Sushi Yoshi remains one of our favourite omakase settings in the Klang Valley, with natural sunlight streaming in to shine on the craftsmanship of chef Otsuka San and his diligent team.
Sushi Yoshi's choice of produce continues to evolve, with this season's selection elevated to elegant heights, showcasing coveted seafood, fresh-sliced truffles and CITES-certified Imperial Cristal Caviar for environmentally conscious customers. Every ingredient is prepared with reassuring care and reverential respect, for a memorable meal to be savoured slowly.
For patrons seeking the ultimate Sushi Yoshi spread, the Omakase Takumi special menu requires advance booking of five to six days (RM1,298 per person). Here is the most recent representation of the Omakase Takumi courses.
Sushi Yoshi covers the A to Z of omakase, kicking off with the Zensai assembly of appetisers.
The opening salvo of Sushi Yoshi's Omakase Takumi menu is the finest first course we've had at an omakase restaurant this year, compiling a captivating medley of best-in-season starters.
Lift the yellow lid on karasumi, the delightful delicacy of dried salted mullet roe. It's the tender Japanese equivalent of Mediterranean bottarga, with a milder, more mellow umami.
A thick, luscious slice of aji - horse mackerel - sits centre stage, clean-tasting and pristine, encircled by juicy baby squid atop white sesame tofu, bamboo shoots with Japanese mushrooms, and Japanese white corn, submerged in cream, studded with sturgeon caviar.
Sashimi is served spectacularly on a boulder-like platter, resembling seafood that's washed up on a stony shore. This is one of KL's most distinctive styles of presenting sashimi, a spotlight on smooth shrimp - the plump, naturally sweet botan-ebi - plus creamy Harima oysters with clear hints of oceanic minerality, fatty tuna belly, full-bodied octopus and firm-fleshed fugu with the stainless subtleties of pure, safe pufferfish.
Decadence is the theme for the third course - sea urchin served in its spiny, spiky black shell, the ultimate incarnation of uni surrounded by symbols of culinary luxury: Caviar generously on top, a ring of thinly shaved truffles all around, and raw scallops underneath. A mouthwatering masterpiece of nature, bringing together land and sea in sensational harmony.
The Omakase Takumi menu comprises several surprises.
Skewer-grilled slabs of fabulous fish beckon next, starting with otoro, the most intensely marbled cut of tuna belly. This sumptuous slice is typically served as sashimi and sushi, but Sushi Yoshi does divine justice to a hefty chunk of otoro on the barbecue, with just the right char that yields to a moist, understated smokiness, enhanced with a dollop of uni to top this melt-in-the-mouth ensemble.
Deep-sea kinmedai also turns out gorgeously grilled, crisp-skinned with its instantly recognisable pale red surface, enveloping a splendid alfonsino with a rich fat content.
Each subsequent course keeps scaling new heights.
This princely platter is regal with prized treasures from the sea - a crustacean duet of king crab legs and uni-layered lobster tail, complemented by shirako tempura croquettes, crunchy on the outside, custardy in the centre.
For the meat course, Miyazaki A5 wagyu beef promises supreme succulence, supplemented with slices of foie gras and eryngii mushrooms, an ensemble of exquisite earthiness.
As a testament to chef Otsuka San's capabilities, everything we've sampled so far has been exceptional, culminating in six pieces of nigiri sushi that live up to his promise and potential.
The sushi features a foundation of lightly seasoned shari, with individual-grained rice masterfully balanced with seafood embellishments.
We launch with hokkigai, surf clam that's fresh off the plane from Japan this morning, bouncy-textured with briny aromatics, followed by ark clam, gently crunchy shellfish that effortlessly embraces a vinegary flourish.
Springy shima-aji surfaces next, with a burst of charcoal salt that settles into the striped jack's inherent sweetness, then the perennially pleasing staple of chutoro brushed with sea urchin.
Fans of unconventional fish will relish the white-fleshed kawahagi - threadsail filefish - which comes dabbed with its own liver for delectable dynamics, while the lovably lean mebaru - rockfish - is a speciality of spring through summer, made plummy here with umeshu sauce.
Speaking of unconventional, the chef's hand roll is a combination we've not previously encountered, sandwiched with karasumi mullet roe between mochi, gloriously glutinous with salty-sweet undercurrents.
Chef Otsuka San's mini donburi also blazes its own original path, blanketed with abalone, shirako tempura, uni, caviar and ikura pearls. A brilliant, beautiful bowl.
A soothing, soulful soup is what we need as we near the conclusion, brimming with opulently lush hamaguri clams and a nature's-bounty mix of maitake mushrooms and mizuna greens.
Sushi Yoshi
Daily, 11am to 10pm. Tel: 011-3318-6881
Website: www.sushiyoshi.com.my
Reservations:
