Dozo – Japanese avant-garde cuisine arrives at the isle of Penang
You can now add Dozo to your list of Japanases restaurants to dine in Penang. It opened its doors on 1 August 2020 serving fine Japanese cuisine with an avant-garde flair.
I enjoy dining at new places with the hope of encounter exciting flavours. Dozo Penang looks enticing and its chain of restaurants has a impressive history to boot.
We started our dinner with the Dozo's house salad – fresh garden greens, battered soft shell crabs and crispy salmon skin. It was served with goma (sesame) or wafu dressings on the side. We opted for the wafu dressing (Japanese salad dressing) and were pleased that we could decide on the amount we desired.
My daughter had the Kyushu ramen with slices of pork belly, an egg and some Japanese fish cakes in a rich, opaque Tonkatsu broth (from pork bones). The stock was simply delicious making it a heart-warming bowl of goodness.
My wife savoured a plate of succulent grilled spare ribs topped with spring onions and toasted sesame seeds. The well-marinated ribs literally fell off the bone without much effort. It was a finger-licking-good experience!
Sometimes the best thing to order from a menu is its simplest option, something with no-frills such as the breadcrumbed chicken cutlet with egg over rice. When done well, it can be equally rewarding and satisfying. It was! The moist and tender meat was cooked just right, enveloped with a crispy casing of golden breadcrumbs.
Running through the beverage list, I spotted the Yamazaki 12-year-old single malt whiskey from Japan's oldest malt distillery. It is good to know that Dozo has that in stock for those ready to indulge and celebrate.
Dozo also offers the omakase dining experience starting from RM200++ with a minimum order of two and a maximum order of ten. Prior notice is necessary (preferably two weeks in advance) as most of the quality ingredients will be air-flown from Japan. Although "omakase" means to "leave it to the chef", Dozo actually encourages you to let them know your preferences in order to make your dining a memorable experience. I appreciate this approach and look forward to encountering Dozo's omakase magic.
The restaurant occupies three lots at Summerskye Square in Bayan Lepas and has a huge sitting capacity including private dining rooms. The main dining hall is complete with a conveyor belt system offering sushi items. Service was efficient and food arrived promptly although the restaurant was at full capacity that evening.
Dozo also has a branch in Ipoh under its umbrella as well as three in London. After establishing its popular South Kensington restaurant in 2011, it never looked back.
---------------------------------------------------------
Written and photographed by Adrian Cheah
© All rights reserved
20 August 2020
---------------------------------------------------------
Dozo, Penang
No. 1-1-26, 27 & 28 (Ground Floor), SummerSkye Square, Jalan Sungai Tiram 8, 11900 Bayan Lepas, Penang.
T: +604 608 6296
Opens: 11.30am–2.30pm, 5.30pm–10.00pm (Monday-Thursday) | 11.30am–10.00pm (Friday-Sunday)