Food Blog | Kotsu Kotsu | Sri Hartamas | Kuala Lumpur

There’s been this quaint little Japanese pastry shop that has been really catching my eye everytime I walk past and I finally got a chance to visit. It’s Kotsu Kotsu and it’s located in Sri Hartamas Square, serving up unique Japanese cakes inspired by the culture of “Omiyage”, the Japanese equivalent of Balik Kampung and bringing back regional snacks and souvenirs. The main point that they seem to be highlighting is the use of their “Backen Oven” from Japan. It’s an oven that costs around MYR360,000 and helps retain moisture in the sponge cake, giving it a light and moist texture.

Is it Halal

My understanding is that they operate in the Muslim friendly category, with one of their pastry chefs Sasaki being a Muslim himself. They use halal-certified ingredients and recipes have been crafted to suit this very need in Malaysia. Of course, if this is a concern of yours, do just check with Kotsu Kotsu just to ensure there’s no misunderstanding there.

Where it Is

It is located in Hartamas Square - where Busan Zip, Jing Xuan, Pelita, Gamtan, and all are located. It is located on the same row as Kyomo and Minamo - it is actually from the same restaurant group as Kyomo! Note that there is actually free valet parking for patronizing customers, so you might want to utilize that when you visit (but normally, unless you visit at the peak hours (7:30pm onwards), I think parking is still alright - just that you might need to walk a bit further.

Address: Jalan 24/70a, Desa Sri Hartamas, 50480 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur

 

Operating Hours:

Daily: 12 Noon - 11pm

What it Costs

I would say that it is definitely on the slightly more expensive end of cakes. I tried two variants - the Matcha Slice and the Cheesecake slice. Price below:

Matcha Slice | RM15.52
Cheesecake Slice | RM22.52
Service Charge | RM3.80
Total | RM41.85

I wanted to try the Classic variant of their Kotsu Kotsu rolls but they already ran out, so be sure to be there early if you want to try our their signature Kotsu Kotsu roll. A few notes on their cake selection - they are planning a few seasonal variants to complement the ingredient availability and they even have a Kotsu Kotsu Tower - which is a lot of different mini cakes stacked together to form a tower priced at RM180.52. You can take a look at their full menu by clicking on this link!

How it Tastes

I would say my expectations were pretty high for the cakes here and they kinda fell a bit flat. I think one of the comments that should resonate with most people that like more flavour within their food and particularly within their desserts is that the flavour could be stronger. I’ll start with the Matcha slice first because this one was a bit confusing to my tastebuds. I would say there are things that I want tasting stronger that were very weak in flavour and then vice versa for some components that I wish were weaker in flavour, so I did find that a bit confusing to my tastebuds. I do think that the Matcha component was so-so, and that the cream, brown sugar and mango were probably the stars of the dish.

The cheesecake is again in the category of “okay, it tastes fine”, but really not in the “this is yummy” category. Texture wise I expected it to a bit smoother, and tastewise I’m again in that gray zone where I almost wish that the taste was stronger. Put it this way, Tokyo Restaurant cheesecake blew my socks off and this one is just so-so, which is probably the let down on my part. But I guess conceptually the two are very different in the sense that Tokyo Restaurant went full creamy and Kotsu Kotsu went with a fluffier, lighter version.

I do still get the sense that they are in that “new” stage and that they are growing their menu and suiting it to Malaysian tastebuds, but for now, I feel like it is a place that is probably not that worth the hype.

Star Rating

5/10. Not bad, but not great is probably the best way for me to describe my personal experience. Considering how full it is and how much content I’ve seen pertaining to Kotsu Kotsu, I think this is a pass for now, but it feels like something that might change over time.