Flavors of Hanami @ Isetan the Japan Store – RM100/workshop

Lot 10 KL has lost its tired look and besides H & M, it now boast of another attraction – a noteworthy “Japan town” of sorts that is a notch classier (read: expensive) than the regular Isetan.

The ridiculous prices may be justifiable though, for the quality and range of items sold here are definitely not run of the mill.

However, my favourite section of Isetan Lot 10 remains to be the foodcourt!
Heck, it seems to be everyone’s favourite too, for that is the busiest part of the whole building.

Not to be outdone, there are new food establishments opening on the 3rd floor within Isetan The Japan Store soon.

THE TABLE; the new restaurant floor featuring a collection of five (5) sophisticated Japanese restaurants including Sushi Azabu, a Michelin starred sushi establishment from New York loved by Hollywood celebrities, and Yakiniku Toraji, a globally known BBQ-style restaurant are making their debut in Malaysia this month.

Yeap, there are exciting times ahead for Lot 10.

Just end of last month I was invited to meet and experience Flavours of Hanami.

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The Hanami theme is an ancient tradition of welcoming spring and this event is a chance for Malaysians to experience the cultural aspects as well as the delicacies associated with the Hanami season.

Priced at RM100/pax, a participant can expect live presentations and tastings as well as the opportunity to meet these esteemed chefs in person.
From what I gathered, you will be paying almost triple the price (in RM) if you were to enjoy the exact dish in their respective restaurants in Japan.

Think about it, the chefs are flown into KL; bringing with them identical ingredients used in the their original restaurants and for the same fee, you spend an hour with him (which chef would depend on the session you select) in an intimate group of 25 pax.

Not a bad deal eh?
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So exactly what do you get for RM100?

Flavour of Hanami is a three-month exhibition with the aim to showcase Hanami culture and Japanese traditions. 4 young and dynamic chefs from Kyoto will be visiting Malaysia and conducting live presentations for February and March.

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The one I attended last month was a prelude to the three more live presentations and tastings to be held in February and March.

This session was by Shogo Sasaki of Izuu, the 7th generation owner of IZUU, a Kyoto sushi restaurant established in 1781.

The session began with a light Q & A for the participants to get to know a bit about the chef himself.
Chef Shogo turned out to be an engaging, talkative fellow who is both cute to look at and funny to converse with.

Both chef and the translator, my friend Sarah kept the session informative and interesting!

Flavors of Hanami, Isetan the KL Store -002

Once the chit-chat is over, Chef showed us the process of preparing the most famous dish of IZUU – their saba-sugatazushi, the whole mackeral lightly matured sushi.

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We were served two versions of it; one freshly prepared and the other matured for a day.
The outer layer you see below is a vinegared kelp, wrapping the fish and rice together.

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Next up was their signature Chirashi sushi.
Now, I love my Chirashi sushi/don and it is default dish in any Japanese restaurant.

The version prepared by Chef Sasaki is good but there were hardly any seafood.

Flavors of Hanami, Isetan the KL Store -007

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Well, I guess one can’t expect too much from RM100 which covers a live presentation, food and tour.

We ended the session with a piece of red bean mochi and a cup of green tea.

Flavors of Hanami, Isetan the KL Store -008


The next sessions:  3 more chefs!


Interested? 🙂

Well, the upcoming food tasting sessions are as below.

Similarly to what I’ve experienced, guests will be treated to live presentations of their selected dishes with the chance to try authentic Japanese cuisine specially prepared by the chef of the session they signed up for.

Each chef will provide their own unique menu of Japanese traditional cuisine.
Tickets are available for up to 25 guests on a first-come, first-served basis.


Details of the live presentations and tastings:


Title: Flavour of Hanami | Live Presentation and Tasting

Date:

  • Shogo Sasaki of Izuu – 21, 22 Jan 2017
  • Nobyuki Tanaka of Tsuruse – 18, 19 Feb 2017
  • Hideki Shimoguchi of Chikurin – 4, 5 March 2017
  • Takuji Takahashi of Kinobu – 18, 19 March 2017

Sessions: 1 st 12.00pm-1.30pm/2nd 3.00pm-4.30pm/3 rd 6.00pm-7.30pm

*Seats are limited to the first 25 people

*Doors open 30 minutes prior to start

Entrance Fee: RM100* GST is included in the price

*Exhibition admission is included in the price

*Children under 13 must be accompanied by an adult

Venue:  3F THE CUBE/CUBE _1 (ISETAN the Japan Store Kuala Lumpur)

Ticket Office:

Tickets for the following three sessions can be purchased at the ticket office, call 03-2382 7777 or purchase online at www.eventbrite.com.

This Post Has 2 Comments

  1. SEAN EDKL

    interesting way to immerse ourselves deeper in japanese culture and cuisine 😀

    1. Rebecca Saw

      Yeap! Not bad for RM100 and gettin to meet the chefs in person in a small group 🙂

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