Two strikes and you're out! In this city when eateries mushroom everywhere, there is simply no room for error or shoddy service. Most time, the first strike out is the last. Loyalty is a dead thing when food is concerned, especially when the price of eating out has so skyrocketed.
The last time I ate at Watami was just before Christmas 2012 when I entertained my good friend from Sunway Putra Hotel, Lee Meng Hong. We both like Japanese food, and since he was in my home territory I thought it would be nice to treat him to a meal as opposed to him signing another meal for me. As such, I took him to Watami.
I shriveled up with mortification when the 6 kinds sashimi moriawase came out reeking. We smelt the odour of dead fish the moment the platter arrived. I protested and a new portion was brought out. The other dishes were less than stellar but it may have been the noisome smell of off fish which spoilt it.
Today, in celebration of Erin's first day at her new pre-school, I got our great family friend Evelyn over to Watami for lunch as I had some vouchers to off set the meal with. Wary of the last sashimi episode, but needing some high quality protein, I ordered the 3 variant sashimi which comprised of scallops, salmon and sweet prawns. Again, what was delivered was a portion that obviously the chef thought was being delivered to a food fool. It reeked of decaying brine - the kind of smell you get after the hot sun beats down on a beach at low tide. A complain, a re-presentation, but the only thing that was changed was the salmon. Are they really so inept in the kitchen? The scallops were this close of spoilt, with the ammonia-tinged bitterness which made me gag.
I ate one of the prawns and it tasted as if it had been soaked in ice water. No flavour, not even the muskiness of decay. I left the others. It was the worst waste of RM34.90 ever.
The Caesar salad was the same, still RM20.90.
The Saba Hiraki was a tad dry but overall edible at RM25.90, and Erin enjoyed her Gyuniku Udon at RM19.90.
Service was friendly and warm, and the Filipino manager, George, very apologetic about the sashimi, but Malaysian establishments do not give their staff autonomy to make decisions which can make or break a client relationship.
The staff are really sweet and the place is really nice, but sashimi coming out half rotten is despicable and a real game breaker. As Kit puts it: passable can be got elsewhere.
As such, despite the Salt card which gives me points with every bill, and their nice birthday gesture to me in November where they presented me brownies and a song, a restaurant is about food. If that fails, you can sing till the cows come home. This cow ain't coming close to Watami again.
Watami Japanese Casual Restaurant
Lot 01-07 First Floor Paradigm Mall
Kelana Jaya SS7/26A
Petaling Jaya
Tel: 03 7886 9661
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