My most expensive dinner to date (for two)

Okay, booked a table for two (Me and Rose) at Iketeru in Hilton KL, Friday evening, ordering the Festival menu (I paired mine up with wine)

Starters:
Two dishes
The smoked duck breasts tasted sweet thanks to the succulent pickles that was paired with it.
But the eye catcher was the pike in ponzu sauce decorated with mushrooms, veggie and salmon roe.
Soury smoky yet enjoyable

Soup:
Forgot to ask the chef what stock he used but the clear soup had a trace of oyster masked by plenty of japanese white radish and baby mushrooms.
The spanish Sherry that was paired with it really gave it some depth to tease out flavor of the soup.

Sashimi:
I love the richness of the tuna belly, so tender that it breaks apart in your mouth yet chewy too. (Rose says that one piece was more than enough for her)
The sea bream was thinnly sliced and lightly dab with fragrant sesame oil.
The Hokkaido prawn was interest when eaten raw with a hint of olive oil.
The Italian white wine that went with this one was a mismatch because it suited the fishes, but not the prawn.

Steammed dish:
Just learned that Wagyu is actually the name of the region that produces the meat (just like Kobe beef comes from Kobe).
This dish is probably one of the highlights for me that evening.
Again, meat so tender that it breaks apart on the slightest touch from the chopsticks, yet to juicy and tender and full of saucy flavours. (Rose says it's too sweet for her but I do like my meat sweet)
The French red wine also went well with the meat (just wish that the waiter could actually serve the wine beforehand and introduce me to it instead of me asking them to 'erm-herm')

Hor d'oeuvre
A selection of Japanese autumn delicacies wrapped and steammed in a Hoba-leaf, the aroma was still lingering in the air throughout the dish (and even after it)
Top marks for the grilled tuna cheek generously lathered with a robust white miso paste (Rose detected brandy in it, so prayers won't be heard for 44 days). And the selection of prawn tempura, gingko nuts and fried sweet potato chip was excellent. But the piece that took the icing on the cake has to be the brandied chestnut, nestled in it roasted shell (which was edible too!)

Sushi:
I was curious to find out what the Toro in Toro Sushi means, and chef Ricky Kamiishi explained it to be Tuna belly (again).
Yet all three sushi tasted different from the Sashimi earlier, so chef Kamiishi highlighted the different preparations of each individual meat, including marinating the first, grilling the second and salting the third. The garnishing of Wasabi (first), ponzu (second) and roasted garlic (third) really compliment each of the sushi.
The change from an australian white wine to a italian sauvignon failed to excite me at first until I sipped the chilled wine. Now that was truly refreshing.

Dessert:
Was alternating bites of the lime sorbet, musk melon and japanese sweet pastry (Rose wants it softer and bigger portion eventhough she failed to finish the tuna sashimi earlier) but I beg to differ.

Grilling the chef:
Chef Ricky Kamiishi was wonderful enough to brave our interrogation of his dishes, Rose has a lot to say to him and we truly enjoyed his company. He even pointed out that he is bringing in the deadly Pufferfish (which is a winter dish) soon. I will definitely have to come back for it soon.

Souvenir:
Shamelessly asked for a copy of the Festival menu, now in the hands of Rose.

Last words:
I am not a gourmet, so sue me :P