A cuisine focusing on holistic health, the popularity of Japanese food across the globe is dramatically increasing. After French food, It is the United Nations top cuisine. With the main ingredients being fresh fish, vegetables and rice.
We were kindly invited to Iketeru Restaurant at the Hilton Hotel in Kuala Lumpur to try out their amazing Japanese cuisine. A cuisine we don’t know too much about so we were so excited to find out more about the food scene and also the Japanese culture.
When we arrived we were greeted by amazingly friendly staff and got the chance to have a look around the restaurant which we loved. There were lots of open kitchen spaces so you could watch the chefs at work, which is something we love. The whole place was fantastic, another of our favourite points was view from the hotel and restaurant was the views looking out to the city of KL. Going to a rooftop bar in each city we visit is always a must for us so we absolutely loved that we could do this at the Hilton. When we were seated we were introduced to the head chef who gave us a insight into the menu however as he knew that we were knew to the cuisine we decided for the meal to be a complete surprise and he brought us a selection of his favourite meat and vegetarian dishes for us to try, which was incredible as we may have just played it a little more safe if it was up to us.
What we loved the most is the detail in each dish. The preparation alone required a lot of work, let alone the skill required in the presentation. Ingredients are thoroughly thought though, with outstanding quality ingredients to ensure the colours and the flavours really shine through in each dish, yet dishes are frequently served with condiments to help enhance the flavours such as the well known wasabi and soy sauce but also other alternatives such as citrus and pickled dips.
It was great for us to really get a insight into the culture and learn more about the way the Japanese like to dine. For example slurping is good as it shows appreciation and chopsticks should never be left straight and upright as it is considered a omen and done only for the deceased.
As we think the Japanese cuisine is going to continue to grow in popularity, if you haven’t we definitely recommend you try it out! It’s very unique and unlike any other cuisine we have had since travelling South East Asia so we want to thank all the team at Iketeru at The Hilton for having us and teaching us about Japanese Cuisine.