Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Hanazen .... Baby!!!

As Japanese restaurants go, its not a difficult task to locate good ones, as seriously there is very little cooking with good Japanese food. It all has more to do with getting the  best produce, best cuts and delivered with sincerity and care.

One more Japanese restaurant that fits the bill perfectly is Hanazen @ Jaya One. You may choose to order the sets, which are more than reasonably priced to get a good taste of what Hanazen has to offer. Most sets are under RM40. 




However, to get a real good taste of the best of Hanazen and what chef/GRO Mun Mun has to offer, go for the omakase ( chef's choice), it will set you back RM250-300pp but its certainly worth it, just the very best of what they have on offer and more. The sashimi platter might not look like much but it offers the best of what they have, isn't that what you want, the best on the menu?



 This was quite decadent, Kobe beef, Grade 5 (top level), marbling 9, crispy fish skin plus foie gras. 



When you cut open the Kobe beef, it looked so good, I had to take another photo.


One sure fire way to detect a really good Japanese restaurant is the wasabe, it has to be grated from a fresh root, not the ones mixed from powder please...
 This is QP mayonnaise, which is very Japanese, which i had a silly discussion over the wonders and usage of QP. We had other fancy tidbits, like the mini anchovies fried together to look like our brittle crunchy cuttlefish, except it tasted healthier and goes well with alcohol. I also forgot to take a photo of our appetiser plate which had 3 interesting elements - take it from me, just remember to order the omakase.

Oh, must order your own sake of course, its a wonderful experience. Remember that only mediocre sake is drunk hot, good sake is always drunk cold. Go and knock yourself out.

Service is 10 out of 10, but ask for the GRO Mun Mun to tide things over.

2 comments:

bruno said...

Dali,thanks but no thanks.The way the market is torturing me,I will settle for the sushi and sasimi in the hibachi joints.Steaks maybe once in a while at Peter Lugers.

Or the middle of the road restaurants like Red Lobsters,Applebies and Outback steakhouses etc.With all the specials,dinner for two can be had for 30 bucks,half the usual price or even less.
Even in Macdonalds big macs can be had two for the price of one.Buy 1 get the other free.Hehehe.Kentucky,Burger Kings,Wendys,pizza everything is on sale.

Department stores everything is on sale.Even upscale clothiers are offering buy 1 suit get 3 suits for free.Never seen such bargains in my life.

And talking about restaurants,restaurant traffic has drop tremendously.Causing a glut of lobsters.One and half lbs size lobsters cost only 3.99 bucks a lb.

Unknown said...

Thanks Dali for your food/restaurant recommendations. Comparing this with your previous Omakase recommendation (Harare at Intermark), I like Hanare much more. I would rate Hanare a 9/10, while Hanazen 7/10.