Yummy Malaysiana: Sashimi heaven in a little Bangsar restaurant

Sashimi heaven in a little Bangsar restaurant

The perfectly pink toro is a sight to behold.

KUALA LUMPUR, July 14 A few years ago on a visit to Japan, I watched a whole tuna being wheeled into a sushi restaurant near the Tsukiji market in Tokyo hours after the tuna auction, and wished I could taste the fish.

I did get my wish a few days later when a specially arranged trip to Chiba took us to a sashimi restaurant near the sea, one that usually admits only Japanese customers. I was in sashimi heaven, and had my fill of a whole range of super fresh raw fish, including of course tuna and the wondrous toro.

Uni Tofu is a must-try at Matsuya.

I remembered the fish as being of a thick cut, just like what we had recently at Matsuya in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur. Memories of how I had revelled in the fantastic mouthfeel and flavour of the fish came flooding back.

Matsuya will now be my go-to place if I want a good sashimi experience. We were lucky that both the times we were there on a Tuesday and a Friday were the days when the fish had just been flown in.

There were two pieces each of tuna, salmon, yellowtail and sweet prawns on our sashimi platter for one. The tuna was a deep pink and firm, with a couple of fatty streaks on it. The salmon and yellowtail were high on the freshness scale, and tasted so good.

We love toro the tuna belly that exudes creaminess at the bite. Its always such a treat. We had this as a sushi, the thick cut, pink toro that made us go wow!

If I just had this, and the Uni Tofu, which is beancurd with sea urchin, I would have been super contented. The Uni Tofu, with grilled sea urchin topping on the smooth beancurd, and sitting on a frothy, creamy broth beneath was simply scrumptious.

Grilled cod with white miso sauce... done perfectly.

We went on to a Mushroom Rice with Truffle Oil in a hotpot. Its one of those dishes with a contemporary Western twist in Matsuya. I like it that as you stir up the rice with the shimeji, shiitake and other mushrooms, you hit the crispy yet chewy crust at the bottom. And you get the aroma of truffle oil (of course more would have been better), and a satisfying, delicious rice meal that was generous with mushrooms.

Here, the sashimi is served thick cut and so very, very fresh.

On a previous dinner at Matsuya, we had a Grilled Codfish with Sweet Miso Sauce. The browned cod flaked off easily, and touched with the sweet white miso paste at the side, it exploded with flavour. It is a cooked fish that I would definitely go back for.

Then there are the salads. The Tomato Salad is simplicity in itself slices of tomato with small blobs of cream cheese, with seaweed in the centre, brought together with a vinegar dressing. The Iced Fish salad has a sprinkling of crispy white bait on lettuce, sliced cucumber, seaweed and tobiko, tossed with a citrusy dressing.

Another hotpot rice I enjoyed very much was completely covered with salmon and salmon roe. Again it had that lovely crust, with sticky grains of rice, flakes of salmon and salty bursts of roe that were so good together. You cannot find fault with Matsuyas its rice dishes the Garlic Seafood Rice was delicious too.

As for dessert, it is best to stick with the ice-cream, especially the very fragrant sesame one. The mochi rolled in crushed peanut was especially disappointing it tasted flat. The mochi was not smooth nor sticky enough, and the peanut coating did not lift it up.

Matsuya also offers dinner sets such as the Sushi Set RM95, Teppanyaki RM80, Sukiyaki RM95. The Sashimi platter for one is RM80, Toro Sushi RM28 each, Hotpot Rice with Salmon and Salm! on Roe R M40, Grilled Codfish with Miso Sauce RM55, Tomato Salad RM22, Uni Tofu RM25.