Taka by Sushi Saito St. Regis Kuala Lumpur

Taka by Sushi Saito St. Regis Kuala Lumpur

Described as ‘the best sushi restaurant in the world’ by chef and restauranteur Joël Robuchon, Sushi Saito opened its first branch out of Japan in Kuala Lumpur. Located in St. Regis Kuala Lumpur, the restaurant is called Taka by Sushi Saito. Taka by Sushi Saito is a joint venture between Chef Takashi Saito and One IFC Sdn Bhd.

Takashi Saito, the chef behind Sushi Saito is the youngest three starred Michelin sushi chefs in the world. He was awarded his first three starred Michelin at the age of 36 years old. He received many praises and compliments for his Edo-style sushi and it is a huge surprise for him to open a branch in Malaysia.

Taka by Sushi Saito is manned by three experienced Japanese chefs trained by Chef Saito. The menu in Taka will be similar to the one in Tokyo. Thus, the ingredients will be personally chosen by Chef Saito and air flown to Kuala Lumpur three times a week. It is known that Chef Saito sourced the freshest ingredients from Tsukiji Market in Tokyo.

Since we never dined in a three starred Michelin restaurant, we went to Taka by Sushi Saito with celebrity friend Mynn Lee. The restaurant comes with two sections, Taka by Sushi Saito and Ginza Tenkuni, a tempura specialty restaurant. We booked our private room in advance and there are no costs or minimal order for the room.

The restaurant is located on the 3A floor of St. Regis Kuala Lumpur. The moment you step out of the lift, you will be greeted by a glorious chandelier with Japanese sculptures.

We were then ushered to our private room by the well trained staffs. We were addressed by our names, a common gesture by most three starred Michelin restaurants in the world. The room comes with the view and the soft traditional Japanese music in the background.

The restaurant offered omakase menus (which means you will be served on the food chefs wished to make) and there are also different types of set lunches available for Taka by Sushi Saito and Ginza Tenkuni.

Let’s look at the Taka by Sushi Saito Menu.

We ordered Tsuji (Moon) set and it comes with one appetizer, 8 sushi and one sushi roll. Hot or cold ocha (green tea) is complimentary.

The appetizer is the Bonito Fish with Radish. You can tell the freshness of the fish by looking at its colour. The fish is perfectly cut and we also love their tableware.

The bonito fish is gorgeous and you need to compliment it with the sliced radish.

Raw snapper with Soramame.

The snapper is beautifully crafted and it compliments well with soramame (boiled broad beans). We love the bite size portion and also the texture of the snapper.

The sushi at Taka is all seasoned and carefully prepared by the chefs. Thus, you are advised not to take it with soy sauce or wasabi. This is the proper way of having sushi and not overwhelming the taste with soy sauce.

The first plate comes with trio of sushi, they are yellow tail, red snapper and Japanese Garfish. The fish is perfectly cut to precision size and with significant details and texture of the fish.

The next plate is also another trio of sushi. It is tuna belly, Akami (blue fin tuna) and Ika (squid).

The last plate of sushi comes with Taragai, Anago and Kampyo Sushi rolls (dried shavings of calabash, a type of gourd).

The yellow piece is the dessert and it is the tamago (egg).

We also met up with the executive chef of Taka by Sushi Saito, Chef Satoshi Uehara. With over twenty years of culinary experience under his belt, the chef has worked in Japan, New York and Sao Paulo. He is one of three chefs specially trained by Chef Saito to deliver the similar dining experience of his Tokyo’s restaurant.

One of the intentions of Chef Saito is to bring the ‘real sushi experience’ to Malaysia and that is the perfect way to describe his Edo-style sushi. Each and every single piece of sushi is created and beautifully crafted like a masterpiece, seasoned and flavoured for the guests to experienced it. The freshness and also the high quality of their ingredients air flown three times a week from Tokyo translates to the delicate taste of their sushi. It is a total experience of hospitality, ambience, tasting and experience that is worth three starred Michelin.

For RM 330 price tag of the Tsuji (Moon) Sushi Lunch Set, it is money well spent and hopefully we can save enough for the RM 1,400 for their omakase sushi set one day. This is the real deal, the proper way of experiencing ‘the real sushi’ from Japan like how it is described in manga, anime and TV shows. Taka by Sushi Saito is definitely top of our lists and you have to experience it too.

More info at http://www.stregiskualalumpur.com/dining-japanese-saito-tenkuni 

This is not a sponsored or paid review and we went there like any other guests. No special treatment or special meals.

Pictures are captured with Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge.

Taka by Sushi Saito Address:

Level 3A, The St. Regis Kuala Lumpur

No. 6,, Jalan Stesen Sentral 2, Kuala Lumpur Sentral, 50470 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Telephone: +603-27276688