KUALA LUMPUR — Discerning diners can now enjoy exquisite sushi at Ginza Sushimasa, which has opened its first Malaysian restaurant at Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur.
The sushi specialist has outlets in Tokyo's Ginza area and Sendai.
It is part of Amino Co Ltd, a 25-year-old group with a total of 32 restaurants in Sendai, Osaka and Tokyo.
They also own Umai Sushi Kan and Marukuni, which specialises in kaiten or conveyor belt sushi. The group also has a presence in Shanghai and Hong Kong through a franchise arrangement.
According to Amino's chairman Takamasa Ueno, it took him one year to plan and bring Ginza Sushimasa to Kuala Lumpur. The arrangement to open an outlet here was initiated by Daito Asia, the owners of Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur.
To date, he has invested more than RM1 million in the restaurant here. Currently, Takamasa is assisted by his son, Satoshi Ueno.
With 17 years of culinary experience under his belt with the Amino group, Chef Hiroyuki Murakami will be the “tencho” or head chef presiding over this outlet.
Their emphasis is seasonal fish and seafood imported from Japan, prepared sushi, sashimi, marinated, deep-fried or grilled. The fish is flown in from Tsukiji Fish Market on Tuesdays and Fridays. On Mondays, it's brought in from Fukuoka Market.
Ginza Sushimasa also employs people within Tsukiji Fish Market who can select the freshest seafood. Special orders can also be requested via the restaurant provided advance notice of 3-4 days is made. They also have a special license, which allows them access into the famous tuna auctions, giving them the right to pick the best.
In Ginza Sushimasa, they only use bluefin tuna caught in the wild. “In Malaysia, we tried a lot of tuna or maguro, but almost all is farmed,” says Takamasa.
Currently, the superb top-grade tuna served in Ginza Sushimasa is from Oma, a place prized for their pole-and-line fishing, until the season finishes by end of December.
“It's all natural, no farmed tuna and not frozen.”
The restaurant uses their own special sauce to brush over the fish – a special blend of shoyu or Japanese soy sauce, sake and bonito flakes.
Here, the flavours are kept light to not distract you from the flavour of the fish.
“It's a light taste so you can taste the fish, if it's too strong you cannot enjoy it.” For those who prefer a stronger taste, dip your sushi with the soy sauce served on the side.
Completing your sushi experience is their freshly grated wasabi sourced from Shizuoka Prefecture. Most of us associate wasabi with a spicy overwhelming heat that blows up your sinuses but this high grade freshly grated wasabi tastes different with a milder heat and slightly sweet taste.
Their specialties are best experienced by ordering their omakase menu where you can expect to savour an appetiser, sashimi, sushi, ryori or cooked items, a seasonal soup and dessert. Prices start from RM500 (lunch) and RM800 (dinner) onwards for the omakase menu.
A stand-out item is their engawa or halibut fin sushi.
Ginza Sushimasa marinates their engawa in a homemade sauce made from malt and serves it plain or aburi style, where it's lightly torched that transforms it into a silky texture.
Even the simple tsuma salad roll, a seaweed roll is elevated with the best ingredients to deliver a refreshing taste - a combination of high grade seaweed, oba leaf, grated koh shin or pink daikon, myoga with a touch of homemade plum sauce.
For a decadent pairing, try their Kobe beef roll with uni, where fork tender marbled beef is topped with Hokkaido sea urchin and a pinch of wasabi.
One usually associate sharks fin with Chinese banquets but Ginza Sushimasa also serves sharks fin or fuka hire, a delicacy sourced from the Miyagi Prefecture.
The sharks fin sushi is a combination of textures - slightly crunchy with the soft rice and sweetness from a marinade. End your glorious meal here with a slice of their slightly sweet fluffy castella that has been baked for 2-3 hours.
Keeping with Japanese tradition, the restaurant uses hinoki wood, imported specially from Japan.
The best seat in the house is the 12-seater sushi counter, where you can witness Chef Hiroyuki's knife skills, as he places your handmade sushi on black slate plates.
For those who prefer privacy, you have a pick of three types of rooms, including a room with a 7-seater sushi counter. The restaurant also serves a selection of sake, shochu, beer and wine.
Ginza Sushimasa, Level 7, Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur, No. 2, Jalan Stesen Sentral, KL. Tel:03-22601686. Open daily for lunch and dinner.
Prices range from RM160 to RM350 for lunch sets where you have a choice of bara chirashi, seasoned raw tuna on rice and sushi.
For dinner, prices range from RM400 to RM650 for a variety of sushi sets.
The omakase or chef's selection starts from RM500 for lunch and RM800 for dinner.
