Omakase @ Kampachi Pavilion KL

An Exquisite Omakase Experience

Omakase, a word that has now become familiar among Malaysians when dining in Japanese cuisine. Simply a phrase that means ‘to entrust’ the dining experience to the chef, omakase allows a gourmet adventure for avid foodies in the realms of the Japanese culinary world.

It is a Japanese tradition to leave the food choices to the Japanese chef, knowing that the chef knows the best ingredients of the season. One pays a price and depending on the number of courses, the chef goes to work on preparing an omakase meal that ranges from the lightest to the heaviest before finishing up with a sweet course.

For a taste of an omakase experience, seek out the acclaimed Kampachi for a culinary adventure in the heart of our metropolitan city. Kampachi, one of the long-time award-winning Japanese restaurants, has been serving authentic and scrumptious Japanese cuisine using fine premium ingredients air-flown from Japan for over four decades. For this round, we headed over to Kampachi Pavilion for a taste of Chef Alex Lee’s Omakase experience.

Twice a week, the freshest and fine ingredients are imported from Tokyo’s iconic Toyosu Fish Market (formerly known as Tsukiji) and from Kansai Area in Japan. Each omakase experience takes diners from appetizer to sashimi, soup, grilled dish, main course and dessert. An omakase course at Kampachi starts from RM318 onwards and diners can also let the chef know if they do not take a certain ingredient or raw food.

CNY Omakase Menu 2017 @ Nobu Kuala Lumpur

Ringing in Good Fortune with Nobu’s CNY Omakase

With the Year of the Rooster around the corner, the season to indulge is also here. Indulge at the finest Japanese restaurant in the city with an unforgettable view of the majestic Twin Tower. This New Lunar Year, Nobu Kuala Lumpur invites you and your loved ones on a gastronomical journey of senses with Executive Chef Phillip Leong’s Chinese New Year Omakase menu.

Experience a sensory dining at the acclaimed new style Japanese –Peruvian cuisine set high in Menara 3 Petronas tower amidst the buzzling metropolitan city. Chef Leong and the culinary team have designed a special CNY themed Omakase 6-course menu to pay homage to the rich Chinese culture to usher in a fiery and auspicious Year of the Rooster.

The 6-course Omakase kicks off with Satsuma Mandarin Inryol. Unwind and set the mood for the festive meal with the fruity mandarin based cocktail made with Mandarin Vodka, Martini Rosso, Cointreau and Satsuma Mandarin Orange Puree. Exquisite and refreshing citrusy notes soothes the palate with freshness of the festive season.

Opening the Omakase with much prosperity is a masterpiece of 8 morsels of appetizers featured in Zenzai Moriawase. Every piece is carefully paired with all to evoke a firework of flavours and textures in celebration of the festive holidays.

Zenzai Moriawase consists of Dragon Fruit Ceviche, Botan Ebi with Caviar, Arrow Root Chips with Tuna, White Onion Amazu, Octopus Carpaccio, Oyster Oshitashi, Salmon New Style and White Fish Roll Tiradito Style.

The lightest fruity and citrus juice soaking brunoises of dragon fruit topped with quinoa is certainly a delightful note to start with in Dragon Fruit Ceviche.

Botan Ebi with Caviar feels like a match made in heaven. Sublime raw Botan shrimp marinated with a creamy spicy sauce and crowned with tiny pearls of black caviar. Glorious jelly consistency with unctuous sweet and spicy notes coupled with popping briny caviar made this bite feels utterly luxurious and heavenly.

Arrow root is a classic festive treat. Tuna tartare seasoned with umami savory note hinted with a touch of heat in paired with crispy wafer thin arrow root chip. Delish…

Amazu, a traditional Japanese sweet and sour sauce, is paired with sweet crisp white onion slices. Simple and acts as a nice palate cleanser between the appetizers.

Nobu’s novel Octopus Carpaccio served with habanero sauce and topped with dried miso is a revelation of flavours and texture.

Next, we have a lush Oyster Oshitashi, raw fresh oyster seasoned with a citrus dressing and finished with dancing bonito flakes.

Another signature on Nobu’s menu, the delicate flavour of salmon served in yuzu soy and finished with a hot drizzle of new style oil. The Salmon New Style proved that the even the smallest bite can exude big explosion of umami flavour in one bite.

Last but not least, White Fish Roll Tiradito Style features a white fish roll stuffed with bits of tastiness accented by a tart yuzu sauce.

Inspired by the tradition of CNY, the Nobu Style Yee Sang with Sushi had each of us tossing in delight on our very own personal yee sang. The Nobu Style Yee Sang Salad comes with Assorted Sashimi with Ponzu Jelly & Yuzu Honey Sauce.

A medley of radish, carrot, beetroot, ginger, cucumber, red and green seaweed provides the platform for the salad while a trio of salmon, tuna and sea bream sashimi lends the appeal of festive ‘yue’ to the dish. The salad texture is enhanced with crispy fried yuba and tempura flakes. The yuzu honey sauce gave the yee sang a vibrant lightness of sweet, savory and tangy notes.

With the Yee Sang course, a HC House Special Roll and a Salmon Skin Roll is served.

The next course of Steamed Chilean Seabass with Truffle Sansho Pepper Soy lends the auspicious ‘Nian Nian You Yue’ to the meal. Chilean Seabass was exceptionally fresh with creamy and velvety flesh, sweet and luscious flavours. The aroma of the truffle was beautifully heady and intoxicating in pleasure. Sansho pepper sauce was so delicate that it enhanced the fish harmoniously.

For the meat course, Duck Breast with Passion Fruit Teriyaki was a delicious twist of ingredients. Duck breast cooked medium well and served with a tangy passion fruit teriyaki with passion fruit seeds are finished with crunch carrot, cauliflower and Shimeji mushrooms with crispy herbs.

To end the savory course, the Clear Soup with Fish Surimi was pure comforting. A robust dashi broth soothes the palate together with a soft Shitake mushroom, a sprig of Enoki mushroom and a tender fish surimi ball. Pleasure of comfort food evokes a sense of Zen to the end of the lavish meal…

The omakase’s finale was a crowd favorite of Goma Bavarian & Almond Sponge with Mandarin Orange Sorbet. Such finesse in presentation of the festive season inspired by mandarin, the pretty half ‘mandarin’ has sweet and nutty almond sponge topped with mousse before being covered in chocolate. The sweetness is balanced with the refreshing sweet and tart mandarin orange sorbet and completed with sesame crumbs.

Priced at RM488++ per pax, the Chinese New Year Omakase dinner is available from January 23rd to February 13th, 2017. The Omakase includes a special Chinese New Year cocktail, Satsuma Mandarin or a mocktail option for those who prefer a non-alcoholic beverage.

For inquiries or reservations, please call 03.2164.5084 or Whatsapp 019.389.5085.

NOBU KL

Menara 3 Petronas

Level 56 KLCC 50088 Kuala Lumpur

Phone: +60 3 2164 5084

Fax: + 60 2164 5085

Reservation: nobuklreservations@noburestaurants.com

Website: www.noburestaurants.com/kuala-lumpur

Facebook: www.facebook.com/nobukl

Christmas 2016 @ Nobu Kuala Lumpur

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

Tis the season to indulge, so celebrate this beautiful Christmas at new heights in style. Nobu Kuala Lumpur presents a Christmas Omakase menu this festive season to ring in the cheer with gastronomical delights.

Culinary gourmands will feast on new style Japanese-Peruvian dishes crafted by Executive Chef Philip Leong and team with a 7-course Omakase menu that is available for lunch or dinner. There’s no better view of the city that at Nobu Kuala Lumpur where one catches full glorious view of The Twin Tower and all its glittering city lights.

Set the mood for the festive with a glass of Cava with your loved ones while you wait for a feast to come…

Zensai Moriawase is a kaleidoscope of flavors and textures. Showcasing signature bites under Chef Philip’s repertoire, start off with a shot of Oyster Shooter. Bold moreish flavor reigns in a one mouthful. The unctuous briny note of the fresh oysters coupled with the umami flavor of the sauce makes a great starter. Followed by a roll of glorious sweet Yellowtail Jalapeno sashimi enhanced by a steep heat of jalapeno in ponzu sauce.

Moving to a beautiful and artistic piece of Salmon Kelp Roll that sits in tasty soy dressing. Salmon sashimi wrapped with kelp and stuffed with Oba leave and carrots is a mouthful of delicious flavors. The best of the lot has to be the liver of the sea in Ankimo with Caviar. A luscious disc of monk fish liver is paired with a moreish miso sauce and topped with tiny black caviar pearls. Heavenly creamy and rich, the disc of liver is utterly superb in flavors. A simple but tasty Tuna Sashimi Salad completed the course nicely.

One would never dine at Nobu without savoring the freshest cut of the sea on rice. The Seasonal Assorted Sushi is the epitome of Japanese cuisine. The finest and freshest cut of Chu Toro, Kinmadai and Amaebi Sushi hits all the right notes and ended with salty umami globules of Salmon Roe with fresh wasabi on sushi rice.

The prettiest dish of the course would be the Madai Sashimi Dry Miso Salad. Slivers of beetroot cured Japanese sea bream is paired with tiny cubes of crisp apples, micro green salad, edible flowers and a yuzu olive oil dressing with a sprinkling of dry miso powder. Light and citrusy with a tasty umami note from the dry miso, the salad is a welcoming course of freshness after the sushi and sashimi.

Indulgence is the perfect excuse for the festive feast and the Konbu Dashi Poached Lobster with crispy watercress and watercress sauce fits the bill perfectly. The king of crustacean is gorgeously poached with much tenderness in a konbu dashi broth. The sweetness of the lobster goes so well with the crispy watercress, Ikura daikon, lobster cracker and watercress sauce.

The feast continues in full height of lavishness with the main course of Kobe with Tamari Pepper Sauce, served with soba-quinoa risotto and caramelized fig. The ultimate meat sensation is definitely the thick cut of perfectly grilled kobe beef with its glorious marbling of flavors. The kobe beef alone was divine. The piquant Tamari pepper sauce added a nice bonus of flavors while the unique soba-quinoa risotto gave the dish a different note of textures. Perhaps the caramelized fig was an afterthought but it definitely worked so well as a sweet palate cleanser to the rich beef.

Cold Inaniwa noodles ended the course with sheer simplicity and delight.

On the sweet note, there is the pretty Christmas Forest. Showcasing black goma & green tea olive oil sponge, tempura gen-mai cha ice cream & berries crumble, it was indeed a festive color of sweetness. The tempura brown rice tea ice cream is delicious with toasty notes and lightly crispy. The sponge is great for mopping up the ice cream while the tart plum wine jelly balanced up the cream of the dessert well.

The Christmas Omakase Dinner is priced at RM560++ and RM598++ (with a glass of Cava wine option) per person. Patrons who dine at Nobu Kuala Lumpur for dinner on Christmas Day are also in for a special treat as there will be an exclusive not-to-be-missed tuna filleting and dismantling show by Sushi Chef Take-San.

There will be two (2) seatings for dinner, with the first seating from 6:00pm to 8:30pm and the second at 8:45pm. Reservations will require a RM500 deposit payment to secure the booking.

The lunch menu on the other hand, will offer a 5-course Omakase set featuring dishes adapted from the 7-course dinner menu. The Christmas Omakase Lunch is priced at RM250++ per person and will be available during regular lunch hours (12pm-2pm) on December 24th and 25th.  The regular Omakase lunch, Matsuhisa Bento and selected a la carte dishes will be available for order. High Tea service and other lunch set menu will not be available during this time.

Ring in the New Year with a gorgeous view of grand fireworks display at Nobu Kuala Lumpur as well as a New Year gastronomical Omakase lunch and dinner menu. Priced at RM580++ per person, the Omakase Dinner is available on December 31st, 2016 and January 1st, 2017. The New Year’s Omakase Dinner will be open for two (2) seatings, with the first seating from 6:00pm to 8:30pm and the second at 9:00pm Reservations will require a 50% deposit payment to secure the booking for an entire table.

The lunch menu on the other hand, will offer a 5-course Omakase set featuring dishes adapted from the 7-course dinner menu. The New Year’s Lunch Omakase is priced at RM250++ per person and will be available during regular lunch hours (12pm-2pm) on December 31st and January 1st.  The regular Omakase lunch, Matsuhisa box and selected a la carte dishes will still be available to order. High Tea service and other lunch set menu will not be available during this time.

For enquiries or to make reservations, please call 03.2164.5084 or Whatsapp 019.389.5085.

NOBU KL

Menara 3 Petronas

Level 56 KLCC 50088 Kuala Lumpur

Phone: +60 3 2164 5084

Fax: + 60 2164 5085

Reservation: nobuklreservations@noburestaurants.com

Website: www.noburestaurants.com/kuala-lumpur

Facebook: www.facebook.com/nobukl

A Christmas Omakase at Nobu Kuala Lumpur

Celebrate Christmas The Nobu Way

Nobu, a name highly praised in the gastronomic world, goes all out to join in the festive cheer of the Christmas season with a gourmet Japanese Christmas Omakase. Opened late last year, Nobu Kuala Lumpur has been serving premium new style Japanese cuisine to many of their avid connoisseurs. Set on level 56 of Menara 3 Petronas tower, Nobu dining experience is further enhanced by the majestic and breath-taking 360 degree view of the cityscape. Designed by brilliant architect, Severine Tatangelo from Studio PCH, Nobu’s space is set with an open kitchen, Sushi bar, main dining room as well as Nobu lounge and bar.

Themed in rich cherry wood colours set with natural muted beige, the various sections of the restaurant are gorgeously lite up with soft warm lightings throughout the space. Japanese elements with plush greenery and rows of house Sakes completed the décor with modern elegance.

At the Nobu Lounge and Bar, a stunning bar is set in the center of the dim lite room, offering diners exclusive high-end sake and masterfully crafted cocktails. Spacious and inviting, this area is perfect for private functions as well as a place to indulge in a piece of the Nobu haven.

Celebrating Christmas the Nobu way, adventurous diners are invited to celebrate this festive holiday with Nobu’s Chrismas Omakase menu, available for lunch and dinner. Helmed by Ipoh born Executive Chef Philip Leong, Nobu’s Christmas Omakase is a creative set of new-style Japanese dishes injected with Nobu’s signature of Peruvian inspirations. The Christmas omakase is a 7-course dinner of newly crafted dishes complemented by a glass of Veuve Clicquot to ring in the festive cheers.

The first course was a joyous presentation of Botan Ebi Tartare with Caviar & Wasabi Soy Gelee. Botan Ebi or Botan Shrimp is a favorite in the Japanese community. The natural sweetness of the shrimp is much beloved by many and Japanese loves to enjoy them raw when they are fresh. It is minced finely into tartare and wrapped with zucchini before being topped with avocado and black caviar. Though it tasted really sweet with a light bouncy jelly texture, the tartare flavours are boosted to another level of flavours with the wasabi soy gelee. The delicate presence of wasabi enhanced the sweetness of the shrimp beautifully.

The next course is an ultimate one for sushi lovers. Nobu Matsuhisa is famed for his creative touches on sushi. While maintaining the true flavours of the Japanese delicacy, he still manages to get in his creative twist of raising the bar on the flavours of sushi by pairing them with his unique touches. Our Assorted Sushi of Chu-Toro, Kampachi, Aji and Hotate had the whole table in silence. Paying full homage to the beautiful and perfect sized sushi, each piece had its own little finishing of flavours. Completed with imported maple leaves to add to the presentation, we worked our way from the lavish to the sweetest.

Chu-Toro, medium fatty tuna looked utterly divine with its pale pink marbling. Its taste was just as supreme as its fame. Kampachi or Amber Jack paired with a thinly sliced jalapeno chili and herb tasted sublime in the mouth with its after hint of heat while the Aji or Horse Mackerel has a tiny dot of grated ginger and scallion to counter the bold aroma and flavour of the fish. The ending was sweet and fresh Hotate scallop enhanced with a torn leave of cilantro and a tiny droplet of Rocoto chili paste. I am in sushi heaven…

More sashimi and this course cleverly incorporated thinly sliced Madai or red seabream into a salad. The Madai Sashimi & Baby Spinach Salad with Yuzu Dressing had fresh and vibrant citrusy notes from the yuzu while maintaining a delicate flavour. Crisp garlic slices, bonito shavings, micro pea shoots and twirls of beetroot completed the dish with finesse and more flavours.

Our third course of Seared Hotate with Shiso Salsa was pretty and colorful. Plump scallops beautifully seared till just cooked, is paired with a Shiso salsa of minced sweet onions and peppers. Unctuous and salty thin slices of Bottaga or cured fish roes gave a unique note to the scallops. I adored this course for its bold but well balanced flavours of salty, sweet, sour, spicy and very subtle hint of bitter note from all the combination of the ingredients. The salsa sauce was so good, we asked for a spoon to enjoy it!

After all the seafood courses, it was time for a meat course. Taking on the lux Kobe beef, Chef Leong’s creation of Kobe with Anticucho Miso with Baby Vegetables proved to be a crowd pleaser. Melt-in-the-mouth tender Kobe beef was grilled to perfection and sat on a bed of quinoa, dotted with pumpkin puree.

The smoky and moreish Anticucho Miso sauce, which has the Peruvian chili paste of red Aji Panca and orange Aji Amarillo combined with Saikyo miso, resulting in a unique and luscious earthy flavour. The pop of colors from roasted beets, peeled cherry tomato and roasted brussel sprout leaves gave the dish its wow presentation factor. One can add a gentle squeeze of calamansi lime to height up the sweet and sour notes. A stunning dish in presentation and flavours!

If you do not take beef, do let them know and Chef Leong will adjust the menu accordingly.

Ending the savory course was a light and refreshing Cold Inaniwa. Al dente flat Inaniwa udon is served simply in a sweet and refreshing broth with seaweed and scallion. Slurping the chilled noodles is simply delightful!

The Apple Compote & Azuki Mille Feuille looked simple and yet complex. Thin green tea wafer brushed with gold dust, sandwiched yuzu cream with sweet and spiced apple compote to complete the mille feuille. On the side, creamy red bean paste and a quenelle of yuzu ice cream are paired to give the dish an East meets West finale. This dessert took me to cloud nine. It was not overly sweet and the green tea wafer really worked well with the tangy yuzu cream and sweet apples.

It’s definitely a different Christmas but what an impressive one!

The Christmas Omakase Dinner, priced at RM630 per person, will be open for two seatings with the first seating between 6.00pm – 6.30pm and the second between 9.00pm – 9.30pm. These seatings are open for reservations a month before.

The Lunch Menu on the other hand, will offer a 5-course Omakase set featuring selected dishes from the 7-course menu. The Christmas Omakase Lunch is priced at RM250 per person and is available during regular lunch hours on December 24 and 25, 2015. A la carte dishes will also be available to order, however lunch sets – apart from the Matsuhisa Bento, will not be.

For enquiries of to make reservations, please call 03 2164 5084 or Whatsapp 019 389 5085

NOBU KUALA LUMPUR

Menara 3 Petronas

Level 56 KLCC 50088 Kuala Lumpur

Phone: +60 3 2164 5084/ +60 19 389 5085

Fax: + 60 2164 5085

Reservation: nobuklreservations@noburestaurants.com

Website: www.noburestaurants.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/nobukl