 |
| Up on the first floor. |
Mizu is one of the restaurants I miss dining at when I am stuck in Melbourne. I had only been there once before this, yet I have already fallen in love with the food ever since. Today, I return to seek my old flame.
 |
| Getting some shots before food arrived. |
The place was not as crowded as it used to be. In fact, the entire TTDI Plaza resembles a ghost town nowadays. Back in the days, which is not that long ago, it used to be bustling with activity, be it eating, drinking or clubbing. The hot spot is now as cold as the dim, blue lights that shine upon the few lonely souls that still come to visit.
Fortunately, for us, that also meant less customers for Mizu, more seats and more privacy. That being said I hope the business is still profitable and stays open for my future visits.
The service was reasonably fast, for a fine dining place.
 |
| Unagi kabayaki. |
The grilled eel glazed with a sweet soy sauce base was the first to arrive. Everyone else had their chopsticks ready, anticipating the moment I stop taking pictures.
I used to think that all unagi kabayaki taste almost the same, and the steep price that Mizu charges for their version does not really justify. That was before I tasted the dish. The freshness of the eel was evident in this dish. The flesh does not crumble into bits when I tried to cut a cross section in the eel with my chopsticks, which usually happens with cheap unagi. Texture is definitely a first class.
Taste wise, Mizu's unagi kabayaki stands above others that I have tasted. While others are bombarded with the sweet soy sauce to the extent that I cringe due to the overwhelming sweetness or saltiness; Mizu's unagi was just right, such that the natural flavour of the eel was not completely masked by the sauce. Also, the black belly of the eel is nicely charred, which added flavour to an already wonderful dish.
Another factor that justifies the price is the size of the dish. To put it simply, they serve the eel whole.
 |
| Assorted sashimi. |
The first thing that caught my eye when the waitress carefully placed the massive dish on the table was the size of the dollops of wasabi given. Without giving it much thought, I took one of the five dollops and mixed it with my soy sauce.
I do not know enough about Japanese cuisine and fish to be able to identify the cuts served. All I can see is salmon and tuna. I started off with the white fish with the grey skin. I dipped it in a generous bowl of wasabi and put the fish to my lips. The moment I started chewing, my heart smiled. It was so fresh and chewy. The same goes for all of the other fishes on the plate.
The salmon deserves a praise for having the melt-in-your-mouth texture. The fat content was more than what you find in the cheaper sashimi. The prawns were also amazing. I have never tasted such sweetness in prawns before. I even suspected that it must have been glazed with sugar or other sweeteners. Biting into the head is nothing short of heavenly. Sweet and savoury prawn paste exploding onto your tongue, giving a split second high. The unfortunate part was that each of us could only have one piece of each fish, and only two of us could have the prawns.
 |
| Garlic fried rice. |
A fine dish on its own, but pales in comparison to the rest. However, it cannot really be compared as it serves a filler and a side to the magnificent mains.
 |
| Tempura prawns. |
I am not a big fan of tempura. For starters, it contains too much oil which kills off the eater's appetite. Also, tempura in most restaurants have incredibly thick batter, which soaks in more oil and makes you wonder whether you are actually eating flour or prawns. Thirdly, the thin sauce that comes with the dish usually tastes like water, or mildly salted water.
Bringing the above three points into light, Mizu's tempura prawns definitely won accolades. The batter was so thin that the red marks on the prawn flesh are still visible from outside, yet it still gave the prawns the crispiness expected from tempura.
The sauce was in a different league in comparison to those of other restaurants. It was savoury yet not overpowering and complemented the prawns very well.
 |
| Kobe beef teppanyaki. |
 |
| Me trying to be artistic. |
This dish was the bomb. Not much explanation and praise can be given to Kobe beef that what other more experienced and qualified people have already said. Tender beef with a high fat content, marbled into a thin weave of juicy meat and fragrant fats. There is nothing quite like it.
This time, the beef was really tender as I ordered it to be done medium rare. One needs not put force into chewing the beef. Just by applying a bit of pressure on the crust, the abundant layers of fats melt in the mouth, leaving behind a strong aromatic beef flavour on the flesh. Chewing the remnants is far from a chore and more like ineffable bliss.
The beef was also lightly seasoned, if seasoned at all. With such high quality beef, anything other than salt desecrates the meat. Complemented by the deep fried garlic slice and the deep fried beef fats, Mizu's Kobe beef teppanyaki is just mind-blowing. The black pepper sauce, on the other hand, was unnecessary. It is a great sauce, but with Kobe, the best sauce is the marbled fats.
 |
| Unagi maki. |
Basically the aforementioned unagi kabayaki with rice and seaweed. Could be better without rice and seaweed.
 |
| Soft shell crab maki. |
Sushi rolls with a generous amount of soft shell crab, salmon roe and crabstick. Nothing really special here. I have tasted better.
All in all, Mizu lives up to its name of "Japanese fine dining". Despite being more expensive than many of the other Japanese restaurants in Malaysia, the prices are fair as the ingredients used are far superior than those used elsewhere. The presentation of the food also deserves the label "fine dining", although there is still vast room for improvement. However, if that involves prices going up two-fold, I would rather stick with how it is now.
C-2-1, Jalan Wan Kadir 3,
60000 Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia.
03-77286498
View Larger Map
No comments:
Post a Comment