Japanese flavours for festive meal

BENKAY JAPANESE RESTAURANT,
Level 1, Hotel Nikko Kuala Lumpur,
165 Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: [phone].
Business hours: Daily; Lunch noon-2.30pm; Dinner 6.30pm-10.30pm.
Pork free.

IF you are looking for a special place to host a festive dinner this holiday season, look no further than Benkay Japanese Restaurant at Hotel Nikko Kuala Lumpur.

Master chef Tetsuya Yanagida is inviting diners to celebrate the joyous occasion and partake in his exquisite festive presentation that would especially appeal to fans of Japanese cuisine.

A sumptuous eat-all-you-can Festive Buffet Dinner was available for diners on Christmas Eve and will be offered right up till New Year’s Eve.

Colourful: The Futomaki is among the items featured in the sushi roll section.

The spread comprises an oyster and international salad bar, as well as a variety of sashimi, sushi, sushi handrolls, rolls, teppanyaki, tempura and dessert.

The sashimi and sushi section features seafood like sea bream, yellowtail, salmon, marinated mackerel, surf clam, octopus, scallop, squid and eel.

The sushi handrolls include the California, Soft Shell Crab and Eel and Cucumber Handrolls, while the Rolls are stuffed with Tuna, Japanese Pickles, Prawn Tempura or Smoked Salmon.

The dessert counter offers a mix of Asian and Western items, ranging from Malay kuih, Chinese cookies and French pastries, to a wide array of cakes and tartlets.

For more treats, diners can choose their favourite Japanese dishes from the ala carte menu which offers an additional selection of some 65 appetiser, deep-fried, grilled, noodle/rice and salad dishes.

These include Cucumber with Moro Miso, Fresh Young Eggplant Pickles, Dried Gourd Pickles, Fried Burdock, Lotus Chips, Sliced Radish Pickles, Wild Duck and Spicy Fried Konnyaku Yam for appetisers.

Grilled items: Clockwise, from bottom left are Unagi Kabayaki, Grilled Salmon Teriyaki, Griled Cod with Teriyaki Sauce and Grilled Pregnant Fish.

From the grilled section comes the Grilled Pregnant Fish, Grilled Pacific Saury with Salt, Grilled Cod with Teriyaki Sauce, Unagi Kabayaki, Enoki Mushroom Butter and Grilled Shitake Mushroom, while the deep fried section offers Lily Bulb Tempura, Deep Fried Tofu with Gravy, Slingo Fish Tempura, Deep Fried Baby Prawns and Deep Fried Gingko Nuts.

If you crave something warm, try the Unagi with Egg Sauce in Pot, Mini Sukiyaki in Pot or Clear Soup in Pot.

Complete your meal with some dessert, which could be either Rice Cake in Red Bean Soup or simply a bowl of Black Sesame, Green Tea or Vanilla Ice Cream.

Yanagida’s personal favourites from the ala carte menu are the Squid Gut and Mascarpone Cheese with Gut.

“One uses squid gut; the other fish gut. Both taste great when taken with a cup of sake during a nice sit-down dinner,” said the 36-year-old with nearly two decades’ of experience in Japanese cuisine.

“The teppanyaki and grilled items are perfect for those who prefer something simple and nice, like the Grilled Mackerel with Salt or Grilled Chicken with Teriyaki Sauce.”

Yanagida said what made the promotion special was that the sushi and sashimi were prepared fresh on the spot, while diners got to see their items cooked by the chefs at the action counters.

Fresh catch: The Festive Buffet Dinner includes an oyster and international salad bar.

Because the freshness of the ingredients is the most important element to Japanese cuisine, Yanagida said most of the raw seafood was imported twice weekly from Japan.

Benkay Japanese Restaurant is also offering a Five-Course Year-End Special menu.

It begins with some Sushi and Sashimi, followed by the chef’s Special Hand Rolls and Assorted Sashimi.

The next few courses are Simmered Winter Melon and Crab Meat Yoshino Style, Sauteed Chicken and Foie Gras with Simmered Wild Duck, Hot Inaniwa Udon with Chopped Mixed Prawns and Vegetable Tempura, and finally Tiramisu and Japanese Rice Cake Ice-Cream for dessert.

The festive buffet dinner is available until Dec 31.

It is priced at RM88++ per adult and RM58++ per child (eight years old and above).

The Five-Course Year-End Special is available from Dec 5 till Dec 15 for both lunch and dinner. It is priced at RM220++ per adult.

For more information on the festive dining promotions that are available at Hotel Nikko Kuala Lumpur’s other restaurants, visit www.hotelnikko.com.my/diningpromotions-en.html or call 03-2782 6118.

This is the writer’s personal observation and is not an endorsement by StarMetro.