Yuzen Japanese Restaurant @Damansara Perdana– Omakase Japanese Fine Dining Review

Malaysian can now enjoy top quality fully imported from Japan the Omakase style. Best Restaurant To Eat was invited to this special Japanese epicurean experience at Yuzen Japanese Restaurant located at LG03, Plaza Emerald North, Jalan Pju8/3A, Damansara Perdana, 47820 Petaling Jaya.

Omakase; is an expression that are widely used at Japanese restaurants particularly in sushi restaurant where one leaves the selection of what to eat entirely to the chef. It is the direct opposite to ala-carte. Customers ordering omakase style expect the chef to be innovative and surprising in the selection of dishes, and the meal can be likened to an artistic performance by the chef.

Ordering omakase can be a gamble for those that are choosy on the type of food that they like; however, the customer typically receives the highest-quality fish in stock at a less expensive cost than if it had been ordered à la carte. A little more of that later.

Yuzen Japanese Restaurant décor is of a minimalist simple Zen design. Its' ambience suits a casual Japanese dining experience while there are some private rooms that caters to more privacy for the guests.

The afternoon lunch started off with an Omakase Sashimi (market price)– it is a platter of raw fresh fish and seafood selection by the chef. Our platter of the Omakase Sashimi comes with variety of fish and seafood.

Although one can also order a normal Sashimi set, an Omakase Sashimi Platter allows the chef to mix with some top quality seasonal fishes into this platter.

According to the Chef, one can expect that the Omakase Sashimi Platter that you eat this week would not be identical at all to the following week.

One can also be surprised by this offering to taste some of these specialty Japanese fish which can be very costly to be ordered ala-carte.

At Yuzen, the Chef have concocted a special in-house made wasabi which is perfect for eating Sashimi, as you would not need any soya sauce added into it. In Japan specialty restaurant, Sashimi are most likely be served with this special wasabi concoction which will bring out the natural taste of the fresh fish and seafood.

Next, we had the Tuna Takaki Avocado Salad (RM22.00), the tuna are lightly pan fried on the outer layer and slice thinly and served with avocado, fresh green salad and rocket salad.

The dressing was a light sesame mayonnaise and blended perfectly with the salad greens.

This is then followed by the Omakase Nigiri Platter (market price) which has pieces of specialty sushi which include the Salmon Roe, Toro, Tuna, Salmon, Ankimo and others. Your order will definitely be different from the one we had.

We had another salad which is the Deep Fried Salmon Skin salad. The skin was very crisp and eaten with the salad, it gives the mouth a feels of crunchiness while the greens gives you a refresh feel.

After that, we had the Chawan Mushi (RM10.00). At Yuzen Japanese Restaurant you can order your Chawan Mushi with a Seafood topping

or a Crab Meat Topping. I find the eggs custard very smooth, where you can slurp it into your mouth. It also has a strong tinge of flavourful taste. Upon checking with the Chef, his Chawan mushi are made from a special clear broth that takes more than 6 hours to boil and mix with the eggs and steam at the right temperature to this perfect setting and texture.

Next, we had the Chicken Teriyaki – RM13.50 - the chicken was deep fried to a light crisp and topped with a special in-house blended teriyaki sauce that was not too sweet and was just nice for my taste. Usually, I am not a big fan of teriyaki but this one made me go for a second helping.

One of the most interesting dish for me which leaves me an unforgettable taste even after sometime as I write this post is the Surume Ika Teriyaki (Squid) – RM20.50. The squid was lightly grilled to a seared while retaining the squid, firm and bouncy texture.

 

What makes this dish an unforgettable taste is not the grilled squid but the accompanied squid sauce which the chef has used the squid roe, squid ink and the secret recipe to cook this sauce which has a very strong and smooth taste of the squid.

The after taste from eating this sauce with the grilled squid leaves one taste bud and senses highly satisfied. If Squid is one of your favourite, you gotta try this.

Little did we know as a food blogger, mostly we have already experience this Omakase experience as most of the time, we totally leave it to the chef to dish out their specialty dishes for us to try.

Our Other Japanese Cuisine Review
Kampachi Japanese Restaurant @ Pavilion Kuala Lumpur  – Best Japanese Restaurant – All Kansai Festival Review Puchong Setia Walk Sumptuous Traditional Japanese Food at Bonbori Japanese Cuisine Restaurant by Best Restaurant To EatKurata Japanese Restaurant Park Royal Kuala Lumpur – Japanese Fine Dining With A Touch of French Review

Drop a Like On our facebook page BestRestaurantToEat for our latest food adventure.

Cristallo Di Luna @Pacific Regency Hotel Suites Kuala Lumpur - A Romantic Italian Christmas Celebration Review

Christmas Season is round the corner and what better way to celebrate this festive holiday with your loved ones in one of a hidden upscale restaurant that has a gorgeous panoramic city view of Kuala Lumpur.

Best Restaurant To Eat was invited to a special fine dining Christmas Special at Cristallo Di Luna which is strategically located in the heart of Kuala Lumpur on the 34th Floor Pacific Regency Hotel Suites at Jalan Puncak Kuala Lumpur.

The decor is one that exudes a great ambience and romantic setting, an ideal place to wine and dine Italian Style with your other half.

The place has a stylish interior with a pleasant and lovely atmosphere to de-stress oneself.

Dinner started with a light Pumpkin Soup, which has a smooth creamy texture and a strong pumpkin flavour.

Featuring a culinary creation of the head chef, he uses the free Range Capon Chicken as the Christmas Main Theme dish, with Giblet Gravy and Cranberry Compote. As a substitute to the ever popular Turkey, which have a much more tougher meat, the Capon Chicken was indeed a splendid change with its tender, smooth and juicy meat. 

The Capon Chicken is stuffed with blended Chestnut with breadcrumbs and then sent to the roaster to be roasted for a good 45 minutes. The mash stuffing are then taken out and moulded before being fried and served as a side dish.with sauteed brussel sprout with potatoes and braised red cabbage.

The Special Giblet Sauce was made from Mirepoix, juice of the Roast Chicken and Chicken innards to produce a very delicious sauce that was thicken to give you a nice glaze which complemented with the natural taste of the Capon Chicken. The Roast Capon Chicken was very well paired with a glass of white wine.

For Desserts, we had the Apple Crumble, 

Thai Rainbow Jelly In Shooter Glass

and Christmas Fruit Cake 

followed by a cuppa of hot Cappucino to end the lovely evening.

Cristallo @ Pacific Regency Hotel Suite is having a Christmas Eve Buffet. The full details are as below with their Signature Roast Capon Chicken as the highlights.

Sumptuous ‘Jolly Christmas’ Buffet Spread at Cristallo Di Luna 

Teamed with the culinary experts, headed by Chef Eddie Yap, Cristallo experienced chefs are set to prepare extravagant flavours of sumptuous spread, a delicious combination of fusion and traditional Christmas fare to please every palate. A wide range of delicious, lip-smacking cuisines featuring Roasted Free Range Capon Chicken with Chestnut Stuffing, Steamed Black Cod with Ginger and Scallion Emulsion, Fresh Seafood Parade on Ice, Roasted Lamb Leg and more will be served. 

Not to forget, the finale to a sumptuous feast with a luscious combination of very traditional desserts. One must not miss the sinful Chocolate Fondue, Apple Crumble, English Trifle and Christmas Fruit Cake among others.

For those preferring to stay at home for the occasion, we have our Roasted Free Range Capon Chicken available for takeaway! Served with Gilblet Gravy and Cranberry Compote, our Capon Chicken is priced at RM 180++ (Half Roasted) and RM 380++ (Whole Roasted) and a healthier alternative to the traditional Roasted Turkey.

The Christmas specials’ are priced at RM158.00++ per person (Cristallo Di Luna). The buffet offerings inclusive of a glass of sparkling wine, party pack and free entry to Luna Bar’s Christmas Eve Party. For more information and reservation, please call us at +603 2332 7777 ext 6804 or email us at fnbadmin@pacific-regency.com

Kampachi Japanese Restaurant @ Pavilion Kuala Lumpur – Best Japanese Restaurant – All Kansai Festival Review

 

Kampachi Japanese Restaurant is a renowned Japanese Fine Dining Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur for over 4 decades. It is the oldest Japanese Restaurant in Malaysia having started in Equatorial Hotel in the early seventies. 

I recalled those days, that there are not many Japanese Restaurant serving really fresh sashimi. It was a certain day of the week, the restaurant have their freshly delivered seafood from Japan and that was the day we would go to sample these freshly imported fresh delicacy.

These days, we were told, that there are at least 3 deliveries per week of fresh produce that Kampachi receives directly from the famous Tsukiji Market and from Osaka. No wonder, we can see a large crowd during our special pre-launch Kansai food review session at it’s newly refurnished Kampachi @Pavilion (voted the Best Japanese Restaurant By Time Out Kuala Lumpur for 3 consecutive year from 2011) located at Lot 6.09.00 Level 6, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur.

Kampachi Restaurants in collaboration with All Kansai Food Promotion Committee and The Kansai Food Export Promotion Cooperative to bring a special culinary promotion featuring the finest autumn ingredients from Kansai region. Kansai is also known as the “Food Mecca Of Japan” with an abundance of food resources from the mountains, seas, rivers and lakes.

Through out the next 2 weeks i.e. from 19^th Sept – 1^st October 2014 , a special selection of a la carte dishes are curate by Kampachi’s Executive Chef Koji Tamaru and its team to showcase the purity of Kansai cuisine using the freshest seasonal and the natural taste of the ingredients. 

Guest can expect to enjoy some exquisite gourmet seafood such as the Kamasu (Japanese Barracuda), Akamutsu (Japanese Ruby Snapper), Tennen Hamachi (Wild Yeallowtail) and Sayori (Japanese Halfbeak).

Fresh seasonal Kansai ingredients will also include the Muraski Zukin (Black Soybean), two different variety of Japanese Mustard Greens (Mibuna and Mizuna) and Fushimi Amanaga Togarashi (Sweet Green Peppers).

Prepared in a multitude of ways, these simple ingredients will be elevated to an artisan level by Chef Koji Tamaru and his team. The “All Kansai Festival” a la carte menu will only be available at Kampachi’s three stand-alone restaurants i.e. Troika, Plaza 33, Petaling Jaya and Johor Premium Outlets.

On 27^th and 28^th September from 3.00 to 5.00 pm, there is a special hands-on dessert master class at RM 100.00 ++ per person, where you learn 3 sweet delights using Japanese maccha alongside Kampachi’s expert Japanese chefs. The 3 desserts are Maccha Mousse, Maccha Cake and Maccha Dorayaki using the Kyoto’s finest green tea.

Participants are able to taste and take home the day’s creations at the end of each session in addition to receiving a complimentary recipe collection and a masterclass certificate.

We had the opportunity to have this hand’s off experience to make our own Maccha Mousse. It was truly a great experience to be tutored and guided to make this sweet tasting dessert.

This was the menu, that we had for this Pre-launch menu of the “All Kansai Festival”.

Our first dish for the food review started off with KYO MIZUNA SALAD – which consists of Kyoto Mustard Green Salad with Crispy Anchovies, Raw Onion Rings with Wasabi Dressings. 

We were really surprised at the crisp green mustard that was air flown in. Coupled with the Wasabi dressing, it was a very good pairing to the fresh salad and the crunchy anchovies.

Our second dish was the FUSHIMI AMANAGA TOGARASHI – It is grilled marinated sweet Green Peppers with Special Sauce. This is actually the most spicy green peppers for the Japanese but to most Malaysian that have been accustomed to our Chilli Padi, this is just plain peanuts, there is just a little tinge of that chilli oomph. 

It was quite a feat to be eating a chilli like that.

Next, we had the awesome TENNEN HAMACHI SASHIMI – which is slices of Raw Wild Yellowtail. I just love sashimi but this has to be one of the best that I had eaten so far, as you can really taste the smooth texture of the fish and it’s freshest with every bite. 

Coupled with the in-house soya sauce and wasabi mix, no words can describe this special taste.

Finally, we had the KAMASU SHIOYAKI, which is Grilled Japanese Barracuda with Salt. With every chop-stick full of the wonderful white fish meat, you could really taste the natural fish flavours. 

For me, the dip of the white fish meat into the in-house soya sauce with wasabi, was just the perfect link to satisfy my taste buds.

To pair off the evening fabulous food, we were offered the Kuwabara Shuzo Sake which came from Nakashima and we were told that no matter how much you drink, you won't get a hangover next the day, as they use the highest and finest quality of malted rice and water to brew this smooth sake.

We were offered the 2 serving style of the sake, which is the cold sake thru a special sake dispenser and

the normal hot sake, in a sake jug and a special sake cup.

As, you would have guessed it, for desserts, we had the MACCHA MOUSSE, which yours truly had made it before we started our dinner, as the desserts needed to be chilled before being served.

As, you would have guessed it, for desserts, we had the MACCHA MOUSSE, which yours truly had made it before we started our dinner, as the desserts needed to be chilled before being served.

We had the final touch, to put in the décor to our MACCHA MOUSSE, which has smashed red beans, a piece of Japanese Glutinous rice and some gold leaf to top it all up.

Overall, it has been a amazing and memorable experience for us to be able to enjoy this special dining session.

Watch our video review on YouTube

This food tasting session was organised by HungryGoWhere Malaysia – Discover, Eat, Share today!

Our Other Japanese Cuisine Review

Yuzen Japanese Restaurant @Damansara Perdana– Omakase Japanese Fine Dining Review   Puchong Setia Walk Sumptuous Traditional Japanese Food at Bonbori Japanese Cuisine Restaurant by Best Restaurant To EatKurata Japanese Restaurant Park Royal Kuala Lumpur – Japanese Fine Dining With A Touch of French Review Drop a Like On our facebook page BestRestaurantToEat for our latest food adventure.