Eats: Omakase kaiseki @ Xenri

Last month, we got treated to an omakase kaiseki dinner by Lil' Sis because she got a mini reward for hitting her sales target. She took Hubs and me to this nice Japanese restaurant called Xenri at Menara Hap Seng.

Omakase is Japanese for "I'll leave it to you" which means that what we had that night was entirely decided by the Chef and based on what was fresh, seasonal and available that day. Kaiseki simply means a multi-course traditional Japanese meal, although at Xenri it was more fusion rather than traditional.

First course: Smoked duck salad with toasted peach in foie gras sauce. This itself blew us away. Absolutely *heart* the tender and smoky duck breast that was balanced with lightness and fruity taste of the peach and various salad greens.

Second course: Whelk sashimi, spotted shrimp marinated with grape fruit and kampachi marinated in yuzu. When this was presented at our table, again, we were bowled over by the presentation. Including the young couple sitted at the next table, coz they kept stealing glances at our way. Lol! The captain patiently explained what was presented at each course and taught us the way to eat this is to start with the lightest flavoured sashimi, followed by medium to the heavy flavoured ones. Which in this case was the whelk, followed by the shrimp and lastly the kampachi. It was just heavenly! The whelk was fresh and had a crunch to the bite, I loved the hint citrus from the grape fruit on the shrimp, while the kampachi was fresh and firm.

Third course: A consomme of sea bamboo, sea aspragus and seasonal flowers from some lake in Japan. This consomme was light with a hint of smokiness to the palate. I was rather fascinated by the seasonal flowers that were covered with a gelatinous layer as you can see in the picture below. 

Fourth course: Baked Tuna jaw marinated with yuzu miso, with junmai daikon. The tuna had a sweet and almost-caramel like taste with a tangy hint from the yuzu. The daikon which was marinated in junmai (rice sake) was a nice and light balance to the somewhat heavy taste of the tuna. 

Fifth course: Wagyu short ribs with deed fried gobo (burdock root). By the time we reach this course, Hubs and me were quite full, especially after the tuna course. This was quite rich in taste as well, and personally I didn't enjoy this as much as I would like.  

Lil' Sis fifth course. Since she had the wagyu short ribs on her previous trip with clients, Xenri offered her a different dish, which was French meltique beef with shishito. According to the captain, meltique beef uses the unique technique of inserting soluble oil into cuts of lean meat to baste the meat internally during the cooking process, which in this instance was just a simple grill. The beef was almost wagyu-like in texture and was nicely balanced off by shishito, which is a type of sweet Japanese pepper.

Finally the sixth and last course. Yanaka ginger custard with merlot reduction, Spanish melon, US cherries and persimmon. I would dare say that this is a very fusion and East-meet-West invention. Yanaka ginger is young Japanese ginger that was blended into the custard. A rather acquired taste but somehow everything worked together: the mildly sharp taste of the ginger, sweetness from the melon and persimmon and slightly tangy cherries.

It was a very memorable and highly satisfying culinary journey. No wonder Lil' Sis was telling me so much about this place after her first visit with her clients. :)

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Xenri D' Garden Terrace
Lot No. 2-04, Second Floor,
Podium Block of Menara Hap Seng
Jln. P Ramlee, 50250 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: +603 2078 6688