A Contemporary Japanese-French Affair!
I finally understood what it takes to receive a Michelin Star! Thanks to a culinary journey set beyond my wildest expectation, The Saujana Hotel Kuala Lumpur & The Club, Saujana Resort Kuala Lumpur presents The Destined Chef, Chef Yuichi Kamimura. From 24th to 26th October, Michelin Star Chef Yuichi Kamimura will be showcasing his contemporary Japanese-French inspired cuisine at the following dates at both The Saujana Hotel Kuala Lumpur & The Club, Saujana Resort Kuala Lumpur’s restaurants.
No longer a stranger to Malaysia, Chef Kamimura has been invited to showcase his culinary repertoire here before and also in several other Asian countries. Destined to be a chef in footsteps of his family’s bustling restaurant in Hokkaido, Japan, he also had the honors to be taken under the culinary wings of famed Australian Chef Tetsuya Wakuda. After several stints with many prominent chefs from diverse cultures, he has created his own list of degustation menus inspired from Japanese and French cuisines.
Establishing “Kamimura” a restaurant aptly named after him in Sapporo which is now relocated to Niseko, Yuichi has won himself a Michelin star and numerous other accolades and praises for his culinary skills and ability to transform traditional cuisine to a contemporary winner with immaculate presentation simply living by the philosophy of making his customers happy. In person, he is absolutely down-to-earth as he would smile a lot and appeased us by our serious interrogations of his creations that night. His current restaurant only seats 40 as he is extremely set on serving the very best to his customers.
Let our culinary journey begin with The Suntory Night Set Dinner held at Kogetsu Japanese Restaurant. The exclusive degustation dinner is paired with 6 Suntory ranges of beer, shochu and whisky. The Suntory Group in Japan consists of many products and services in the Food and Beverage industry. Our dinner that evening showcased a beer, a shochu and 4 whiskeys from the range of Suntory products. As always in most pairings, we started slowly from the basics leading up to the premium and exclusive liqueurs.
It was undyingly beautifully presented. A large white canvas held the base for every of his dishes. Our first temptation of Botan Ebi King Prawn with Tomato Powder arrived like a modern artwork. Covered in a snow of white and pale golden hue powder, a sumptuous Botan Ebi king prawn lies beneath. Hardly blanched, the king prawns was unctuously sweet, firm and filled with glorious oceanic brine in tasting notes. Sitting further beneath the crustacean, a medley of finely minced broccoli with nuts accompanied the prawns to give it a boost of textures and flavors. Though I can barely taste much of the molecular gastronomy inspired tomato powder flavors in this dish, I am not even complaining because every element was just divine. I may ran out of words just describing this dish but who cares, it deserves every bit of my mad raving of this masterpiece!
Our first piece was paired with Suntory Premium Malt, a beer made using 100% natural water drawn from the underground deep wells of Japan. A mild start, this malt exudes a light floral aroma with a refreshing taste and a dry finish.
The next course of Terrine of Foie Gras & Saikyo Miso with Port Wine features a disc of goose liver flavored with creamy nutty Saikyo miso with a crown of chives and cubes of eggplant dressed in port wine sauce. I will be biased in this case as I am an ardent fan of foie gras. It may seem to be a ‘hoity toity’ ingredient to many but I just cannot resist the lustrous flavors of the goose liver. The foie gras disc is extremely rich in flavors from the liver and miso. Intense savory with a smooth nutty note, it is cleverly offset by cubes of eggplant for which I am told that is deep fried before being washed and marinated in dashi broth and chilled. Laced with a rich sweet fruity port wine, the dish has a beautiful finesse in it!
Served with a chilled innocent looking Suntory Shocu Kuromaru, the flavors speak otherwise. Maybe I am just not familiar with shochu but this Kuromaru Shochu is fairly strong at first taste. Made with a base of sweet potato, it does have a sweet and rounded note and goes on easier after a few sips.
My partner-in-crime next to me boldly said ‘Gimme a big bowl of this dish so I can camp in front of my TV!’ He talks of this like it were mashed potatoes but we all know it takes hours to create Confit of Potato with Black Truffle & Scallop Cream. On the other hand, it’s so good, I do agree that I might want a big bowl of this dish at any time! French cut yellow and purple potatoes are slowly confit for hours till soft and sits on a pool of thick scallop cream sauce. I can literally taste bits of scallops finely minced in the sauce. The crowning glory of the dish is finely shaved black truffles arousing my senses with its famous earthy and nutty scent. Besides being such a luxury dish, I know why we all wanted a big bowl of this… comfort, pure comfort blish!
Suntory Kakubin mixed with soda water is our third pairing and this is one of my favorite. A wedge of lemon adds depth to the whisky blend. It’s refreshing and really easy to enjoy, perfect to lighten up the heavier potato dish with cream sauce.
Once again, I squealed at this prettily dressed Grilled Fish with Braised Seafood in Tomato! It is such a feminine dish with the micro edible flowers piled up on the fish. The dish reminds me of bouillabaisse, a French seafood stew. Superb crispy fish skin coupled with tender flesh has a nice punch of salty notes while bits of vegetables and seafood sit beneath in a warm light tomato broth.
Suntory Hibiki 12 Years Old was paired with the fish. I read from the Suntory website that Suntory owns three distilleries - Yamazaki, Hakushu and Chita in Japan. Hibiki 12 is a whisky blend from all three distilleries and is aged in Ume-Shu casks. On the nose, I can smell wood and caramel. On the palate, I tasted an earthy note and light sweetness with a hint of plums. I prefer this with ice.
When the golden skin Duck Risotto with Mushroom was presented, I could not wait to tuck into the duck. The duck was confit in its own fat till tender and then finished off with a nice sear to crisp up the golden skin. Very moist with deep meaty flavors, the duck is cooked perfectly. The risotto is also exceptionally well done, creamy, al dente and full of earthy and savory flavors from the assorted mushrooms and ham. Now it’s my turn to want a big plate of this delicious duck and risotto!!
Paired with a Suntory signature, the Suntory The Yamazaki 12 Years Old tasted of dried fruits with oak. It has good depth on the mouth and is well rounded too. I also had this with ice since it is quite strong for me on its own.
Our last course ended with Roast Lamb Rack with Wasabi Butter. Two pieces of lean tender lamb is roasted till medium. It’s sidekick of wasabi butter is superbly well balanced, just enough hint of wasabi to entice my nostrils and has a creamy buttery edge. I am so going to make wasabi butter for my meat from now on. A little au jus with brunoise of zucchini and baby kalian completes the ensemble.
This time it was the 2nd distillery of Hakushi with Suntory The Hakushu 12 Years Old whiskey. I must say that the whiskey paired the best with meat, hence the malty and floral sweetness with a light smoke goes so well with the lamb. I braved this one and had it neat!
Pinch me someone! Dessert ended with a high note with Ice Cream with Pumpkin & Caramelized Nuts. The name did not do justice to the dessert. Let me rephrase it with Ice Cream with Roasted Pumpkin, Ginger Pattisserie Cream, Caramelized Nuts and Caramel sauce. It was so sexy and so sinful, yet it had a warm and inviting feel to the flavors. Creamy, aromatic, luscious and sultry, I definitely want more of this dessert. I actually saw Chef Kamimura assemble this dessert and he was just so meticulous and so precise, even down right to the quenelle of ice cream. This is what passion is all about!
His creations are just mesmerizing in every way. It’s no wonder Chef Kamimura is awarded the Michelin star. It is very well deserved as his Japanese-French inspired dishes are well balanced in flavors and textures with a modern feel. Yet there are very authentic Japanese ingredients used to keep us reminded of his roots. His creations are not to be missed and his passion shows in them. Do check out other his other menus available at both The Saujana Hotel Kuala Lumpur & The Club, Saujana Resort Kuala Lumpur till 26th Oct as per below.
24th – 26th October, Lunch at Kogetsu, The Saujana Hotel Kuala Lumpur – RM180++ per person
24th October, Suntory Night Set Dinner at Kogetsu, The Saujana Hotel Kuala Lumpur – RM300++ per person
25th October, Dinner at The Restaurant, The Club Saujana Resort – RM267 nett per person
26th October, Wine Dinner at Senja, The Saujana Hotel Kuala Lumpur – RM380++ per person
For dining reservations and enquiries call (603) 7843 1234 or email dine@thesaujana.com
The Saujana Hotel Kuala Lumpur
Saujana Resort Kuala Lumpur,
Jalan Lapangan Terbang SAAS,
40150 Shah Alam, Selangor.
Contact: 603-7843 1234
