TEPPAN chef Takeshi Wada whips up the thick batter for okonomiyaki, flexing his muscles and showing off a dragon tattoo. He turns out a light, fluffy and yummy version at the newly opened Okonomi by Tokyo Don restaurant at the Pavilion Kuala Lumpur.

The savoury Japanese pancake here has a crusty base, a topping of sweet crunchy cabbage and crispy pork belly, spread with a sweet and piquant tomato puree and Worcestershire sauce and finished with bonito flakes.

Yamato imo, a slimy Japanese mountain yam, is in the batter for the okonomiyaki, which renders it sticky and starchy and puts it a cut above others I have tasted.

There’s no one way to make okonomiyaki as the name just means “what you like grilled”  so you can load on any vegetable, meat or sauce you fancy. Here you can have it as pork and oyster (RM37), pork, squid and prawns (RM33) or pork belly (RM24).

But Okonomi is more than just these pancakes. We dined on a festive menu (available until December 31) that offered dishes like Ral d’Avinyo pork chop, Oz wagyu sirloin, and salmon and chicken in a set with six more dishes.

The pork, from a hybrid of the Duroc sow from the US and the English Berkshire, is tender, juicy and flavourful, the animals having been fed a diet of barley and wheat.

The grilled pork chop comes with three sauces – pepper, ponzu and soya. The meat goes best with the tart, citrusy ponzu, and with the pepper sauces. There is a daub of yuzu sancho (pepper with notes of yuzu) on the plate which gives an intense, fragrant lift to the meat. Zucchini, red and green peppers, capsicum and pea sprouts, and a side of buttery potato mash, complete the meal.

The courses accompanying the Ral d’Avinyo pork chop set (RM95) are salad, black sesame tofu, pork belly omelette, avocado cheese, okonomiyaki, and dessert. I enjoyed the smooth, creamy and nutty sesame tofu. The omelette is a light pillow encasing cabbage and crispy pork belly.

The avocado cheese serves up a delicious grilled cheddar in a crispy, lacy base cushioning a slice of avocado. I finish with a lovely yuzu ice-cream.

We thought the Oz wagyu sirloin (RM190) in a similar set was done medium well but still the meat stayed juicy and meltingly good. Crispy garlic flakes make the teppan beef complete. The portions in these sets are generous and seem meant to be shared.

On the regular menu, you choose to have just the Ral d’Avinyo pork chop at RM45, chicken (RM18), pork loin (RM20). There are side dishes of stewed beef tendon (RM20), glass noodles salad (RM8), among others. Yakisoba, or fried noodles Japanese-style, is also on the menu.

Everyone seems to know the chef, the always smiling, six-footer Takeshi who was formerly at Osaka Kitchen at J’s Gate Dining in Kuala Lumpur.

Okonomi is at Lot 6.24.1C, Tokyo Street, Level 6, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, tel 03-2141 4617. – December 26, 2020.

* Eu Hooi-Khaw has been writing about food for the longest time, covering all aspects, from restaurant reviews to cooking and recipes, as well as the healthy side of it. She has written for major newspapers and magazines, published the cookbook Fresh Ingredients, and also writes for her website hooikhawandsu.com.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.