If you’ve been to Japan and ridden its trains, chances are you’ve come across an ekibenya, specialty shops within the train station that sell ekiben (lunchboxes). They’re usually beautifully packaged, made with local ingredients, and meant to be enjoyed on long train trips.

Momo Yakitori at The Exchange TRX draws inspiration from this concept. Located along Market Lane, a newly opened section at TRX with hip kerbside stalls and eateries, the shop is tiny and exceedingly cute(!), with a small kiosk decorated with faux cherry blossoms, lanterns, and paper umbrellas. The entrance is also made to look like a train’s sliding doors, with a sign over it resembling ones you find at a train station. Al fresco dining is available, as seats inside the shop are limited.

Even though it’s designed to look like an ekibenya, Momo actually specialises in kushiyaki (grilled meat / vegetables on skewers), with a few bento options. Aside from walk-in patrons to the mall, they also cater to nearby offices with bento box deliveries.

A corner of the shop has all sorts of adorable merchandise for sale, including postcards, stickers, and keychains, which are a collaboration with local artist MinyKelly.

We were actually just looking for snacks, so I ordered a Mentai Tamagoyaki (RM6.50). It’s basically sweet omelette rolled into a cuboid, fried then grilled for a nice char, then served on a skewer with a generous heaping of tobiko (flying fish roe) and mayonnaise. The omelette was fluffy enough that it felt like biting into a bouncy pillow, and the saltiness of the roe helped to balance out the egg’s rich sweetness.

Also got a free Tsukune Chicken Ball (usual price RM6.50) which had cheese sauce drizzled over it. This was more on the savoury side and the meat was grilled well, as it was moist and tender.

Bonus: The friendly counter staff gave us a free postcard with our purchase, which we stamped with an adorable illustration as a memento.

MOMO YAKITORI

Lot GS.16.0, Market Lane, Persiaran TRX, Tun Razak Exchange, 55188 Kuala Lumpur

Phone: 011-6500 6639

https://www.instagram.com/momo.yakitori_ya/

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