18, Lorong Datuk Sulaiman 1, Taman Tun Dr Ismail,
60000 Kuala Lumpur.
Opening Hours:
Mon-Sat 5.30pm till late, close on Sundays.
Time Visited:
7 something pm(?) I think. It's just rainy skies appearing dark when I arrived.
Attire worn:
Casual
Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
2 Crispy Skins, 3 Wagyu Seven, 3 Sirloins, 1 Escargot, 5 Rock Lobsters, 2 Okras, 2 Smoked Ducks and Old Pulteney 12 Years to drink
Anyway, Torii is a play on the Japanese word where it means chicken, the short form for Yakitori, the and also the father of Japanese whisky, Torii. The skewers were my aim tonight and probably for some alcohol. That was my thought as I entered through the doors of this establishment.
The dining area of this place is small and can't house a lot of tables. As I walked closer towards the grill bar, I doubled back and start to sit at where the front door is. There's only 2 tables that sits 2 person while the rest cater for 4 or larger groups. If anything fails, at least I can have the bar stools to sit on since I'm alone. LOL. So, I can say well, it's kinda lone diner friendly though the environment seems to be more conducive towards a family restaurant settings even though it's main aim is on their alcohol sales along with their yakitori skewers.
I wanted to go for the Sullivans Cove Whisky but they do not have it though it's on the menu and that's not all that was on the menu but it's unavailable that day and that is the Beef Cheeks and the Wagyu Tendon. So I decided to go for their very limited selection of Whisky that's displayed atop the Grill Bar whereby they will present you a sort of loyalty card where upon 5 shots of whisky, you're entitled for one free. I pointed to try out the Old Pulteny 12 Years as the one that I'm going for today since it's a brand that I've never tried before.
I had the drink on the rocks and when it came, I couldn't nose much of it. The rock ice seems to have mask it's scent in approaching my nose and I'm not sure why. There's still very weak whiffs of it but mostly drowned by the cold ice steams. And so I started taking sips of it. I can vouch that Old Pulteny isn't a brand of Whisky that's to my liking. It's spicy and doesn't go down easy on my throat. The whisky taste is moderately strong that seems peaty in and spicy. It's not fruity but oaky to me. As the ice melts and it dilutes the properties of the whisky more, it tends to be a little more sweet than before which tastes better for me. The spiciness depletes but the Indian spice flavors lingers.
The skewers took some time to arrive at my table. At times, a little too long. First came the Wagyu Seven, Sirloin, Escargot and Rock Lobster. The Wagyu Seven I presume means that the marbling is a 7 which on the scale of 12 isn't that really fantastic. That reflects on the Wagyu sevens skewers as well. Nonetheless, the beef was nice and tender enough with it's juices flowing. Skewed with sea salt and black pepper, those were kept at a minimal to bring out the flavor of the meat but not too much to overpower it's natural taste. Quite a nice piece of meat but I like the Sirloin more. It's more tender and juicy and certainly has that buttery melt in your mouth feel. It's also seasoned in sea salt and black pepper. However, I would say both meats lost out to the better tasting Escargot and Rock Lobster. The Escargot is seasoned with garlic miso and scallion. Perfect enhancement of the escargot. The Rock Lobster was the star of the evening for me with that being the best skewer among all that I've tried for the night. It's probably because it's seasoned in scallion and garlic chili sauce. The garlic chili sauce complements the Rock Lobster so well and it made me love it till I ordered 4 more of it.
As for the Okra, there's nothing out of the ordinary about that and it's just your normal plain tasting Okra seasoned in Shoyu sauce. The Crispy Skin were horrid to me. It's tough and hard to bite off the skewers. It may be crispy but the it has a burnt taste to it even though it's not. It's just not the kind of taste that I like. Note to self: never order Crispy Skin ever again. I later ordered the Smoked Duck when I reordered the Rock Lobster. The Smoked Duck that's wrapped in Welsh Onion is below my expectation. It just didn't jive for me. The last 2 Rock Lobster were a little burnt in their taste for me so it wasn't so good the last one around. They should try to be a little more consistent in their cooking though I know it's hard to grill it the same over charcoal fire.
Total Wallet Damage:
Get ready cause this is a really hefty sum, the most out of all of my reviews in this blog. The total racked up to RM282.70. Bear in mind, this is just one person - me eating. LOL. Crispy Skin cost RM5.66 per skewer, Wagyu Sever cost RM21.70 per skewer, Sirloin RM14.15 per skewer, Escargot RM9.43, Rock Lobster RM10.38 per skewer (most worth of all), Okra RM4.72 per skewer and Smoked Duck RM12.26 per skewer (not worth at all). The Whisky only costs me RM28.30. Well, Old Pulteney isn't good according to my taste anyway. There's 10% service charge but they aptly named it service gratuity since I find that the service has a lot to improve on even though they were friendly and 6% of GST charge. The service 'gratuity' alone is RM24.24. Pfft. That's quite a lot to give.
Final Verdict:
7/10. The dining area is a little small but they do have private rooms which that night there was a Bachelorette party going on that time and also an al fresco seating which some people who just came for drinks love to sit at. The rest were just filled with family people having their dinner. I would say it's kinda lone diner friendly with the many bar stools at the bar area for you to sit on but as I've mentioned before, this place is visited mostly by families who just want to have a meal. This baffles me as this place is supposed to be more of a drinking place than a place for food. Well, there is one more lone diner there and that guy is only there to drink. And no, that wasn't me. :)
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