Sagano Restaurant at Renaissance Hotel MIGF 2012 Review

Sagano Restaurant at Renaissance Hotel MIGF 2012 Review

It has been some time since I dine in Sagano Japanese restaurant at Renaissance Hotel in Kuala Lumpur. Sagano used to be my family’s favourite Japanese buffet restaurant. We used to dine there once every quarter while we also dined in Dynasty Chinese restaurant in the same hotel ago.

October is the month to tantalise your taste buds! Be prepared to be thrilled by a symphony of scrumptious cuisine for lunch and dinner when the 12th international award winning Malaysia International Gourmet Festival (MIGF) takes place from the 1 to 31 October 2012 where Malaysia’s top restaurants will serve up Special Festival Menus at Special Festival Prices.

Themed “Classical Chefs!”, this year’s MIGF represents a return to pure and honest cuisine ensuring the very best of traditional cooking be it Malaysian, Japanese, Korean , Italian, French or any other variety.

Like I mentioned in our Facebook Page, we try to review more MIGF 2012 participating restaurants and Sagano is our second restaurant on the list. Yesterday, I had the chance to sample and review their MIGF menu thanks to Ivy from Food Malaysia.

Sagano is not the same as it used to be. They have a new chef and he is not a Japanese. Meet Chef Danny Leow, a Malaysian Chinese who has more than 10 years in experience. He trained and polished his skills in Fukuoka Japan for more than two years before he worked in renowned Japanese restaurants in Kuala Lumpur.

Chef Danny Leow together with his culinary team at Sagano Restaurant (Level 1, West Wing) has lined up a tantalizing 4-course Festival Menu that is sure to tantalize the tastebuds. Using both local and imported ingredients, Chef Danny emphasizes on the importance of presentation and says that food has to look fresh and fascinating; where textures, tastes and colours have to be in balance in order to please all senses.

SAGANO RESTAURANT FESTIVAL MENU

Trio of Appetisers

Deep fried homemade tofu with prawn tartar roll

自家製揚げ豆腐海老タルタルロール

The difference of the homemade tofu and the commercial tofu is the homemade tofu should have a soft and smoother texture. Sagano’s version was a cute cylinder shape tofu deep fried to perfection and topped with prawn tartar roll.

Baked oyster with special salsa

焼き牡蠣サルサソース添え

The freshness of the oyster played a huge role in this appetizer. It was a simple appetizer but no lacking in flavour.

Salmon belly sushi ball

鮭ハラス寿司

There was nothing fancy about this sushi ball. Rice was formed to a shape of a ball and wrapped with salmon belly.

Pan Seared foie gras teriyaki with fried leek, ikura topping

フォアグラの照り焼きネギとイクラ添え

Is there a story behind this presentation? That the question I asked when they served me these. Forget about the fried leek and the ikura topping, the pan seared foie gras teriyaki was delicious. I wished the I can have another piece of that foie gras.

A  Medley of Mains

Simmered melon filled with minced prawn in rice paper hot pot

冬瓜とエビ団子の紙鍋

This was another great presentation dish. This was a refreshing soup strongly infused with the melon. I was surprised to have such a light dish as a main but it made sense as there were two more “meaty” mains to come.

Pan seared butter fish with black sesame, sesame sauce

白マグロ胡麻和え

Five perfectly cut pan seared butter fish with black sesame with sesame sauce and there was a potato croquette in the middle. The fish was fresh and well pan seared while the potato croquette was deep fried to crispy and crunchy skin.

Wagyu striploin teppanyaki with Japanese potato salad

和牛サーロインポテトサラダ添え

When saw Wagyu in the menu, I almost jumped in joy. The wagyu striploin was cooked with teppanyaki style similar to the one I had in Kobe. It came with thin sliced red raddish and Japanese potato salad and complimented with fried garlic and garlic sauce. This was unbelievably delicious as I am so glad the beef was not overcooked. The double Grade A Wagyu beef was tender and juicy. I wished I could have another few more plates of this.

Inaniwa udon with chilled fresh tomato sauce

稲庭うどんトマトチリソース

This was interesting. The Inaniwa udon was not the usual udon. This Akita prefecture’s style udon was thinner and looked more like ramen than udon. Udon was never in my noodle preference list but Chef Danny Leow’s homemade udon was exceptional. The noodle was topped with crunchy bits and it went really well with the chilled fresh tomato sauce. It was a perfect match.

Homemade coconut ice cream with deep fried pumpkin croquette

自家製ココナッツアイスクリーム南瓜コロッケ添え

Lastly we had the homemade coconut ice cream with deep fried pumpkin croquette. The pumpkin croquette was sweet and yummy. The home made ice cream had bits of coconut flesh and beautifully present in coconut shell.

Overall Sagano’s MIGF 2012 Menu was impressive. We are talking about having foie gras, Wagyu Beef and butter fish in their menu and their pricing was more than reasonable. Chef Danny Leow definitely weaved his magic producing a combination of tantalizing Japanese dinner.

The Festival Menu is priced at RM138++ per person (without wines) and RM188++ per person (with wines) as well as RM108.00++ for a light Festival Menu without wines  consisting of appetizers, soup, choice of one (1) main and dessert for those opting for a quick bite.

Festival diners will also enjoy a host of privileges such as:-

ë   Complimentary cocktail on arrival

ë   20% discount on selected wines/champagne ordered

ë   20% discount on any beverage with the Festival Menu

ë   Spend RM800nett and take home a free bottle of wine

ë   15%  discounts on selected cigars with the Festival Menu

ë   Book more than 10 seats and enjoy 20% discount on the Festival Menu

ë   20% discount on benchmarked room rate. Applicable with Festival Menu booking

ë   Book for 15 seats and enjoy one complimentary Buffet Dinner @ TEMPTationS

Make a date with us all through October! Both Sagano and Dynasty are open daily for lunch from 12noon to 2.30pm and dinner from 6.30pm to 11.00pm. To discover more, please call 03-2162 2233 or email [email protected]

Wilson Ng