Kaiseki Course at Hanare Japanese Restaurant Intermark

Kaiseki Course at Hanare Japanese Restaurant Intermark

There are a lot of Japanese restaurants in the Klang Valley Malaysia. From sushi kaiten concept restaurants to Japanese buffet restaurants. Yes, most of these restaurants are popular among Malaysians but if you are looking for authentic Japanese cuisine then it will be a tough one.

How to spot a good Japanese restaurant?

The question is how to spot a good Japanese restaurant? Most of the times, in a reputable Japanese restaurant, it will be filled by Japanese. Unlike most Malaysians, Japanese are very picky on their food especially from their home country. Hence, they know where to find the best Japanese cuisine and also their favourite Japanese chefs.

What is Kaiseki Course?

Coincidently, we had a conversation on kaiseki courses during dinner yesterday. My friends splashed more than RM 1000 per person in a Michelin star restaurant in Kyoto for kaiseki courses.

Kaiseki is a traditional multi-course Japanese dinner. The term also refers to the collection of skills and techniques that allow the preparation of such meals, and are analogous to Western haute cuisine.

Having Kaiseki is like having the chef’s best prepared food and it all depends what the chef shopped in the market that day. You will not know what you will be eating but it will be extraordinary.

Hanare Japanese Restaurant

Long long time ago there was one famous authentic Japanese restaurant in Menara Keck Seng at Jalan Bukit Bintang. It is called Tykoh Inagiku and it was one of the oldest Japanese restaurants in Kuala Lumpur. It was owned by a Japanese fish wholesaler from Tsujiki Market (World Biggest Fish Market) in Tokyo. The restaurant was closed down as the owner wanted to retire from the business. We bet many were disappointed with the decision, we moved on.

The legacy didn’t stop there. The chef and the team who brought joy to customers at Tykoh Inagiku are now in Hanare with a new owner. It is a new restaurant, new name, new owner but the same old good Japanese food. It is now called Hanare and it is located at Intermark / Double Tree Hotel.

OpenRice Malaysia

Before we start our jaw dropping review on Hanare, let’s talk about OpenRice Malaysia. Did we mention, the Kaiseki course dinner we attend at Hanare was an appreciation dinner by OpenRice Malaysia for its reviewers and readers.

OpenRice (OpenRice.com) is an online dining guide written by local people, with a comprehensive restaurant search engine and a platform for users to write reviews on restaurants they have visited. Founded in Hong Kong in 1999, OpenRice is now the city’s most popular place to find dining ideas and share dining experience. Since then, OpenRice has further established presence in major cities across China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia.

The site currently features more than 18,000 dining places in the Klang Valley, which are categorized by cuisine, district, and price range to allow users to quickly and easily find their favorite restaurants. We are constantly adding new dining places to our database, and will be covering other regions in Malaysia in the very near future. Users can learn more by going through each restaurant’s gourmet reviews and photos, and even bookmark their favorite ones. We welcome all food lovers to participate in our community by posting restaurant reviews and sharing dining experience with each other.

After understanding the whole Kaiseki concept, Hanare restaurant and OpenRice Malaysia, let’s move on to the food review shall we?

Hanare is located at the ground floor of Intermark / Double Tree Hotel by Hilton. The building is the ex-Amoda building and it stands at the opposite of Ampang Park and beside the ex-Yow Chuan Plaza / City Square.

The restaurant offers a very cozy dining experience. The restaurant is spacious with limited tables and lots of Japanese customers.

Let’s move on to the 懐石コース Kaiseki Course

 Welcome Drinks

• Shochu – Japanese Cocktail

The Shochu was icy cold and refreshing. It was tasted more to a mocktail than a cocktail.

前菜 Zensai  – An assortment of appetizers

During the plating demonstration, the chef delicately placed each and every one of the appetizers.

• Homemade Goma Tofu (Sesame Tofu),

There were 2 different types of Goma Tofu served, the common sesame and the black sesame. I prefer the black sesame tofu due to my preference of black sesame and also its texture.

• Egg Tofu

The Egg Tofu was one of the smoothest tofu I had in a very long time.

• Hirobaigai – (Snail)

I loved Hirobaigai but in such a huge size. Frankly it was quite intimidating but the taste changed my perception. It was slightly chewy and the taste similar to other types of shell fishes especially the clams.

• Seasonal Baby Squid (April – June only)

Juicy will be the proper word for this dish. It was as fresh it gets.

御造り三種盛り Sashimi – 3 kinds of raw fish

• Kanpachi (Amberjack)
• Kurodai (Black Snapper)
• Katsuo (Bonito Fish)

When the raw fish are sourced from Tsukiji market in Japan, you can expecting nothing but the best.

煮物又は蒸し物 Nimono – Simmered dish

• Ankake (Donburi served with Shrimp & Chicken)

My first Ankake served with Shrimp & Chicken and the taste was lighter than I thought.

焼き肴

Yakimono – Grilled Dish

• Shirako – Snapper milt

This was another first for me. The Shirako or Snapper milt or Snapper sperm was totally a unique experience. Seriously I don’t really want to go details on this and I must admit I am not a big fan of this.

揚げ肴 Agemono – Deep Fried Dish

• Sakura Ebi – Seasonal Prawn (available 2 Months only)

This was the only deep fried dish of the kaiseki course. I loved how the chef deep fried the prawn with vegetables together. Most of the time, prawns and vegetables are deep fried separately. This was crunchy and deep fried to perfection.

季節の炊き込みご飯 Gohan – Seasonal Claypot Rice

• Seasonal Beef Claypot Rice

I thought this was another claypot rice dish and I was wrong. The Japanese rice was seasoned and cooked in the claypot. Although there were only bits of beef in the claypot rice, the star was obviously the rice and not the beef.

デザート Special Dessert

• Handmade Mochi served with Japanese Pear cooked in wine, Strawberry & Vanilla Ice Cream

The portions were good enough for me to compliment the special dessert of handmade mocha served with Japanese Pear cooked in wine, Strawberry & Vanilla Ice Cream. Not the usual desserts that you can order in most Japanese restaurant, the Japanese Pear cooked in wine was juicy and it was a great way to end a kaiseki course dinner.

Beverages

• Dried Sake

Throughout the night, I had cups of warm dried sake. It was a great night of dining experience and the kaiseki course lived up to my expectation.

It was an enjoyable evening with a great kaiseki course. Hanare didn’t disappoint me and lived up for its reputation. Since it was an invite from OpenRice Malaysia, I am unsure about the pricing of the course. By the way, thank you OpenRice Malaysia for the amazing dinner. For more info, please check out the contact below.

Hanare Japanese Restaurant Address, Contact and Tel:

Ground Floor, The Intermark,
Jalan Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-2164-2133/ 2164-2633

Wilson Ng