Japanese fusion,
rebooted to provide a feast for the eyes and taste buds.
Manmaru Robatayaki isn’t your typical Japanese restaurant,
not with its dark coloured, semi-industrial setting, with black tables and
chairs, comfortable sofa-like seating and industrial lighting, right down to
stage lights. Instead of pastel coloured
panels or bamboo, giant pictures of swimming koi, flying fish and the Japanese
rising sun reinforce the impression of a work in progress on a stage set of
sorts. The edgy background sets the stage for Japanese fusion food, an
immersion into the personal vision of its chef Danny Leow.
The menu has all the traditional items – sushi, sashimi,
robatayaki, Omakase sets, noodles, rice and more, but subject to the fierce
interpretations of the chef.
As it was Chinese New Year, we had a Yee Sang (Rm48 for half
portion), a pretty affair of shredded purple cabbage, pumpkin, carrot and white
radish, with croutons, tempura chips, salmon, ikura (salmon roe) and homemade
plum sauce. The colour-coordinated ingredients mixed into a refreshing Yee
Sang, notable for the fresh crunchiness of the vegetables and the overall sense
of lightness.
The Momotaro Salada (Rm18) demonstrated the chef’s
inventiveness: a juicy red dome of Momotaro tomato, surrounded by a moat of
yuzu jelly, when prised open, contained white crab mayo within. The combination
not only made for a visual treat, but the differing tastes and textures of each
made for a clever blend that surprised and delighted.
No less striking, the Salmon Ikura Millefeuille (Rm45) hijacked
the French pastry concept: in a lake of wasabi cream, delicately patterned with
dill leaves, a cake of diced salmon pieces, topped with glistening pearls of
ikura, black caviar, and small prawns. An arch connected it visually and
physically to a mini bouquet of flowers, seaweed and wasabi. Nor was it just
visual poetry, the creaminess of fresh salmon, married with the mild bite of
wasabi, was enhanced by salty bursts of ikura, making for a compelling
appetizer, taken with crispy tortillas.
Elevating cawanmushi to new heights, the Hotate Cawanmushi
(Rm30) was steamed on order, a scallop embedded in a milky cawanmushi, which
sprouted leaves and salmon roe. The result was as light as a sunbeam and smooth
as silk, each spoonful a tribute to delicacy, so smooth and creamy as to seem
insubstantial.
A representative Makimono in a Volcano Roll (Rm38) combined
salmon roe, crab meat, avocado and cucumber, an appetizing and tried
combination enhanced with a tangy mayonnaise sauce and topped with shredded
bonito flakes. Artful and deliberate,
like everything else, it was executed with flair, the different ingredients
combining cleverly in a palate-pleasing, orchestrated harmony.
For something more substantial, we turned to the Saba Steak
(Rm38), a piece of Mackerel on a softshell crab on a disc of radish with the
binding element being teriyaki sauce. The burly, textured fish and the coarse
softshell crab were modulated by the radish, making for a milder, gentler, less
oily Saba steak than if taken on its own.
Continuing the light, refreshing theme was the Tofu Ebi
Ankake (Rm18), another clever presentation of cold tofu topped with a prawn and
fresh vegetables, with a hot enoki gravy slowly poured from a teapot around the
tofu. Here was another experiment turned into art form, for the cold smooth
tofu was splendidly complemented by the hot, thickly rich, and fragrant enoki
sauce, a delicate ballet for the senses combining texture, flavour and
temperature.
Not letting the high standards down, the home-made udon
turned out to have a springy texture, in the Sanuki Pasta (Rm38), stir-fried
udon with foie-gras and seafood pieces with herbs – nicely infused flavour,
with none of the dough-iness of lesser udon dishes.
As this was a Robatayaki restaurant, we rounded up with
Negima (Rm16 for 3 grilled chicken and leek skewers) in a sweet sauce, with the
chicken being sweetly tender and succulent.
For dessert, both the home-made Matcha and Kura Goma
ice-creams (Rm10 each) had deep, authentic flavours, the green tea ice-cream
possessing a satisfyingly bitter aftertaste. Were these better than the Jikasen
Tiramisu (Rm22) – three small pieces of creamy, sweetish, bitter-ish,
coffee-flavoured, smooth bites accented with chocolate flakes? Opinions were
divided, but all the desserts were lauded.
Striking for its beautiful, eye-catching presentations and
smooth combinations of varying textures and tastes, the restaurant matches
whimsical, visual treats with gastronomic harmony. Japanese food, always presented carefully, is boldly
interpreted, making dining here an indulgence for the eyes as well as the taste
buds.
Manmaru
Robatayaki & Bar,
G26, Atria
Shopping Mall, Damansara Jaya,
Petaling
Jaya.
Tel:
03-77331038.
Business
Hours: 11am-9.30pm daily.
No comments:
Post a Comment