Mention “Ishin” and most people would wax lyrical over its exquisite offerings. Located along the busy Old Klang Road in a building by itself, Ishin has made a name for itself for its genuine Japanese and Kaiseki-style cuisine.
The restaurant exudes a cosy classy feel with its chic interior decor. The oval-shaped sushi counter takes centre-stage – a perfect perch to see the chefs deftly at work. One wall is decked from ceiling-to-floor with racks of sake of every size, shape and brand. Private tatami rooms are available on the upper level. We had our Kaiseki meal experience in one of these.
A platter of appetisers appeared to kick-off our meal. On the long plate, there were these delightful morsels:
Pan-fried Duck Liver with citrus sauce
Smoked Duck Breast salad with truffle dressing
Deep-fried Sweet Potatoes in the foreground
Great care has been taken in the plating and presentation. It was a feast for the eyes as much as for the stomach. I savoured every single bite of everything there, lingering over the decadent velvety duck liver, the aromatic duck breast and the sweet crunch from the paper-thin sweet potatoes.
The Double-boiled Bluefin Soup was a rare treat. The two precious chunks of umami gelatinous bluefin were just superb, the taste and texture really incomparable. The soup was sweet and clear with a hint of earthiness from the mushroom.
To preserve the freshness of the raw fish, our sashimi was served on ice – on an igloo, no less! Yes, the curved carved ice provided a total cold environment for the sashimi so the Akaza prawns, maguro and shima aji (striped jack) were perfectly fresh, sweet and succulent.
Fresh wasabi
More premium items came in the form of Pan-fried Ankimo (monkfish liver) with Tara Shirako (codfish milt) Cheese Yaki. In case you are wondering what milt is, it’s the sperm sac. Highly prized as a delicacy, the Japanese love this. It’s creamy with a tasty umami tinge to it and if you don’t think of it as “sperms”, it’s actually deliciously palatable!
The Kagoshima Beef was really to-die-for. The almost-translucent slices (thanks to the awesome marbling) were stone-grilled at table side and we were told to not overcook them. They just needed to be grilled less than a minute on each side and they practically melted in the mouth.
Kagoshima Beef
We had a bowl of Seared Otoro (tuna belly) and Uni (sea urchin) Don to round up the meal on a resounding note. Life couldn’t get any better than otoro and uni, right?
Oh, for dessert, we had the sweetest musk melon, persimmon and Kyushu grapes, all flown in from Japan, of course.
The above Kaiseki meal was about RM600 per person. It is pricey but bear in mind, the items served were all top-notch premium stuff, flown in from Japan. If there’s a special occasion for celebration, perhaps it’s fine to splurge on a Kaiseki experience here.
Ishin does serve daily set lunches too, with prices starting from RM25++.
ISHIN
202 Persiaran Klang, Batu 3 3/4
Off Jalan Klang Lama
58000 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-7980-8228
Website: www.ishin.my
Business hours:
Lunch: 12pm-3pm
Dinner: 6pm-1am
please ask them to ajak me. hahah.
Haha ok, i’ll try 🙂