Ishin Japanese Dining, Jalan Klang Lama: Haru Bento

Visit date: March, 2012

Being just 5 minutes from where I live, Ishin has been my most frequented japanese restaurant in the Taman Desa & Old Klang Road area since it opened for business in late 2009. The restaurant claims to be a Japanese "fine dining" establishment but I will only use that term loosely if not at all. The normal menu features a selection of normal Japanese fare while the "fine dining" aspect applies to dining Kaiseki-style (similar to a tasting menu where the menu items are left to the chef to decide). Most patrons will opt to order from the regular menu and the decor of the restaurant, albeit very tastefully done, does not appear to be of haute-cuisine standard. So if you intend to visit Ishin for its finer offerings, you may communicate with their head chef in advance to book a kaiseki meal instead of ordering from their standard menu. 

Ishin has some great offerings and it is my go-to restaurant for whenever I crave sashimi (raw fish). Ishin's sashimi is by far the freshest and cheapest when compared to other Japanese restaurants in Kuala Lumpur with the Sashimi Moriawase (Assorted sashimi, 5 types of seafood, 3 pieces each, sliced thick) priced at a very reasonable RM62++. There are some places that will charge an exorbitant rate of over RM160 for the same amount of sashimi but not at such a quality. The raw salmon, yellowtail and scallop are my personal favourites. 

During this visit however, I sampled an item from their Spring 2012 seasonal menu- the Haru Bento (lit. Spring lunch box).

I chose to have the Haru Bento because it was to be served in a multiple tier bento, complete with the many compartments that pull out like drawers. I am a sucker for interesting presentation when it comes to food and this unique tiered lacquer box did not cease to amaze. 

First off...

Every diner will be given a small serving of amuse-bouche (something like an appetizer but not ordered from the menu and is selected by the chef). Common in Japanese restaurants, patrons will be served something small to nibble on after placing an order. We were given a dish of tsukemono (pickles: radish, cucumber, carrot) with flaked salmon, seasoned with a kimuchi (Korean kimchi) base. Very delicious and gets your appetite going. 

When it arrived, the waiter removed the compartments from the box and placed everything neatly on the serving tray before me. Below is a picture of the entire Haru Bento meal. 

According to the menu, this would be the "2nd Compartment". The topmost section has: Umaki (Egg omelette with eel in the middle), Ebi shibani (boiled grey prawn), Aka kamaboko (pink fishcake), Edamame (boiled green soybeans), Takenoko tosani (boiled bamboo shoots, next to the egg but covered with bonito flakes). The section on the right has: Japanese potato salad, Idako (marinated baby octopus). The left section has: Ayu shioyaki (Sweet fish grilled with salt), Salmon belly teriyaki (grilled salmon with sweet soy-based sauce).

Review: Being lucky enough to know Japanese, I crosschecked the items listed on the menu with what I was actually served. There was an item missing: Nasu dengaku (grilled eggplant with a miso sauce). No translations were provided on the menu so if I couldn't read what was to be served, I wouldn't have realised there was a missing dish. I checked with the waitstaff and she had to check with the kitchen before finally affirming that I was not given one dish. It's not like they forgot to place it in the bento but they did not prepare the dish entirely. I knew this because it took a while before it was served. When it arrived, it was a small bite-sized eggplant. Grilled with miso, it was juicy, sweet and delicious. 

Nasu dengaku: The forgotten dish

The fishcake was disappointing as it tasted hard and raw like it was cut straight out of the kamaboko pack. It is still edible but would have been better steamed. The eel omelette tasted typical of any japanese tamagoyaki but the eel was almost nonexistent. Edamame beans tasted as they should while the bamboo shoots were bland. The prawn was boiled and overcooked resulting in a very rubbery texture. 

The potato salad was very small in serving and tasted delicious like the usual Japanese potato salad: potato, hardboiled egg, slivered cucumber, onions and carrot and a lot of Japanese mayo. The idako (baby octopus) was a little disappointing. In my experience of eating these seasoned octopi, I have come across two varieties: 1) octopi seasoned with a very gloopy, starchy red sauce with barely a hint of that chuka flavour; and 2) octopi without much of a sauce but packed with flavour, seasoned with sugar, vinegar, sesame sauce, chillies (in other words, more authentic). The first kind is usually the cheaper kind that isn't made on-site, pre-ordered from elsewhere, found in the Japanese sushi sections of your neighbourhood Jusco supermarket. The latter kind may not be prepared in the restaurant but usually tastes better and isn't an insult to your average Japanese food enthusiast's tastebuds (can be found at Sushi Zanmai of all places).  

The grilled salmon belly was delicious. Very fatty (in a good way), rich with the salmon's natural oils, skin was crispy and portion was generous for one person. The grilled sweet fish had a good flakey texture and was not overly salted. Was my first time having ayu and the portion was right seeing that it is typically a small fish. 

Above were the offerings from the 1st compartment: akagai sashimi (red shellfish, similar in texture to hokkigai), salmon sashimi, hiramasa sashimi (kingfish/ yellowtail amberjack), botan ebi sashimi (sweet shrimp/ spot prawn). 

Review: I LOVE having sashimi at Ishin. It is their forte and they have some of the freshest sashimi I've ever come to taste. The salmon was buttery, fresh, and tasted wonderfully of the fish. The kingfish was very firm in texture, fresh and resembles the ambiguous "hamachi" (people will usually call all fish that looks like hamachi, hamachi) but tastes exactly like kingfish. The first time I had this was in a different preparation at Sage. The shrimp was alright but raw shrimp is never really my thing. The red shellfish had a good springy texture, very fresh, not much of its own taste but was nice to chew. Ishin keeps these akagai alive and prepares them for sashimi either before the order or on the same day. 

The 3rd compartment featured Salmon and kingcrab hasamiage (salmon fillets stuffed with crab and then deepfried with panko breadcrumbs). These were hearty and very filling. The entire dish was generous with the seafood but turned out a little dry in the mouth. Tasted better when dipped into the sauce provided (not in picture). This bento can actually fill up two people thanks to all the generous portions of fish, fish and more fish. 

The final 4th compartment made me smile. Just a serving (more than enough for one person) of unagi kabayaki (grilled seawater eel, kabayaki style) with soramame (broad beans) on rice. The pickles provided were generous and this is one of my favourite dished in the Haru bento. Simple, authentic and hearty. The eel was fresh, grilled so that the flesh is flakey and the skin on the underside, soft.

The usual miso (fermented soy bean paste) soup. Large bowl, very refreshing when most of the bento consists of grilled and fried items. 

Chawanmushi (steamed egg custard). Filled with mushroom, ginko nut, chicken and prawn. 

A scoop of green tea ice-cream was served as the dessert. Not overly sweet and rich in a strong matcha (green tea) flavour. Excellent way to end the meal. 

Verdict: Was the Haru bento worth its RM88++ price tag (RM102)? I would say yes (but on the pricey side) because the sashimi was fresh and just a few items from the bento alone would easily cost as much as the entire bento. Some offerings were common and not as impressive but those were mainly the appetizer-type foods like the: marinated baby octopi, red fishcake, and the overcooked prawn. None of which were significant enough to ruin the dining experience for me but are worthy of a note that they were the weaker dishes in the bento. The sashimi was worth it and the generous portion of eel on rice was nice. The grilled fish dishes were good and on the money but the fried component made the meal heavy and was difficult to eat towards the end (there were two large pieces).

It was worth a try but I will not order such a huge bento the second time because I was beyond full. Maybe a much smaller bento the next time round. If as a first time, then this was a very interesting experience for me and if you love having bento or teishoku (set meals), definitely give Ishin's unique seasonal bento a try.

Ishin Japanese Dining

No. 202, Persiaran Klang Batu 3 3/4 Off Jalan Kelang Lama, 58000 Kuala Lumpur

Tel : +603 7980 8228 | Fax: +603 7981 0011 For reservations, please call +603-7980 8228. Free valet services available.

Operating hours: Lunch 12pm – 3pm | Dinner 6pm – 10.30pm.

Website: http://ishin.my

Craving: Lychee Martini

Image courtesy of Jamie Oliver.com

I'm sure most people would have heard of the martini- traditionally a cocktail made of gin and vermouth, garnished with an olive. "Shaken, not stirred", as the notable fictional spy James Bond would like it. I think of it as one of those cocktails that can be so versatile if one chooses to explore the different flavour profiles that can be paired with this traditional concoction.

Don't get me wrong, many modern cocktails are inspired by the martini and can be called "appletinis", "peach martinis" etc. but only because they share the same cocktail glass the martini is served in, and not the ingredients.

This however, is a recipe I've found of a lychee martini. Holding true to the vodka and vermouth recipe, lychee fruit, syrup and juice are added to the mix for a refreshing new take on this cocktail classic. And it's simple enough to make at home.

ingredients

• 4 lychees in syrup, from a can• plenty of ice• 150ml good vodka• a splash of white vermouth

method

"If you’re a martini person, try this out. The lychee gives it a really beautiful perfume. If you don’t have a cocktail shaker, make it in a jug of ice, stir with a long spoon and strain into glasses.

Put 1 lychee into each of 2 cocktail glasses, then place them carefully in the freezer for 20 minutes to get really cold.

Put the remaining lychees into a cocktail shaker, along with a good handful of ice, a splash of the lychee syrup from the can, the vodka and a splash of vermouth. Secure the top on the shaker and shake vigorously for 30 seconds. Strain into the iced cocktail glasses and serve with swizzle sticks, if you like."

Adapted from Jamie Oliver.com