Nestled within the grounds of Grand Millennium Hotel is a newly opened
Japanese fine dining restaurant called Takumi.
Takumi is rather fresh in the fine dining scene,
having just opened a couple of months earlier. A brief look into Takumi's
Facebook, and you can see from the short description that Takumi
offers the ultimate Japanese gastronomic experience. Seeing that this
would be my first proper fine dining experience, I had my
expectation higher than my usual, already high
expectation of the place.
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Kani Salad | RM18 (small) RM28
(large)
We started things off with Kani Salad which is
a crab salad served with a tangy sesame sauce. On first look, the crab meat
looks somewhat similar to those shredded filament crabsticks. Don’t be fooled
because it’s pure Taraba crab meat which have been air flown from
Hokkaido, Japan. Super fresh crab meat, and I would love to eat
it boiled just like that without the salad, I’ll be fine too. Haha.
Kani Salad | RM18 (small) RM28
(large)
Sashimi Platter | RM180
Then, we were served with the exquisitely looking sashimi
platter, complete with fog from the dry ice. It was a sight to behold, having it
presented in such glorious manner. There were six different types of sashimi,
Spanish mackerel, tuna, kanpachi, scallop, salmon and halibut. I loved how fresh
the rest of the sashimi was; it was smooth, with just the right cut.
One dip into my wasabi soy sauce, and next into my mouth …… it was just
#foodgasm! I swear it was that because there is no other feeling quite like
that.
My favourite of the lot would be the Spanish mackerel,
I never knew that it could be served as sashimi. It was really great,
because it didn’t taste anything like the usual sashimi. It was extremely thinly
sliced, and mhmm I cannot find words in my vocabulary to even describe
it.
Lobster Mentaiyaki (half) | RM78
This arrived next, and for a moment I thought it was a really
huge gigantic prawn. Well, it is actually half of a Boston
lobster cooked with cheesy Mentaiko sauce with enoki and shitake mushrooms!
I will marry the chef who came up with this dish because it was just delicious
and really, it was the best combination of my favourite foods ever. It is served
on a bed of salt, because the Japanese is superstitious like that. It is purely
part of the decoration and not to be eaten at all.
Lobster Mentaiyaki (half) | RM78
Kawahagi fish | Seasonal price
Then, we had the steamed kawahagi fish which was for
me just steamed fish. It had an odd bitter aftertaste, something tells me that
you’ll need an acquired taste for this fish. The manager of the restaurant,
Johnnie mentioned that this kawahagi fish was more famously eaten as
sashimi dipped in the same fish’s liver sauce. Just
from his description of the sashimi, I have already made that a
must try delicacy when I’m in Japan. Or if it is ever available in
Malaysia/Kuala Lumpur.
Kawahagi fish | Seasonal price
Chicken Curry Cutlet Maki | RM30
I have never been a fan of sushi or maki alike, because of the
rice. Not to say I don’t enjoy it but it really depends because when I crave for
it, I can eat loads. This dish although is a type of maki, is actually
cooked in a rather different way. They used fried chicken cutlet, and in fact
the maki have been deep fried too resulting in a crispy ‘skin’
with soft fluffy rice on the inside, and also the crunchy chicken. The sauce
gave it a mild hint of curry flavour, just nice and it goes well with the
dish.
There’s a saying that goes, save the best for last. I
couldn’t agree more because the last dish we were served was the Shabu
Shabu. A pot of clear broth was brought on to the table, followed by a
platter of neatly arranged vegetables and finally, two plates of sliced fresh
meats.
A5 Wagyu Sirloin Beef | RM280
I have only heard of the wagyu beef and just how
delicious it was, but I never knew what made it so good. The secret was actually
in the marbling of the beef; the better the grade of the beef, the more marbling
the beef would have. These marbling are actually unsaturated fat, but
trust me, you will never have eaten “fat” this good. The waiter mentioned that
the best way to cook these wagyu beef in shabu shabu,
was to cook it till it’s about 60-70% done. That way, the “fat” will be retained
within the meat leaving it still juicy and soft chewy. If you overcooked it, all
the “fat” would then turn into oil and it goes into the broth. Personally, I
prefer to have it cooked at 70%, where part of the meat are still raw because
you can taste how silky smooth the meat is in your mouth. This is just another
#foodgasm again!
Angus Beef | RM88
We also had the Angus beef, which was really good as well. It
was meant to serve as a comparison between the wagyu and the Angus, and
yes the difference was quite noticeable. But the Angus was still great, but a
different league from the wagyu, that’s for sure. :) We ended our meal
with a beautifully decorated fruits platter, which was made by one of their
talented staff. They were almost, too cute to eat.
* * * * * * * * * *
&. Thanks to HungryGoWhere Malaysia and Takumi
Restaurant for having me. +
