku in the menu), which I think this fruit isn't suitable because it's "juicy".
    How they charge the cookies? By weight?

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    1. I suspect the redmelon is the honey dew or rockmellon because as you pointed out it can't be watermelon. The cookies are sold in jars or packets. They were clever to give me a small sample but I didn't buy because I don't eat such things on a regular basis. Hope you try this place soon :)

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