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


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