Himawari Japanese Restaurant in KL
Uncovering a good food spot off the general public’s radar feels almost like joining an underground club. At Himawari Japanese Restaurant, you won’t actually have to join a club to dine in, even though it’s tucked inside KL’s long-standing, membership-only The Japan Club.
For the uninitiated, the establishment operates in a building that opened as a local Japanese school in 1976, before being transformed into a clubhouse in 1995. Today it houses a library, a wellness spa, and a mini-mart, aside from Himawari.
An unpretentious restaurant serving hearty meals
We all love the MUJI-inspired ambience that most modern cafes these days go for. But there’s something special about the old-school vibes of Himawari. Enter this establishment and you’ll feel almost like you’re walking into your grandparents’ home for a meal – think tiled floors and sturdy light-wood furniture that feel familiarly nostalgic.
A wall of shelves in a corner of the dining space holds a sizable collection of manga in original Japanese – we spotted books from the Shima Kosaku and Jinji series among the various titles.
Food at Himawari
The restaurant’s menu is surprisingly expansive, despite its homey vibe. The food offerings span everything from comfort sides and salads, to sashimi to hot foods.
As we were there for lunch, we wanted something to fuel us up ahead of the second half of our workday. So we settled on the classics – Niku Udon (RM18) with beef slices and the Oyako Don (RM17.80).
These mains won’t smack you in the face with flavour. But we appreciated this – the dishes tasted akin to something that came out of a mum’s home kitchen. Their subtle, yet full and wholesome flavours will keep you eating your way to the bottom of your bowl.
We were especially floored by the broth of the noodle dish. The clear soup – don’t let the light colour fool you – was packed with deep-enough umami to perfectly complement the udon. The dish was piping hot and remained so even though we spent minutes snapping photos of it before digging in.
The tender, thinly-cut beef slices that interrupted each bite of udon were the best part.
As for the donburi, if you’re someone who appreciates milder flavours, this one’s for you. It has the typical chicken chunks blanketed with a layer of egg and slices of softened onion. The flavours will not shoot you to the moon, but you could always add a kick of spice to taste with some Japanese 7-flavour spice mix provided at your table.
How to get to Himawari Japanese Restaurant
It can be a little tricky to find Himawari Japanese Restaurant if it’s your first time coming here. But ‘discovering’ this hidden gem is actually part of the fun of dining here. As membership is required to access The Japan Club, visitors will have to register themselves with a guard at the entrance to dine at the restaurant.
Past the guardhouse, keep straight and take a left at the end of the road.
Image credit: Plus-PM
We recommend coming by via e-hailing. The parking spots on The Japan Club’s grounds are reserved for members, meaning visitors will have to park outside the entrance – and outside parking spots are hard to come by even if you don’t mind the walk in.
Comfort Japanese food near Mid Valley City
After coming here once, you might feel torn between wanting to keep the spot hush-hush and bringing it up to anyone looking for off-radar food recommendations. But we’re not ones to gatekeep.
Address: No.2, Jalan 1/86, Off Jalan Taman Seputeh, 58000 Kuala Lumpur
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 11.30am-2.30pm & 6pm-9.30pm | Sat & Sun 11.30am-9.30pm
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Cover image adapted from: TheSmartLocal Malaysia
Photography by Janet.