I almost never say no to food review at classy Japanese restaurants, so when the invitation from Hanaya came, I immediately made it a point find a way to get there even though the timing wasn’t exactly perfect.

And as it turned out, that was a wise choice. Walking from KLCC to Grand Millennium Hotel under the hot sun was definitely worth it.

Hanaya Japanese Restaurant at Grand Millennium Hotel, KL
Hanaya Japanese Restaurant at Grand Millennium Hotel, KL

Hanaya took over the Takumi Fine Dining’s previous spot right by the lobby of the hotel, and run by the same people who manages the excellent Ten Sushi at Marc’s Residence (lunch review).

While Ten is modern and veered towards the higher end fine dining experience, Hanaya aimed to be more approachable to the general public and offers traditional Japanese cuisine with more affordable pricing while maintaining very high quality, as apparent during this review session.

Our tasting menu for this pre-opening review was specially selected to showcase some of the different dishes and ingredients from Hanaya.

Shirako, or soft roe with ponzu sauce
Shirako, or soft roe with ponzu sauce

We started the session with Shirako, or red snapper soft roe. For those who aren’t familiar with the difference between normal roe & soft roe, well, normal roe is fish eggs, while soft roe is the male counterpart.. or in the less glamorous term – fish sperm sac.

It was incredibly rich and creamy, but perfectly balanced with the acidity from ponzu sauce. I must say that I find myself really enjoying this delicacy despite knowing the ingredient intimately. I’d want to have this again for sure.

Oriental clam fritters with grated green bean sauce
Oriental clam fritters with grated green bean sauce

Next up was Oriental clam fritters with grated green bean sauce and spring vegetable. A more muted taste that serves as a welcoming change from the strong first dish. It was an simple yet rather delightful.

entree - five types
entree – five types

The entree came with five different items, all of them carefully crafted and expertly prepared.

We had botargo (salted dried fish roe) which reminded me of the texture of dried mango minus the fiber; sticky tofu skin that was simple yet intricate; bamboo shoots in balsamic vinegar that provided the fresh, crunchy feeling; red snapper with Mozuku seaweed giving a new interpretation of the way to enjoy raw fish; and finally a play in colors with prawns in 3 ways - with nori, ohba leaves and arare (crispy Japanese cracker).

The entree was quite a revelation, and I did enjoy them all, though the prawns could perhaps bit a bit more crunchy, but I’m nitpicking.

assorted seasonal sashimi
assorted seasonal sashimi

What’s a proper Japanese meal without sashimi?

Our assorted seasonal sashimi platter comes with 5 types of fresh raw seafood, each beautifully crafted and carefully prepared.

Starting from ebi with cucumber and avocado sauce, seared salmon with bonito cream, saba with vinaigrette, aoyagi (Chinese mactra, a type of clam), and finally chutoro with sweet spicy gochujang sauce. All of which were rather excellent, and one of the very few times I had sashimi without the need of any soya sauce or wasabi since they were all very well balanced already.

Akita Wagyu steak (50 gram)
Akita Wagyu steak 

Next up was charcoal grilled Akita Wagyu steak, I believe this simple three slices of beef was actually prepared by God himself. It was, of a lack of a better word, heaven. It was very lightly grilled and served with a few pieces of fried garlic, a bit of daikon, carrot, and a touch of sea salt & pepper.

If you think sex is good, that’s because you haven’t had this beef.

steamed alfonsino fish
steamed alfonsino fish

Steamed dish came in the form of alfonsino (a type of deep water fish with huge eyes) with Japanese yam and egg white. I thought the texture of the fish was perhaps slightly harder than I’m used to, but overall it was a good combination, and I really like the fluffy texture of the foamy egg & yam concoction.

seasonal sushi at Hanaya Japanese Restaurant
seasonal sushi at Hanaya Japanese Restaurant

Penultimate dish that was simply labeled “rice dish” in the menu turned out to be sushi (all rice dish should be sushi isn’t it?)

My favorites were sea urchin, scallops, and of course, otoro! The melt in  your mouth texture was just so irresistible! Every piece of the five on the plate was spot on, and again, we didn’t even need wasabi!

coconut bavorios with pineapple jelly in pino colada style
coconut bavorios with pineapple jelly in pino colada style

Unfortunately, every good meal had to come to an end, and to conclude this special menu, we had an unassuming looking dessert that came in a martini glass – coconut bavorios with pineapple jelly in pino colada style. The layered dessert lived up to the expectations set by the previous dishes, the combination of sweet, milky, and sour taste was perfect. I was already rather full at this point, but finished the dessert nonetheless.

KY, Ringo, & Caydence at Hanaya Japanese Restaurant
KY, Ringo, & Caydence at Hanaya Japanese Restaurant

Omakase at Hanaya ranges from RM 200-250, and there is also quite a decent selection of ala carte item. I believe I’m going to go back there perhaps to try their lunch menu pretty soon!

map to Grand Millennium Hotel, Kuala Lumpur

Address:
Hanaya
Grand Millenium Kuala Lumpur
160, Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.148006, 101.712225
Tel: 03-2110 5499

KY eats – Hanaya Japanese Restaurant, Grand Millennium KL
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22 thoughts on “KY eats – Hanaya Japanese Restaurant, Grand Millennium KL

  • April 18, 2015 at 10:30 pm
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    KY, when at sushi bar got to have urchin. It California harvest off the coast.

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    • April 20, 2015 at 9:13 am
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      Vickie: sea urchin is very expensive here and usually imported from Japan, we do see them locally when diving but those are probably not fit for consumption.

      Reply
  • April 19, 2015 at 8:34 am
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    I hate shirako. Found it a bit smelly and had to overdo it with the ponzu sauce before I could stomach it lol.

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    • April 20, 2015 at 9:14 am
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      Yvonne: haha I guess it’s not for everyone, a bit of an acquired taste perhaps.

      Reply
  • April 19, 2015 at 3:36 pm
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    How much is that menu that you had ?

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    • April 20, 2015 at 9:19 am
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      Tabea: it’s a special course that’s not in the menu, but I’m guessing it’ll be over 300+ if you hand picked those items from menu.

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  • April 19, 2015 at 3:41 pm
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    I can recognise that old man – somebody must have blogged about this place too.

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    • April 20, 2015 at 9:20 am
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      suituapui: perhaps you’ve seen the old man from posts about Ten Fine Dining

      Reply
  • April 20, 2015 at 10:10 am
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    got whale or not?

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    • April 20, 2015 at 4:31 pm
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      immature: fortunately, no.

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  • April 20, 2015 at 10:13 am
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    nasi kandar with sambal squid, uncle

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    • April 20, 2015 at 4:31 pm
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      immature: there’s a dish for every taste right?

      Reply
  • April 20, 2015 at 11:13 am
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    The sushi chef is from Ichiro Sushi Bar in 1U…he’s quite a friendly chap…Hanaya is under the same group…I shall pay him a visit then…are set lunches available?

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    • April 20, 2015 at 4:31 pm
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      ulric: ahh, thanks! I have yet to try Ichiro at 1U, have heard good things.

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    • April 20, 2015 at 6:31 pm
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      Ken: lama lama sekali 😀

      Reply
  • April 20, 2015 at 10:23 pm
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    ‘Twas an excellent meal! I’ll just drool at your sushi photos since I couldnt have it 😛

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    • April 21, 2015 at 3:04 pm
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      baby sumo: i should have “helped” eat your sushi portion!

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  • April 20, 2015 at 11:23 pm
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    Ah, that’s a magnificent review by your standards hehe..

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    • April 21, 2015 at 3:05 pm
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      Suertes: haha thanks buddy.

      Reply

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