Hail To The Shogun

A year ago, I wasn't a fan of hotel restaurants. I would have snubbed the snobbish menu that contains what I believe are overpriced bland food. My mind had changed over the past few months because one of my friends was insisting we try hotel restaurants whenever we go out. We're not rich; we just meet each other once in a blue moon that we consider those rare times worth celebrating up a notch. Remember Garden Barbecue? Yup, she was with me during that enjoyable time. We tried avoiding steaks this time around so being Japanese food lovers that we are, we zeroed in on Shogun Restaurant in Radisson Blu.

The Sushi Bar

Radisson Blu's Shogun Restaurant has been receiving raves from upscale foodies. I mean if it were for me, I would have gone to my go-to, tried and tested Japanese restaurants that are nearer my place but the good reviews made this restaurant worth checking out. Hotels can intimidate people; it makes us think that they're so classy and elegant only those who can afford a three-day stay can set foot on it but it's not always the case. We're all allowed to go inside a hotel for the sole purpose of dining in their restaurants. That's perfectly okay.

The teppanyaki tables

Warm miso soup for the hungry soul

Radisson Blu is one the hotels lining up the King Abdulaziz Road. It has four dining places: Shogun, Olivio's (an Italian resto), Brasserie on Four (serves international cuisine that we featured here) and their coffee shop, Cafe Vienna. Shogun is the most popular of all, with its airy yet classic Japanese ambiance. It is known for its fresh sushi and sashimi. We had another popular dish in mind: shabu-shabu, which we saw on the menu for SR 250 a pop. It's good for sharing!

Ready for some action!

Now we're dipping!

Shabu-shabu is a well-known Japanese dish that involves dipping thinly-sliced beef and vegetables into boiling water. Yes, it involves cooking so for those who can't wait, settle for the sushis instead. A pot of dashi (broth) on top of a stove came to our table. The well-marbled meat, glass noodles, and vegetables came on separate platters. We put them into the broth and stirred a few times. The ingredients are very delicate so you should know when to get them based on how you preferred your veggies and meat cooked. I like my meat cooked through and through and the veggies still crisp. 

Yeah, take your time. We can wait! :P

At first, we found the broth really mild, almost with no taste. So we asked for a spicier version. Again, the flavour didn't pack a punch to us so we figured maybe our tastebuds weren't cut out for this thing but the chef came by to our table and explained that we need to dip the meat and veggies to the sesame seed sauce it came with. He also took the pot and did his magic and suddenly, the soup was packed with flavor when it came back from the kitchen! 

Our bubbling mini cauldron, haha!

Since we considered the shabu-shabu our soup, we still ordered main courses. Excuse our hunger. It's not every day we get to dine in a hotel restaurant. Haha! We had their chicken and seafood teppanyaki. These dishes can be cooked in their teppanyaki tables but since we were only two and we needed the space of an ordinary table for our shabu-shabu set, we had our hot viands cooked in their kitchen. They came out piping and full of bite. 

Seafood teppanyaki with vegetables

Savory viands perfect with rice

We also ordered rolls, of course. We chose the classic California maki. These are more expensive than the ones you'll have in stand-alone restos but for some reason, we can't get enough of these rolls! They caressed all the right aspects of a good sushi and we were left wondering what made them so different when they all look the same! Must be the quality of ingredients and preparation. 

What makes you so good?

Simple presentation, clean consistency

Now, that was a full table for two! No wonder the waiters offered us a whole pot of tea afterwards! Haha! Their tea went well with our dessert: ice cream with bits of melon. Sweet and tart at the same time! It created a wonderful sensation in our taste buds! Overall, it was a pleasant hotel restaurant experience. It actually sealed the deal for me to try other hotel restaurants in the city. 

Have you tried Shogun? What are your favourite dishes there? Domo arigato for reading! ~ Sundrenched

Shogun Restaurant

Radisson Blu Hotel

Al Mubarakiah Plaza,

King Abdulaziz Street

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

T: + 966-11-4791234 (call for reservation)

Opening hours:

Lunch: Noon-3:00PM

Dinner: 7:00PM-11:00PM

Tokyo in Riyadh

I'm sure your eyes haven't travelled far from our entry on the five scrumptious dishes served by restaurants in Riyadh. Well, let's take photo number 4 first:

Bento set!

If you can recall, the first food post that we ever did in the blog is about this Japanese kiosk in the food court of Faisaliah Mall. Samurai it is! If you guessed Samurai then, you're wrong! It is a bento box from one of the oldest restaurants in the city center... Tokyo Restaurant!

Tokyo in Riyadh

Ramen and salmon sashimi were our objectives when we entered Tokyo Restaurant along Oruba Road. That night, those are the only things my brother and I wanted to eat. We're craving like mad for Japanese cuisine that's why the family heeded my suggestion and we all trooped to Tokyo Restaurant... Turned out, they were not serving ramen that night and they didn't have a delivery of salmon because their salmon comes from Norway (hindi galing Japan?) and this was the time of the volcano eruption in Iceland which canceled and delayed flights from Europe... Bottomline was, no ramen and salmon!!!

Mirrors and unused teppanyaki grills.

To prevent my brothers and I from raising hell, the 'rents suggested we order something else. Trying not to show my uber disappointment, I flipped their extensive menu of sushi, maki, sashimi, udon, and bento. I gravitated towards the familiar and ordered chicken teriyaki. The brothers got bento boxes and platters of sushis and makis. The 'rents settled on soba (cold noodles) and yakisoba (dry noodles). I was excited to see the chef cook the meals (well, mine) in front of us but the teppanyaki cooking method was phased out two years ago due to complaints from neighbors. Guess they didn't want smelling all that goodness and hanker for Japanese cuisine every single day!

A starter of fresh salad

We got free miso soup and little bowls of green salad. The soup was okay, just enough to prepare our stomachs for the feast ahead. The salad was light and refreshing. (That's what the bros said, I rarely eat uncooked veggies, hehe!) The sushi platter are pleasing to the palate but taste like not of the best quality. I'm not a fan of tuna and mackerel and yellow fin (whiever was served that night, I wasn't taking notes) so I'm biased. I'm really all for salmon.

A platter of sushi = cooked vinegared rice topped a slice of fish (tuna, mackerel, yellowfin or salmon) or other seafood (octopus, eel) or put into rolls

Upper row is called Makimono, a roll of vinegared rice and cucumber (or any ingredient) wrapped with nori (seaweed). The five pieces that you see on the second and third row are called Nigirizushi oblong mounds of vinegared Japanese rice with a bit of wasabi and toppings draped over.

Another platter of makimono.

Shrimp (ebi) and tuna (maguro)

For the main course:

Chicken teriyaki

Juicy chicken pieces in sweet soy marinade

The Makunouchi Bento
Pickles, sashimi, chicken teriyaki, egg omelette, vegetables and shrimp tempura, and fried potato

I forgot to take photos of the soba dishes! I was too preoccupied eating my chicken teriyaki which I found too sweet but yummy! Naparami tuloy ako ng kain sa rice! Their yakisoba was also sweet, the nakakasuya kind of sweetness. The brothers looked like they enjoyed their bento. They were so happy with the ebi tempura. It has the right crunch and right amount of breading. The sashimi (raw fish slices) of tuna didn't sit well on their stomachs. I finished all! The pieces of succulent ocean meat complemented the soy and wasabi dip I made. Hay, if that could have been salmon though, I'm sure they won't even think of sharing. The father didn't like his soba. The broth was, to our taste, the miso soup on a bigger bowl... just blander. Prices are a little over average for Japanese food.

Overall, we enjoyed our dinner in Tokyo Restaurant. Still we were disappointed the reasons we went there were not there! Lol. Well, that just means one thing: we have to come back! But first, we'll make sure they have ramen and salmon.

§undrenched

ENDNOTE: When I told my father that I've been posting the food and restaurant that we've been eating and visiting in Riyadh, he asked me what makes me such an expert in doing resto reviews. Well, I told him "I'm not." Which is true, I am not a food expert and neither are the other Pink Tarha ladies. We didn't claim we are. What we are are ordinary persons who like to EAT. So, we're eaters. Like you.

What we tell in every food and restaurant entry that we write is simply our experience as consumers who walked in at a certain dining place, savored the ambiance, ordered from the menu, ate what we ordered, and enjoyed the moments in between. Don't we all diners do that? The difference is, we're writing our observation, impressions, and emotions in this blog. It's like saying, if we, mere customers didn't like the food in the place, what more for keen and discerning customers or food experts or gourmands? We're just living, loving, and eating! Nomnomnom...