An Indulgence of a Kaiseki Style Menu
For
6 years since it opened its doors, Ishin
Japanese Dining has been creating a name for itself for serving some of the
best Japanese cuisine in our metropolitan city. Located in Old Klang Road, the
fine dining Japanese restaurant is housed in a bungalow that can be quite
discreet if one is not looking out for it.
Ishin continues to be a force to be
reckoned with among Japanese diners as well as local diners. Many flock to this
elegant dining scene for their luscious list of tempting Japanese dishes filled
with lavish as well as premium ingredients. Helmed by Chef William So
currently, Ishin offers a solid list
of ala carte dishes as well as lunch sets and the classic Kaiseki style menu.
The
dining scene in the restaurant is elegant with minimal décor dressed in lots of
shades of wood. Paintings of Japanese Sakura gave the ambiance a beautiful
charm. An unusual circular sushi bar is the center of attention in the room.
Glowing in golden halo, the bar is a place to be where diners can catch sushi
chefs in actions and enjoy some sake from their sake list.
There
is also private dining areas on the higher level with tatami room as well as
more sectioned rooms.
I
have personally had Ishin’s ala
carte menu before and enjoyed the amazing meal tremendously. Back at Ishin, it was to savor their Kaiseki style menu that is now
available upon request. Though one need not make any reservations, it is still
recommended for the best possible dishes from Chef William.
Kaiseki (懐石?)
or kaiseki-ryōri (懐石料理?) is a traditional Japanese menu that
consists of several courses of selected food served to diners on a tray
individually. It is literally an art form today where Japanese chefs focuses on
serving a balance Kaiseki menu of
taste, texture, presentation and colors of food. Using and focusing on the
freshest seasonal ingredients are a must in any Kaiseki menu. Another important element is the presentation so even
the plates used are carefully selected to enhance the food.
Our
Kaiseki menu kicked off with the Saizuke or Appetizer course of Nama Mie Kaki With Tabasco, Ankimo Ponzu and Ume Shu On Snow served on a long platter.
In full glory on its own, the Nama Mie Kaki served on ice is just unbelievable gorgeous in
flavours. Hailed from the pristine waters of Mie Prefecture in Japan, the Mie
oyster is utterly sweet and creamy with salty briny finish. A gentle squeeze of
lemon added the final perfection for this piece of exquisite molluscs. I wanted
more of this oyster…
Ankimo Ponzu may not be for everyone but it is certainly a favorite
of mine. The foie gras of the sea, Ankimo is monkfish liver. Steamed and served
in classic Ponzu sauce with chili-tinted grated daikon and scallion, I really
enjoyed the luscious rich notes of the liver. The citrusy sauce cleverly
balance the richness of the liver and gave it a vibrant boost of flavours.
Ume Shu on Snow features the popular Umeshu wine with plum served in
a pretty square glass to act as a palate cleanser as well as to sweeten the
course after two savory appetizers.
The next course is Futamono, a
soup course of Double Boiled Blue Fin
Soup. The Japanese uses every part of the fish and this dish was created
using the gelatinous fin part of the much sought-after Bluefin tuna. The
collagen like fin is double boiled over low heat in dashi stock till it becomes
a firm gelatinous texture. More ingredients such as charred leek, mushroom and
yuzu peel is added for flavours. The soup has a thick consistency to harmonize
with the gelatinous pieces of fin. It is quite a unique dish as I have never
tasted this part of the tuna before.
One of my favorite course of Kaiseki is the Mukōzuke or Sashimi course. Our plate of Akazai Ebi and Itoyori Tai with
Caviar was beautiful at sight. Itoyori Tai or Threadfin
Bream is paired with Akazai Ebi or Langoustine with black
caviar for a contrast of flavours and textures. The fish has a firm but tender
texture with a gentle sweet note while the langoustine is simply divine with
its superb sweet note of the sea. I also enjoyed the texture of the langoustine
as a sashimi as it has a firm and almost crunchy and gelatinous texture all
rolled into one. Black caviar added a salty briny note to balance the sweetness
from both fish and langoustine. Divine….
Our
next course is Tempura of Amaebi Kakiage. The course is light and showed
off how the Japanese popularized the crispy light batter of tempura that is now
highly used all over the world. This one has a medley of matchstick vegetables
with sweet shrimp in crispy tempura batter. Simple and rather nice for a change
in the heavier courses earlier.
Tarabagani, Oyster Meat with Yuzu Sauce showcase more Japanese seafood of king crab with oyster
in a yuzu sauce. Artfully presented, the lightly grilled king crab has a
delicious sweet and subtle smoky note. The oyster is lightly battered and
fried. The lemony citrus sauce enhance both crab and oyster nicely.
Kagoshima Beef was out-of-this-world!! With a
marbling grade of A5, these pieces of beef hailed all the way from the
Kagoshima Prefecture in Japan. It is superbly well marble evenly and is pretty
in pink. Served raw with a side of hot stone, diners are recommended to just
lightly grill this premium meat for a few seconds on each side only.
Such
luscious umami notes and the beef literally melts-in-the-mouth… the Kagoshima Beef is one indulgence to be
experience if you still have not had it before. There is a sauce made with
chili bean, miso, garlic and more that is savory and lightly spicy served on
the side. It gave the beef a different aspect of flavours. I still prefer to
enjoy the beef with just salt and pepper. This one demands a hefty price tag of
RM250 per 100gm.
Our savory last course was 3 Layers Toro Sushi. The least delicate
dish of the Kaiseki menu but certainly full of flavours. Chef William’s
creation of sliced seared Otoro or Fatty Tuna covering a roll
filled with minced Otoro and Uni on sushi rice and crowned with salmon roes
proved to be a mouthful. Nevertheless, it has such a great flavour combination
of the fatty tuna and sea urchin with briny Shujiko salmon roes. The
house cured salmon roes stood out with its gorgeous salty and rich briny notes.
It has a unique popping texture that burst in the mouth wondrously. Superb roes
but it also covered the natural sweetness of the Uni… not that I am
complaining.
Our Kaiseki menu ended with another
famed Japanese fruit of Musk Melon.
A little too ripe but still enjoyable as the melon is very sweet and enjoyable.
Our Kaiseki style menu for the evening is priced at RM200 per set
without the Kagoshima Beef. The Kagoshima Beef is available for RM250 per
100gm. Prices are on the heavier side but do remember that these are premium
ingredients air-flown directly from Tsukiji Market, Tokyo, Japan. Ishin Japanese Dining has proved its
worth in the Japanese dining scene that they still have what it takes to serve
up a majestic fine dining Japanese experience. For more affordable dishes,
there are lunch sets or ala carte dishes available daily as well.
For reservation, please
call +603-7980 8228.
ISHIN
JAPANESE DINING
202 Persiaran Klang,
Batu 3 3/4,
Off Jalan Klang Lama,
58000 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 603 7980 8228
Website: www.ishin.my
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ishinmy
Business hours:
Lunch 12pm-3pm
Dinner 6pm-1am
No comments:
Post a Comment