What is on the Chef's Kaiseki menu this month?

There are reasons why I don't do dinners on Friday night:
It is the weekend and the hotel usually throws up crisis over the weekend, normally frontloaded on Friday afternoons and evening.
I used to play boardgames with my gang in Cheras until 6am in the morning (or whenever something big pops up at the hotel).
I find parking very hard (Hilton is no exception).
I usually reserve the night for others.
So while pining for the latest Kaiseki menu this month, Chef Ricky finally invited me over on Friday, Sushi bar counter seat no less. Thus, the jam, the parking, the crowd: this better be worth it.


Starters: Simmered Green Vegetables in Bonito Stock & Chilled Sesame Curd with soy sauce
Unlike previous soft-textured veggies (not soggy, mind you), this month's serving turns out crisp, including the leaves. The thin slices of the kamaboko, or fishcakes soaked up most of the bonito stock, so you still get a great mouthful of flavour with minimal effort.

I still recall last year's sesame curd being very sesame-y, even down to the grainy texture. So smooth was this one that it cuts cleanly with a pair of chopstick and is just enhanced with a dash of wasabi and (albeit, generous) hint of soy sauce. Kudos to Chef Ricky for this one.















Sashimi: Sashimi (Baby Tuna, Hamachi, Hairtail, Butterflyfish with Liver Sauce, Octopus & Silver Fish with Lime Paste)
Okay, where do I start?
The baby tuna was pretty springy and has a different flavour to it, sort of like an even softer toro but with a freshness of a young white wine. The hamachi was even better this time, probably because it was flown in fresh today.

Probably the biggest surprise was the hairtail fish in the center. I was quite curious as to how one slice of meat ended up flowering into six sliver of soft flakiness. I even asked the sushi chef if he scored it that way but he pointed out that is how hairtail meat turns out when cut (minus the skin), it opens like a flower and it can only be used for sashimi and sushi for the one day window, else the meat will...you know what will happen.

The other white meat on taste was from the relative of the coral beauty butterflyfish, complemented by a sauce made from it liver. Yeah, I am eating something with a sharp nose, and probably swims around with Nemo and it is definitely, not a dolphin. (Was actually wondering if the butterflyfishes in the aquarium were mourning their kin who went into the preparation). On its own, doesn't have the richness of sea bream but is really robust, even more than most red meat I have tried, and the liver sauce, ooooohhhh, the liver sauce: it hints at bitterness, but taste like a mellowed mustard that is trying to wallop you with spiciness, just perfect for a robust meat.

On top of that I can extra servings of octopus and silver fish with lime paste (which is than what was advertise on the kaiseki menu I sent LL and Kenny M)


Steamed dishes: Tai (Sea Bream) Head in Sake & Mirin reduction
What a head (well, half a head, more like it).
I have finally mastered the art of eating fish head from dad by with this Sea Bream, even a novice should be able to reduce down to just bare bones (Sorry for not taking photos of the end results). The whole head was coated in a sake & mirin reduction with looks like liquid black honey (or liquid molasses for those who have seen it) that clings to every slice of meat and baths it in sweet, sweet goodness with every bite. *Sigh*, I love this dish.


Grilled Dish: Grilled Hairtail, Herring Roe, Cod Milt, Mussels, Sweet Prawn & Long Beans
Quick run through the cod milt, sweet prawns and herring roe being up to par, while the long bean soaked in stock garnished with bonito flakes was a bit soft for my taste (bordering on almost sogginess).

Thank heavens for 2 pieces of grilled mussels, they were smoky and smoking!!! So sweet with that hint of sea-saltiness that I like and the flesh was oozing (if you understand my drift).
Probably just as good was the grilled hairtail, while the sashimi version was flaky, this one was firm to the touch of the almighty chopstick but still flakes in your mouth as if by a magic command whenever a slice falls on your tongue. No tricks, no hoax, just wonderful texture with a good flavour to match.










Fried dish: Deep Fried Anago Eel
Everyone knows unagi, but how many of you have seen anago (well, at least not those who have visited masak-masak blog for her Federal date). Smaller than their cousins, it is probably right that they are more ideal for a tempura dish since they are quicker to cook and crisp without retaining too much oil.
Wrapped with seaweed (for that extra crispness), I tasted something that borders on thin slices of unagi (think of a normal unagi sliced into 1cm slivers) bound in fresh crispness. A very good dose of plum salt is all you need if you want a more pronounced flavour. (All for bragging purposes, I told Chef Ricky I could have eaten a whole anago serving there and then since he has no idea of my bottomless pit that is my stomach)














Main course: Steamed Rice with Pufferfish.
Haha, instead of baby sardines, I get Fugu!!! How lucky of me.

Personally, I prefer this to the porridge since I love the texture and flavour of the rice prepared this way. Just nice, with slices of Fugu and julienned ginger; honestly, I can say I almost went to heaven from the first bite to the last bite. Here are just a few more pictures of the dish (with the obligatory miso soup of course) :P






































Ricky's special: Two sushi - Tai (Sea Bream) with miso & Tuna Chia (blood rich black meat) with Korean miso (dwenjang/ denjang).
If I almost went to heaven with the last dish, this was the dish to finish the job. Two Chef Ricky handmade sushi. The first one was a flambe Tai sushi topped with miso (Yes, Chef Ricky blowtorched it in front on my very own eyes; Got to make him make these more often in the future). Tastewise, the still warm sushi and sticky miso danced on my tongue, gushing through my tastebuds like water through a straw basket. I just couldn't stop the overpowering flavour that I was experiencing. *Heaven*

Just as I was finishing relishing the first one, I was piqued about the black jerky that was used in the gunkan-maki and garnished with pepper shoots and pickled garlic. One mouthful later and I still haven't descended from the heavens yet. The meat feels tough but my teeth sliced through it like butter and the combination just feels like a well-balanced and well-spiced curry (I know that this is the weirdest analogy I could think of). The pepperiness and sourness just rolls the meat along your tongue and you feel like your blood is racing through your mouth. Turns out that this is the black meat of the tuna, which is rich in blood and can only be prepared from fresh tuna. How sweet. *I just didn't want to come back down to Mother Earth*


















Dessert: Matcha Jelly and Assorted Fruits
Love the Matcha jelly, it seems to be a good all-rounder. If you spice it well, it make a very nice starter, but leave it on its own and you have a great dessert that is not sweet and yet still so enticing to the palate. With the two slices of grape providing the extra sweetness, I would love to see more of this being served in Malaysia. not saying much about the fruits though, at least they tasted sweet, but not sweet enough for my liking.

I am so doing my Kaiseki at Iketeru on Friday night from now on.

Feel free to say anything about me in the comment section.