Kaiseki at 天 (Ten) - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Dinner - Tuesday, January 3, 2012

天 (Ten, i.e. "heaven" or "sky" in Japanese) is a relative newcomer to the high-end Japanese scene in this country - it is the first branch of its parent restaurant, which is located in Sydney, Australia. 

In a surprisingly rare move for Malaysian establishments, 天 claims to source much of its fish from Tsukiji market. Also uncommonly for Malaysia, 天 employs two experienced Japanese chefs - Chef Hiroshi Miura (trained in cha kaiseki) and Chef Atsushi Nishibuchi (an Edo-mae sushi itamae). We visited with the express purpose of trying their kaiseki menu.

Cilantro - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Dinner - Friday, December 30, 2011

After our dinner at Sage, we were very eager to dine at Cilantro as soon as possible, in order to directly compare the two restaurants - was the circle complete? Had the student finally surpassed the master?

As luck would have it, we were able to snag a dinner table on short notice. When we arrived, we were led to their private dining room, which none of us had ever eaten in - it turned out to be quite a pleasant experience, isolated from the general hubbub of the restaurant (of course, one tends to run the risk of being ignored by runners in these spaces). We chose the prix fixe option as the a la carte seasonal specials looked more interesting than the items on their degustation menu.

Black truffles at Sage - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Dinner - Wednesday, December 28, 2011

I think that Sage and its sister restaurant Cilantro are probably at the top of the fine-dining scene in Malaysia. While we've visited the latter numerous times, this was our first visit to Sage - it is overseen by Chef Daniel, the former right hand of Cilantro's Chef Takashi Kimura.

Although they function autonomously, both chefs confer on menu planning to minimize overlap between the two restaurants (though this seems hardly necessary, as both have quite different styles). In comparison to Cilantro, the food at Sage is much simpler, with minimal fuss and very straightforward flavour combinations. Since 'tis the season, we decided to indulge in their black truffle menu this evening.

Intermezzo 2 - Ba gua (肉干)

Ba gua (肉干 - yoke gon in Cantonese; also known as long yoke in Malaysia) is a Chinese dried-meat product, traditionally made with minced pork that is shaped into thin slices and barbecued (although chicken and turkey versions are becoming increasingly common). Ba gua is popular in regions with a large Hokkien Chinese presence, and is especially sought after during festive seasons like the Chinese New Year. In Malaysia, the good stuff runs $5-7/lb - I purchased the ba gua below at a whopping $25/lb from Little Red Dot Kitchen, a small operation based in Sunnyvale, CA.

At its best, ba gua has a perfect balance of sweet and salty, with a hint of smokiness - the overall flavour should appeal to ones senses on a primal level. The mouthfeel will be slightly oily (but never overly greasy - the sign of poor-quality ba gua), and you should be able to really discern the texture of the meat in your mouth. Like great barbecue, there should be some char on the surface of each slice, but nothing overly burnt - this can be assessed and appreciated visually as well.

So how did the Californian ba gua fare? Honestly, not bad. It scratched an itch, and it's actually a decent representation of ba gua for the uninitiated. Would I buy more? Perhaps - the price is exorbitant for what it is, but the product is unique. But really, what I need to do is take a crack at making my own.

Ba gua - Little Red Dot Kitchen, Sunnyvale, CA (2011)