A TRULY JAPANESE AFFAIR
Sushi Hibiki offers an intimate experience for traditional Japanese cuisine lovers, writes
DINERS can enjoy authentic Japanese food in a cosy atmosphere at Sushi Hibiki Restaurant at the Four Seasons Place Kuala Lumpur.
The restaurant’s head chef, Makoto Saito, insists that his customers enjoy traditionally-made Japanese fare. And what better way to savour the food than in an intimate place.
Makoto, who prefers to be called Chef Sam, said he wanted a small space to provide an intimate dining experience for his customers. Most of his dishes are served at the restaurant’s sushi bar.
“When I had the idea to open my own restaurant, the most important aspect that came to mind was the number of customers I wanted to serve.
“I wanted the customers to experience a unique atmosphere where they are comfortable with each other. If I have too many customers at one time, I will pay less attention to my customers and will be too busy to attend to them,” he says, adding that hibiki means harmony in Japanese.
Chef Sam says the restaurant only accommodates 12 diners at a time and this includes the sushi bar that seat only nine.
It is at the sushi bar that Chef Sam and his team can be seen preparing the dishes, which are put together using ingredients and seafood that are 99 per cent imported from Japan.
There are four courses to choose from: standard, premium nigiri, seasonal omakase and premium omakase with the price ranging from RM240 to RM700.
The New Sunday Times was given an opportunity to try the seasonal and premium omakase courses.
Chef Sam provides his choice of imported Japanese catch, which are flown in four times a week to the restaurant.
We are treated to the Hokkaido Corn appetiser, which consists of corn tofu, edamame, squid and peeled cherry tomato.
While the starter looks small, each bite is bursting with flavour.
You will be surprised with the corn tofu, which is tofu with a hint of sweet corn.
The peeled cherry tomato gave a sweet taste. Washing it down with nitro-brewed green tea, which is cold-brewed in spring water for 20 minutes, adds another dimension to the experience.
The tea’s slightly bitter taste complements the freshness of the cold spring water it was brewed in.
“The restaurant brews its own nitro-brewed green tea in bottles exclusively for its customers,” says Chef Sam.
Another appetiser featured local bonito sashimi drenched in soy sauce and garnished with thinly sliced ginger and spring onion. This was accompanied by a plate of sweet corn fried in tempura flour, with the crispy texture of tempura giving an edge to the sweetness of the corn.
Next in the course was a bowl of hearty, clear soup known as tsumiri and freshly made sardine balls, which can cure the coldest of colds.
Chef Sam proceeds to serve us nigiri with his selection of fish, including three types of sea urchin with its creamy, yet sweet texture. The raw tuna nigiri is served with a fresh helping of Sushi Hibiki’s egg roll or tamagoyaki. The nigiri melts in your mouth as the fluffy white rice blankets the sashimi nicely. Chef Sam’s selection of striped jack and fat greenling, a seasonal fish from southern Japan, are good choices.
Upon closer look, the nigiri has a dark reddish tint as Chef Sam mixed white and red vinegar to complement the taste of the raw fish.
He says red vinegar was used in the olden days when white vinegar was too expensive for most Japanese homes and people used red vinegar with rice.
Completing the course is a plate of matcha panna cotta, or creamy green tea custard drizzled with caramel syrup and a dash of raisins with chocolate topping.
The dessert was made by a friend of Chef Sam who is a Japanese pastry chef based in Malaysia.
Chef Sam, who is from Tokyo, has 20 years of experience as a sushi chef in Japan and Malaysia.
He believes Malaysians will be attuned to his version of authentic Japanese food.
He thinks Japanese food should be savoured the conventional way and this is only possible if the dishes are prepared traditionally.
He says sushi bars were common in Japan and he wishes to bring the real way to enjoy Japanese food to Malaysia.
For him, the challenge of opening a sushi bar is to provide the “real deal” and attracting Malaysians to try authentic Japanese cuisine.
“Malaysians are impressive. They have an extensive knowledge of Japanese food.
“I think they have learnt about Japanese food more than I do. So, I think giving them a traditional serving of it will give them a taste of real Japan,” he says.
Sushi Hibiki is at Shoppes at Four Seasons Place Kuala Lumpur.
The restaurant is only available via reservation. It is open for lunch from 12.30pm to 2.30pm, and 6pm to 10pm for dinner.