Pepper Lunch, Pavillion, KL

I can't believe that I have been out of blogosphere in the last few months! Luckily I manage break the waiting period by posting something from my KL trip in early December. While waiting for a friend to pick me up to Genting, I stopped by Pavillion KL in hope to snap photos of the LINE mascot. And to have a quick lunch here. And I found this new joint to be interesting, yet not burning a hole in your wallet. Pepper Lunch is actually a popular DIY Teppanyaki franchise stores, originated from Japan but has over 200 outlets across Asia. Having a few outlets in Klang Valley, the Pavilion outlet which I dined in was their first outlet opened in 2008. It’s not really bear a fast food concept as after placing your order and paying, you will need to wait for around 10 minutes before food is served. 

The hype or rather the spotlight is definitely on the cast-iron hot plate, heated up using electromagnetic cooker, the hot plate can hit a temperature of over 200 degrees in 70 seconds. This allows the meat to be cooked in a rapid manner without sacrificing the juiciness and tenderness side. Food on the hot plate is said to be able to be kept warm as the hot plate can be maintained for a temperature of 80 degrees for another 20 minutes.

The Beef Pepper Rice (RM15.80) comes with fluffy rice at the centre, encircled by tender slices of New Zealand beef. You have the liberty to determine how well done you like your meat to be, if you prefer a medium rare, you are advised to dish them up on top of the rice. Upon reaching your table, the meat would’ve been well seared at the sides, hence maintaining a juicy centre. Note that there is a small slab of butter at the centre of the rice. It is quite hidden under the corn and spring onions. I only realized that after I read the instruction on the label.

Having said that, you can opt to mix everything together to create slightly buttery rice, or you can sizzle the beef with the butter. If you wish to season your beef even more, there are garlic soya sauce and honey brown sauce. Living to its name, every meal here is dashed with freshly ground black pepper but rest assured that it is not that spicy. I even need to add a few more dashes of pepper on my own.

Besides Pepper Rice, their menu is quite extensive from Western inspired steaks and pasta meals to the more Japanese fused curry and yakiniku meals. The photo on top and bottom belongs to the Salmon Cream Pasta with Mushroom. Pour in the cream sauce as much as you prefer while watch it sizzle (a bit weird though if you ask me) but my friend said that this dish is not bad.

A meal here might not be cheap but since its in Pavillion KL, it is one of the slightly more economical options since the items in Food Court isn't cheap either. The most expensive premium rib eye steak here can fetch to almost RM40 if you bundle it up into a set. The sides are not really impressive as the mashed potato is made from instant mix while the soft ice cream sampled was slightly rough due to icy texture. Bear in mind that they charge service tax to on top of government tax. If you have the soft spot of having to do your part in preparation of the food that you eat and if you fancy sizzling experience, do give this place a try!