There are many Japanese Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur, mostly serving authentic Japanese dishes. +BestRestaurant ToEat was invited to taste a Japanese Fusion for a change at Ozeki Tokyo Cuisine located 22, Ground Floor Menara TA, Jalan P.Ramlee Kuala Lumpur just adjacent to the iconic KLCC.
I was taken a back when I found out that the restaurant was opened for the past 15 years. Frankly speaking, I have not heard about this restaurant probably due to its low profile and minimal advertising. The restaurant is very nicely decorated with a Japanese theme and is adorned with Sake bottles around the entire dining area.
The minute you enter this restaurant; fresh seafood are laid out for patrons to choose from. There is also live oysters that are in the aquarium. One of the main mission of the restaurant is to serve their dishes as fresh as possible. The fish are imported from the fame Tsukiji market which is fame for the freshness of the fish.
Executive Chef, Hitoshi Kimijiwa combine his vast experience in Japanese, French, Italian and German culinary style to create a brand new contemporary Japanese dishes to satisfy your craving for his delicious dishes.
Our review started with a special appetizers (RM80.00) which has 10 different delicacies in it. Depending on the number of person, customers have the option to specify the number of the appetizers that they would like to eat.
Our order of the appetizer are as follows:
1. Pan Fried Burdock Root
2. Blue Fin Tuna Simmered in Soya Sauce
3. Deep Fried Small Shrimp
4. Flower Mushroom Seasoned in Mustard Sauce
5. Japanese Style Mashed Potato & Cucumber Slice
6. Edamame
7. Simmered Spicy Japanese Yam Pudding
8. Charcoal Grilled Eggplant With Bonito Flakes
9. Pan Fried Baby Octopus with Garlic Onion Soya Sauce
10. Deep Fried Spicy Chicken Soft Bone.
Next is the Salad dishes which we had; the first is the Kaki Shungiku Salad (RM35.00) - served with seasoned vegetables from Japan, chrysanthemum leaves, sliced white turnip, cut persimmon and sliced smoked duck with a Yuzu Japanese Citron and Coriander paste dressing.
The second salad is the Ankimo Tai Roll Mizuna Salad (seasonal price) - which is thinly slice Red Snapper sashimi wrapped with Monkfish liver with Kyoto's Mizuna Salad Leaf and dressed in Yuzu (Japanese Citron) dressing.
Followed by the mains; which is the first is the Smoke Oysters (RM48.00) - Fresh Raw Oyster with a special sauce; served on a bed of ice are smoked in this special apparatus from Spain for about 2 minutes to allow the smoky taste to penetrate into the raw oyster giving it that special aroma.
The next dish on the table is the Sashimi Moriawase (RM220.00 for a 3 pax set). This is a set which allows the chef to serve you with his personal best selection of the catch of the day.
Next on is the Mini Tomatoes Garlic Miso Sauteed (RM18.00). The Cherry tomatoes are stirred fried with the special miso sauce that takes a very patient chef more than 1.5 hours to prepare. We like the taste of this sauce which blended well with the cherry tomatoes. A simple dish which is very aromatic and flavourful.
The next dish is an exemplary of the skills of the Chef which marries a French dish fusion with Japanese ingredients. This dish is the Escargot Garlic Butter Yaki (RM28.00). The oven baked French Escargot are intertwined with the special garlic and seaweed flakes. Eaten with the fresh baguette, it was wonderfully done and tasted very delicious.
Followed by the Foie Gras Teriyaki (RM48.00). Another masterpiece of fusion dish, which the Foie Gras are first pan fried with a special Ozeki Teriyaki Beef sauce. According to the chef, it took him many trials and years to perfect the sauce to this level of taste.
After that, we tasted the Lobster Gratin (RM150.00). The Lobster was oven baked with the special in house made creamy sauce gratin. We loved the fresh texture and juiciness of the lobster meat which combines well with the right portion of creamy sauce. Unlike other gratin sauce, no cheese is used to cook this dish.
We then moved on to taste a meat dish; which is the Wagyu Saikoro Steak (RM58.00) - The diced cut Wagyu (Japanese Beef) are fried with the vegetables and onions using the Chef's special steak sauce and served on a sizzling plate with aluminium foils to retains the juice and flavours.
After that, we tried another fusion dish; this time it is a Korean infused dish which is the Kimuchi Chige Nabe (RM120.00). This is a seafood with chicken meat cooked with Korean Spicy Bean Paste and served on a Hot Pot.
Followed by a another special dish which is the Buri Kama Ikura Meshi (RM80.00) - This is a special steamed rice dish with the Yellow Tail Soft Bone Fish Head cooked in a Hot Pot. You can literally eat all the bones from this fish head. According to the chef, this Yellow Tail fish head has gone thru a de-soften process in Japan which takes around 3 to 4 hours of low heat steaming and vacuum packed to seal the natural taste of this fish head.
The next dish is the Spicy Premium Roll (RM36.00). Sliced salmon are wrap in sushi rice together with Kimushi, chilli padi and mayonnaise sauce. It is then topped with an aburi (flambe) Japanese Fresh Scallop.
Next on is the Volcano Roll (RM42.00). According to the Chef, Ozeki is the first to served this dish in Malaysia dating back to the days when this restaurant was opened. The oven baked California Roll is topped with the Creamy Seafood sauce gratin.
Which brings us to the second last dish which is the Hotate Steak (seasonal prices). This hotate is pan fried and served with Shimeji mushroom with a wakame sauce.
The last dish is the Salmon Shikama Yaki (seasonal price). The salmon fillet is first wrapped in lotus leaf and covered with a layer of salt and wrapped in a pastry like dough and sent to be oven baked. The flavour of the salt will penetrate slowly into the fish and the effect is the fish has a natural salty taste. This way, the fish will retains its' juiciness and nice flaky texture.
There were so many special dishes in the new menu, we did not even have the pleasure to try out the dessert offering. Probably on our next visit or review session. Let us have your feedback after trying some of these dishes, we loved to hear from you.
