WHEN it comes to international food, Malaysians are really lucky. We get to try and taste various types of food from around the world without having to go to other countries. There are many restaurants in Malaysia that serve food from all over, be it European, American, Middle Eastern or from the rest of Asia.
The luxury resort of the Datai Langkawi is a hotel that tries to celebrate this diversity of choice.
Their current special series, known as The Chef Series, gives the opportunity for many great chefs from around the country to share their special menus in a culinary session with sumptuous dining at their own resort.
These chefs are experts in local and international cuisine who have their own restaurants that are based in Kuala Lumpur and throughout Malaysia. They are specially flown to Langkawi to serve their specialties.
After featuring Chef Johnson Wong of Gen Penang for January 2022, they invited Chef Masaki Arakawa from his restaurant Sushi Azabu Kuala Lumpur at the end of February.
Renowned for his special sushi dishes, Chef Masaki has showcased his menu in front of some special guests present on February 25 and 26. These sessions not only featured delicious dishes but also live cooking demonstrations fro some special guests. One demonstration was held before dinner and another was in the afternoon by the beach.
The dinner menu was a sequence of nine special dishes prepared by Chef Masaki himself. He not only used special ingredients flown in from Japan but also used various ingredients locally sourced from Langkawi itself.
Presented at the Gulai House Restaurant at the Datai Langkawi, it started with a cold appetizer called Tropical Ceviche.
This was followed by fresh oysters specially brought in from Nagasaki, Japan, followed by sashimi with bonito from Iki island, Nagasaki, along with tiger groupers from Kuala Lumpur and Andaman sea mackerel.
After that were hot dishes, beginning with wagyu beef from Miyazaki district prepared with egg yolk, called Wagyu Sukiyaki.
Up next was a unique dish of sea cucumber from Langkawi with Japanese white carrots.
This was followed by a sushi dish that combined a vareity of fresh fish such as bluefish tuna, yellowtail and mackerel from Nigata and Nagasaki.
This was further enhanced by tiger prawns from Japan, scallops from Hokkaido as well as two types of sea urchin.
These dishes then ended with a roll of sushi with toro from Nagasaki and latok from Langkawi, as well as miso soup and fresh fruit from Shizuoka and Fukuoka as a dessert.
To have a taste of Chef Masaki's cooking, check out Sushi Azabu restaurant in Kuala Lumpur.
In April, The Chef Series at Datai Langkawi will feature Chef Azli Ahmad from Open House Kuala Lumpur. – The Vibes, March 6, 2022
* This story originally appeared in our Malay-language sister portal Getaran
