The Talk Restaurant and Bar, Bangsar Baru

The Talk is an establishment that has been in Bangsar for a very very long time. Though widely known for being a watering hole, it does serve a wide spread of Japanese dishes.

Having not had Japanese food in a long time, we decided to give this old girl a try.

Ocha – Japanese Green Tea (RM12 per refillable pot)

Dish #1: Agedashi Tofu (RM8)

Deep fried bean curd with light sauce.

Kav: Not great. Didn’t have much of the skin layer I love.

Gaj: The dish was just alright. I felt like the quantity of sauce provided was not enough for the tofu.

Shiv: A far cry from being memorable. The sauce was mediocre in flavour and the tofu skin was lacking the crispy texture that is typically desired in this dish.

Dish #2: Assortment of Makis:

Unagi Maki (RM16 for 4 pieces)

Reverse Salmon Avocado Maki (RM12 for 4 pieces)

Reverse Soft Shell Crab Maki (RM16 for 4 pieces)

*We ordered three individual maki dishes and NOT an assortment, however when it was served, they were served in two platters of 5 pieces each. The waiter did not explain which maki was served in which platter and to be honest, we did not quite know what we were eating.

As there were only a total of 10 pieces, while it clearly stated 4 pieces each in the menu, we summoned the waiter and chef, who eventually gave us another serving of the reverse soft shell crab maki.

Kav: Did not realise that they were different makis until it was too late. I believe the soft shell crab had a stale-oil taste to it. I liked the unagi maki the best although it was not great.

Gaj: To be quite honest, I could not clearly identify between the three makis served. The one that stood out was the unagi maki. I could not taste much salmon in the reverse salmon avocado maki and the soft shell crab was a tad rancid.

Shiv: The unagi maki was quite delicious – the eel flesh was bouncy and very flavourful. But, unfortunately, the rest was a waste of time. The salmon-avocado filling could not support the maki as it was way too heavy on the starch, and the soft shell crab maki was horribly rancid. This was a real disaster, in terms of both service and taste!

Dish #3: Hand Rolls

Each of us had a different hand roll each:

Kav – Crab Roll, crispy fried soft shell crab, fish roe, cucumber and mayo (RM9).

Kav: Was a tad rancid… BAD!!!

Gaj – Salmon Skin Roll, salmon/salmon skin, fish roe, cucumber, mayo, avocado and salad (RM6).

Gaj: The hand roll was alright, not the best that I have had. The salmon was lacking in taste and flavour.

Shiv – Unagi Kyuri Roll, BBQ eel and cucumber (RM9).

Shiv: This place knows how to prepare and serve eel, as most dishes containing eel were pleasant. Loved my unagi temaki, as the eel was so fresh, succulent and ample.

Dish #4: Teppanyaki Cod Fish (RM33)

Pan-fried fillet of cod with garlic/teriyaki sauce. (We opted for the former)

Kav: The best dish we had. The cod was flaky and fresh…’twas just yummy. Although the sauce was too sweet, it had good flavour and went well with the fish.

Gaj: This dish was probably the saving grace of the night! The cod was fresh and the sauce was perfect! Very very good!

Shiv: Despite the garlic sauce being sweet, the preparation was simply genius, as the marriage of cod and garlic was sublime. Also, they served us a very generous portion of fish, considering the price we paid for it. Good bargain!

Dish #5: Salmon Sashimi (RM28 for 6 pieces)

Kav: The worst ever!!! Tasteless, stale and just cut too thick!!!

Gaj: The sashimi was not fresh and slices were too thick. Very disappointing!

Shiv: This dish was yet another testimony to the lack of thought given to food preparation at The Talk. Either the chef had despicable knife skills, or he/she couldn’t really be bothered to pay any attention to detail. The ‘slabs’ of salmon served could have been forgiven if they were fresh at least, but sadly, no luck there either.

Dish #6: Garlic Fried Rice (RM8)

Kav: WOW!!! I am a tough critique when it comes to fried rice, as I absolutely adore it. I must say this one was just too good. The pungent garlic flavour and the wok hei just made for a crazy good flavour!!! Could return here just for this dish!!!

Gaj: The fried rice was done well, the garlic flavour was very pronounced and it was tasty!

Shiv: Who knew that a humble bowl of fried rice could be done so well. Kudos to this place for getting the savoury flavour absolutely on the money! The taste of the egg chunks, along with the wok hei of the fried rice was seriously delicious. Many a Chinese restaurant could learn a thing or two on how to prepare this dish from The Talk. #HighlyRecommended

Verdict: WOK OFF!

PRICE: Expensive – RM182.10 for a pot of refillable green tea and 10 food items (3pax).

AMBIENCE: Modern and clean – a karaoke lounge, shisha bar and liquor bar adorn the place for adventurous souls who long to belt it out or those who just want an after work  place to chill.

SERVICE: Bad – waiters did not understand our orders/requests and they did not know the differences between the various food items in the menu. They were also not prompt, despite the fact that the restaurant wasn’t busy.

FOOD: Bad - unauthentic and mostly unsavoury Japanese food. The salmon was not fresh (cardinal error!) and most dishes were sub-par in terms of taste. Not worth the price paid!

THE TALK RESTAURANT AND BAR

22, JALAN TELAWI 3

BANGSAR BARU

59100, KUALA LUMPUR

TEL: 03 -2284 3242

Tatsu, Intercontinental Hotel, Kuala Lumpur

A dinner treat from our beloved uncle and aunt had us roaming the hallways and stairways of Intercontinental Hotel in Kuala Lumpur. (Intercontinental Hotel is located where Hotel Nikko used to be on Jalan Ampang).

Intercontinental Hotel boasts some of the most “highly-acclaimed signature” restaurants and finest gourmet cuisine money can buy in Kuala Lumpur.

As self-proclaimed Japanese food aficionado’s, the obvious choice was to dine at Tatsu Japanese Cuisine, the “award-winning restaurant with Japanese Executive Chef Yanagida Tetsuya at the helm of the kitchen.”

The ambience that greeted us was authentic Japanese, simple with clean lines and traditional ornaments from Japan adorned the place.

Our wine preference for the night was of the red variety, and we started the evening off with one brought from home: 2007 I Giusti & Zanza Dulcamara Toscana IGT (price N/A).

We also ordered some Japanese Green Tea to accompany the meal (RM5).

We decided to whet out appetites with KAI sashimi, 5 types of sashimi (RM180).

Shiv: Every single thing on the platter had that delectable freshness that you crave for in sashimi dishes. My first experience having raw squid – was alright, but I still prefer my squid cooked. The tuna was the best thing on the platter for me.

Gaj: The salmon, tuna and yellow tail was amazing. I don’t eat squid, so did not have that.

Kav: Melt-in-your-mouth goodness. Loved the salmon as it was creamy, savoury perfection. The rest were super fresh as well, but not as flavourful as the salmon.

Next, we had Deep Fried Soft Shell Crab Reverse Roll (RM35).

Shiv: Nice, but did not blow my socks off. Similar tasting to most other commercial soft shell crab makis out there. However, loved the presentation.

Gaj: The soft shell crab was alright, I liked that it did not have the rancid taste that usually accompanies soft shell crab.

Kav: The batter was just right – crispy, crunchy and didn’t overwhelm the crab. However, the maki on the whole was mediocre.

To continue our meal, we had cold Soba noodles which came with seaweed, wasabi and spring onions (RM25).

Shiv: The soba was delicious, springy and the cold broth was so flavourful and light. The accompanying spring onions, wasabi and nori flakes added a nice finish to the already spectacular dish. (Mien, you would have loved this!)

Gaj: The Soba noodles were amazing!!! I don’t usually enjoy cold food, but this was fantastic!!!

Kav: Really loved the accompanying broth – was earthy and not overly sweet.

Despite objections from some of our dining members due to animal welfare concerns, we decided to try 70g of the Fowagura, foie gras (RM90).

* The dish came in a set of three pieces, but someone was too hungry and grabbed a piece before this photo was taken. =)

Shiv: Boy am I glad we ordered this, as it was out of this world! The foie gras had a delicious, tender and delicate texture and the flavour of the sauce coating it went perfectly with the whole dish. It was leaps and bounds above any foie gras dish I have ever tasted.

Gaj: I don’t particularly like foie gras but this was off the charts! Really good!

Kav: Holy Mother of God! This dish was certainly the winner of the night. It tasted a lot like a mutton bone marrow; buttery and just the right amount of sweetness. There was an explosion of flavours in my mouth.

The second bottle of wine opened was the 2009 Grant Burge Corryton Park Cabernet Sauvignon from Barossa Valley, Australia (RM165).

We then had Aigomo Kunsei, smoked wild duck slices with yakitori sauce (RM25).

Shiv: Wow! The rare centre and beautiful smoked flavour made for an absolutely scrumptious dish. Not much fuss was made about the seasoning, and rightfully so, as this one was stunning in its simplicity. Would come back for more and more and more…

Gaj: The smoked duck was melt-in-your-mouth good!!! I don’t usually enjoy duck as it has a pungent smell, but this duck was perfectly cooked, perfectly tender and just superb.

Kav: My first experience tasting rare duck. I thought I was going to dislike it, but I loved loved loved it! The earthiness of the sesame seeds complemented the savoury meatiness of the duck.

To take a break from all the seafood and meat, we decided to have Agedashi Tofu, traditional deep fried beancurd (RM15).

Shiv: Nothing to shout about. The tofu was not coated in enough of the starch agent before being deep-fried, and as a result, the crisp-exterior-soft-inside texture was missing.

Gaj: The agedashi tofu was alright, not the best that I have tried.

Kav: Very blah. The sauce was a tad too sweet for me and it lacked flavour.

As we were still hungry, we decided to take another stab at the salmon, and had Shake to Hotate no Usutsukuri Goma Abura Ponza, thin sliced salmon and scallops marinated with sesame oil and Japanese oil (RM80).

Shiv: The tanginess of the lime dressing complemented the sashimi well, I thought. Liked it, but the first sashimi dish was way better.

Gaj: The entire dish had a tad too much lime. I felt like the scallop was too thinly sliced, a little thicker would have been better.

Kav: The salmon and sesame oil were divine together. However, there was a tartness to the dish that I didn’t quite enjoy. Really disliked the scallop sashimi. Average.

To continue with the fish theme, we decided to try Age Gindara To Nasu No Mizore Ni, braised cod fish fillet and Japanese eggplant in white radish and soy glace (RM50).

Shiv: As a cod-lover, I enjoyed this dish thoroughly. The fish was fresh, not over/under-cooked and the eggplant-cod marriage was just too good.

Gaj: The cod fish was really really good!!!! It was flaky, melt in your mouth goodness.

Kav: The cod skin was crisped to perfection, and the fish was fresh. Loved it. However, would have preferred if the sauce was a little less sweet. The flavour of the spring onions complemented the cod perfectly.

In continuing with the fish theme, we had Shake Harasu, salmon belly sashimi, 6 pieces (RM60).

Shiv: The ultimate sashimi dish of the night, as it was über fresh, oily and sliced to perfect portions. Belly good! ;)

Gaj: The salmon belly were nice thick slices, was fresh and absolutely yummylicious.

Kav: Fresh! Creamy, buttery and fatty! Loved loved loved!!!

The third and final bottle of wine opened for the night was the 2010 St Hallett Faith Shiraz also from Barossa Valley, Australia (RM255).

As we all love scallops, we decided to try Hotate, scallops (RM60).

Shiv: Scallops very rarely disappoint, as it is so tasty on its own. This one certainly didn’t, as they were super fresh, with a simple sesame sauce that matched the meatiness of the scallops perfectly. Another wow-er.

Gaj: The scallops were probably one of the best dishes of the night for me!! The sauce that accompanied the scallops was perfect, not sweet and had a tinge of sesame sauce.

Kav: The sauce accompanying the perfectly seared scallop tasted like a savoury butterscotch sauce. Delicious!

Next up, we had Unagi Rikyuyaki, grilled eel with sweet sesame sauce (RM60).

Shiv: Hands down the freshest, most well-seasoned and BEST unagi I have ever tasted in my life! (Running out of superlatives here, guys) This was like silk on my palate. The flesh was so tender and the teppanyaki sauce coating it was delicious.

Gaj: I usually do not like unagi, but this eel was really good and the sauce was not too sweet. Perfect!

Kav: Second favourite dish of the night. I think for the rest of my life, every other unagi will have to live up to this one. The eel was as fresh as it gets and the sauce was flavoured to perfection. Unbelievably good!

We had two desserts, the first being Homemade Black Sesame Ice cream (RM18).

Shiv: I don’t usually love goma ice cream, but this was prepared in a truly sublime manner. It was super creamy, and if I was not already so stuffed, would have had extra helpings. A must try for you goma lovers!

Gaj: I am a big fan of black sesame ice cream and this was amaze-balls! The consistency of the ice cream was thick, creamy and was the perfect finish.

Kav: Best goma ice cream I’ve tasted. Was so creamy and yummy without being overly sweet.

The next dessert we had was Dorai Furu-Tsu No Tempura Chokore- To Ogura HonDew, mixed dried fruit tempura served with chocolate and red bean fondue (RM36).

Shiv: Loved the fondue, as the earthiness of the red bean complemented the richness of the chocolate beautifully. However, the tempura concept was stretched a tad too far with the dried fruit, I thought.

Gaj: Not a big fan of the mixed fruit tempura as it had a funny taste to it. The fondue was really good though, the chocolate used was of good quality.

Kav: They used good chocolate, and red bean paste together with the chocolate was really good. However, disliked the dried fruit tempura, as it was hard and the batter wasn’t crispy.

Verdict : WOK ON!

PRICE: Expensive – as expected for hotel or fine-dining restaurant standards (RM1,344.44 for 14 dishes, 2 bottles of wine and a pot of Japanese Green Tea).

AMBIENCE: Modern yet zen-like – had authentic Japanese touches to the decor. Patrons can book a private room as there are several spacious rooms available.

SERVICE: Could be better – we expected brief descriptions on certain dishes, especially the assorted sashimi platter, as we were unsure as to what exactly was being served.

FOOD: Excellent – would definitely come back to experience more of the superior quality Japanese cuisine they offer!!!

TATSU JAPANESE RESTAURANT,

INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL KUALA LUMPUR,

165 JALAN AMPANG,

50450 KUALA LUMPUR

(Previously Hotel Nikko)

Tel: +603 2782 6118

Email: foodandbeverage@intercontinental-kl.com.my

Website: http://www.intercontinental-kl.com.my

Opening Hours:

Lunch: 12.00 noon - 2.15 pm

Dinner: 6.30pm - 10.15pm