April 30, 2017

Tatsu Japanese Cuisine @ Intercontinental Kuala Lumpur


A Destination for Japanese Cuisine



The acclaimed Tatsu Japanese Cuisine at Intercontinental Kuala Lumpur has launched a new menu filled with an eclectic mix of classic and modern Japanese cuisine. No stranger to our Japanese culinary scene, Tatsu has always been a favorite hotspot for many avid Japanese food lovers.


Tatsu, derived from Tatsu-jin, means master or expert. The elegant and stylish restaurant offers a gorgeous modern interior that incorporates Japanese aesthetics with contemporary yet minimalist design.


Dark timber woods with splashes of sea cobalt blue and white creates a harmonious and Zen dining ambiance. Soft lighting creates further calming illusions to let diners dine at ease and end the evening with sumptuous Japanese dishes and sakes.


The whole restaurant is cleverly designed with several dining areas to offer diners privacy. Opt for the bar area for casual and cozy lounge with glass walls to offer diners a breathtaking view of the beautifully landscaped garden and cascading water. There’s also a teppanyaki room, main public dining area and quite a few private dining rooms as options.



Catch some live sushi actions at the glorious sushi bar that displays the freshest seafood flown in twice a week from Japan to be served with hand-grated fresh wasabi.


There is a whole glass room showcasing Tatsu’s amazing list of sakes, shochu and other liqueurs never cease to impress me. Glowing beautifully, shelves of bottles of sakes, whisky and more will certainly tempt you into having some with your meal.



Dining in one of the private rooms that evening, Chef Tommy Kuan serves up signatures of Tatsu’s new menu. Sashimi takes on a new style here at Tatsu with New Style Sashimi with Yuzu Soy and Heated Sesame Oil (RM48). Slices of kampachi sashimi is served with chef’s yuzu soy sauce and finished with hot sesame oil drizzle, elevating luscious salty, citrusy and umami flavours to the fish.


The Shrimp-Stuffed Shiitake with Butter Ponzu (RM38) is perfect with beer, sake or even wine. Bouncy and sweet shrimp paste goes so well with the earthy Shitake mushrooms. One can’t help but to get addicted to these delectable morsels that is made even better with a buttery ponzu sauce. Hand me a beer please…



It may sound French but the dish of Crispy Duck Confit on Sprouts and Japanese Spinach with Sesame Vinaigrette (RM47) takes on classic Japanese flavours. Using confit technique, Chef Kuan renders the duck to much tenderness before shredding it and frying it karaage style to crispiness. The crispy duck goes very well with the nutty spinach and beansprout.


One don’t need a lot of ingredients all the time to create a scrumptious dish. The Rock Shrimp Tempura with Creamy Chilli Garlic Sauce (RM98) showed minimalist ingredients and yet, it was a solid A+ dish. Though its not rock shrimp as per its name, the prawns were large, juicy and bouncy. Glazed in creamy and spicy garlicy chili sauce, these crustaceans were very tasty and addictive as well.



Classics like Dobin Mushi (RM35) is always a crowd pleaser. Served in a dobin mushi pot, the clear seafood broth was soothing and delicious. A gentle squeeze of lime enhances the seafood essence even more and one can also enjoy the pieces of seafood and chicken in the pot.


The limelight of the evening was the Australian Wagyu (200gm, RM420) served on heated Himalayan salt block. A luscious marbling No.9, the wagyu only needs 30 seconds on the salt block for medium doneness. Utterly divine, the wagyu was superbly tender. Because of the high marbling fat content, the wagyu has such amazing buttery and moreish flavours that is simply irresistible.



Paired with some Shimeji mushrooms, the wagyu also came with a side ume and miso sauce. I simply prefer the wagyu as it is as the heated salt already gave the wagyu its much needed salt flavour. Though a tad salty, probably due to the fact that because we took a bit too long in taking photos, the wagyu still tasted amazing.


The Green Tea Salt Crusted Lamb Chops with Japanese Sour Plum Sauce (RM64) was the only dish that was too salty for my liking honestly. A bit of scraping off that special green tea salt and the lamb was yummy again. We did feedback to Chef Kuan to go on easier with that green tea salt. Other than the salt, the lamb was cooked beautifully, rendering much tenderness and juiciness that we really enjoyed.




Slow Cooked Beef Short Ribs with Garlic Barbecue Sauce (RM98) is another mouthwatering delight. The meaty beef short ribs is steamed and then covered in Chef Kuan’s garlic barbeque sauce before being finished on the teppanyaki. Served with spring onions and golden potato nugget, the ribs were fork tender and well-flavoured with savory, sweetness, smoky and hints of garlicky notes. This mammoth beef rib is big enough to share unless you’re a big carnivore eater!



The evening ended with a pretty and sinful Chocolate Tart and Caramelised Yuzu (RM35). Dark, luscious and velvety chocolate ganache is set beautifully on short crust pastry, crowned with green tea whipped cream and finished with strawberries, edible gold and white chocolate feather. A very awesome way to end the evening on a sweet and high note.


Tatsu Japanese Cuisine is a proud recipient of the Certificate of Excellence award by Tripadvisor and listed by Malaysia Tatler as one of Malaysia’s Best Restaurants for exceptional cuisine and service in 2016. For reservations, call Tatsu at 03 2782 6118 or email the team at tatsu@intercontinental-kl.com.my.



TATSU JAPANESE CUISINE
Intercontinental Kuala Lumpur
Menara Citibank,
165, Jalan Ampang,
50450 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2782 6000


Business Hours:
Lunch          11.30 am to 2.30 pm
Dinner         6.30 pm to 10.30 pm


April 28, 2017

Spanish Wine and Dine Dinner @ Oversea Restaurant PJ


Viaje del Gusto, El Amor de EspaƱa



Talk about luxury in the food and wine world, an exclusive invite to the elite world of wines, Spanish wines to be exact, was held at Oversea Restaurant a few weeks back. Thanks to Cheng Yi aka FatBoyBakes, this exclusive Spanish Wine and Dine dinner was themed Viaje del Gusto or Taste Tour of Spanish Wines.


Priced at RM398 per pax, the Spanish Wine and Dine dinner was the epitome of showcasing gorgeous Spanish wines paired with Chinese cuisine with some Spanish ingredient such as Iberico and Truffle.


Stepping into the famous Chinese restaurant that has been serving fine Chinese cuisine on our shores, we were immediately greeted by sights of bold red splashed everywhere. Themed in red and black to show the passionate spirits of the Spanish, diners were immediately ushered to their tables as well as to the area for Cava and appetizers.


Long tables laden with some of the finest spread of cheese, salami, jamon, spicy chicken cubes, grapes and of course, premium pan fried Iberico pork to tempt diners. Paired with Spanish White Wine Noche Y Dia Cava Yellow Label, the cocktail hour was too short and sweet.


Needless to say, those delectable iberico pork went flying off the table even before the cocktail hour ended! Superb…


Our anticipation was built further with the rows of Spanish wines for the evening!


The Spanish White Wine Noche Y Dia Cava Yellow Label was exceptionally wonderful with freshness and crisp notes. The sparkling wine and bubbly had fresh fruity aromas with a smooth and pleasant finish. Goes extremely well with all the tapas, especially the cheese and iberico pork…


We were also serenaded by live Spanish music and flamenco dances…

*pic credit to Cheng Yi

The evening took off with famous emcee Chui Ling, Hong Kong-born Malaysia-based TV and radio personality, who took us through the delicious journey with wine sommelier Jonathan. The crowd went wild when Chui Ling proceeded to initiate games of guessing the flavor and diners walked away with lavish bottles of wines!

Dinner commence and diners are certainly in for a luxurious treat with four types of Spanish wines paired with 7-courses of exquisite Chinese cuisine injected with hints of Spanish ingredients.


First wine up, Costers Del Priorat Elios 2014, from region of Priorat in Catalonia, Spain. Solid and bold tannin with a hint of peppery finish, there’s also rich and dark plum notes that made this red goes well with heavy flavoured dishes.



The first plate up was a Black Truffle Combo. Featuring a trio of appetizers, there was Steamed Fresh Shrimp Dumpling, Crispy Yam Roll and Stir-Fried Assorted Mixed Veg with Pine Nuts. It was dim sum on a plate. Morsels of delectable bouncy shrimp dumpling, crispy and creamy yam with meat filling and lettuce cup filled lots of veggie textures and nuts makes great starters for the evening.


The next course was Braised Fish Maw Soup with Crab Meat, a must-have soup course in any Chinese meal. Chockful of fresh sweet picked crab meat, fish maw and other seafood goodies, the thick bisque was comforting and delicious. The bisque went really well with the Elios red wine, balancing up the bold tannin with much easement.



The next wine was also a red one, featuring Montalvo Wilmot Finca Los Cerrillos Tempranillo-Cabernet Roble from Catalunya, Spain. The red has notes of cherries and ripened red fruits with very subtle hints of chocolate. It also has softer tannin than the first red and has a dry finish. I enjoyed this one very much together with the Iberico meat course.


For the Iberico Loin Combo, we were treated to a heavenly plate of Braised Iberico Loin in Chinese Red Bean Paste and Roasted Iberico Loin with Charcoal. Oversea Restaurant has always been famous for their signature roast meats and Char Siew especially. 


The Char Siew version here uses prime Iberico pork, making it even more delectable and luscious with its caramelized and crystal fatty bits and layers of tender meat. The braised Iberico loin was porcine goodness. Each bite of sumptuous layers of pork was unctuously tasty and moreish. So good that I would have love steamed rice with it…



The third wine, Bodegas Maurodos Prima Toro 2014 hails from Toro, Spain. It has full body and solid tannin with notes of rich dark fruits like cherry. Great wine structure and goes well with the heavy flavored seafood dishes that was up next.


It’s hard to resist a plate that showcase Tiger Prawn Combo. Another thrilling trio showcasing prawns, there is Deep Fried Tiger Prawn with Almond Flakes, Pan Fried Tiger Prawn with Salted Egg & Oat Flakes and Stir Fried Tiger Prawn in Chinese Chili Gravy. Don’t ask me to choose a favorite because all three were delicious on their own merits. It was a well-executed dish with all the prawns cooked just right.



Our savory course ended with Smoked Sliced Duck with Chinese La Mien. Not that we need the carb after all that awesome courses but I guess this dish is for those who must have their crab course for fillers. Love the smoked duck but the chilled wasabi infused noodles were a tad too soggy for my liking.


For desserts, there were Double Boiled Peach Resin in Coconut Bowl and Cold Osmathus with Wolfberry Dessert. I adored the lightness and chill osmathus jelly with wolfberry.


There’s something really lovley about the aroma of osmanthus that makes me feel so jolly and satisfying. The hot sweet double boiled peach resin is decent too, soothing our palates after the whole plush journey of the food and wines.


Indeed an amazing gastro journey of the evening with an eye opening experience of Spanish wine pairing so well with Chinese cuisine. Watch out for the next wine and food pairing soon and I heard it’s going to be an Italian affair…


OVERSEA RESTAURANT
Lot 28-Ground Floor, Lorong Utara C,
46200, Petaling Jaya
Tel: 03-7956 1029