Takeen Omakase
Words: Jacob Weber
Photos: Monica Tindall
“Omakase” directly translates as “I’ll leave it up to you”.
According to food history academic and writer Trevor Corson, it’s ‘what the sophisticated customer says to the chef when settling down at the sushi bar.’
I probably wouldn’t describe myself as a sophisticated customer, but I’m more than happy to leave the food recommendations at Takeen in the expert hands of Chef Thomas and his award-winning, decades-long international experience across Japan, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Malaysia – and the excellent support of Chef Andrew, who also trained in Hong Kong.
Takeen is an elegant Japanese fine dining restaurant tucked away in Bedford Business Park along Old Klang Road. Style meets serenity and classic meets contemporary in this intimate space inspired by a hidden Kyoto bamboo garden (from which Takeen gets its name), from traditional cast iron pot displays to the beautifully carved bamboo furnishings (including the omakase bar itself) blending comfortably into the warm, earthy tones of the restaurant and soft, golden-glow lighting.
Chef Thomas and his team specialise in Kappo-style omakase, meaning ‘cut and cook’; this type of cooking allows the chef a little more creative culinary freedom than the usual raw fish delicacies while emphasising and encouraging a greater connection with the customer. There are ten open counter seats along the stunning bamboo bar – a real front-row experience to the show, allowing us to get up close to the masterful preparation (and ask lots of questions). In the back, several private rooms are also available for four to ten people, or they can be combined and opened up into larger spaces for big gatherings.
We’re here to sample the lunch set menu, Hayashi (RM328++), seven courses (including Miyazaki wagyu) and a coffee or matcha tea to finish. I order a Hojicha roasted green tea to set the tone for the tastebuds, too. There’s something that looks like a breath mint on the saucer next to my plate; I look at it quizzically for a while and am just about to pop it into my mouth when our excellent and attentive server Anne comes over to spare my blushes. She pours hot water over the ‘breath mint’, which promptly expands and becomes a warm hand towel.
Told you this was elegant – and told you I wasn’t sophisticated.
Kappo Omakase Lunch at Takeen
The welcome dish (not part of the set) is a little charcoal pastry cone filled with chopped red snapper and homemade apple sauce; a little sweet, a little sour, and a very good sign of things to come. As we’re nodding appreciatively, Chef Thomas explains that Takeen’s fish is all air-flown from Japan twice a week and aged as required by wrapping it in a special paper (changed every day) and left in an ice bath. The menu varies every two to three weeks depending on the availability of ingredients and their freshness, as the culinary team here is very keen to let their customers ‘experience the seasons’. And we’re very keen to do exactly that.
Zensai
The Zensai (‘appetiser’) is a homemade monkfish liver tofu and Spanish caviar with bonito sauce, offering an incredibly smooth texture with a complex depth of taste and flavour; salty caviar and silky tofu, with more subtle saltiness coming from the bonito at the bottom of your spoon.
Kaimono
The Kaimono course is the first sashimi on the menu: baby unagi (freshwater eel) topped with a curry flower. It’s served in a light and refreshing broth with a citrus edge, with wakame seaweed and seaweed pearls. Again the interplay of sour, savoury and salty is expertly executed, with no one flavour overpowering the other and the overwhelming freshness of the ingredients really shining through.
Sashimi – Takeen Omakase
Next up, the Sashimi course itself – and it’s a work of art. This delicate dish consists of three distinct ingredients to be eaten in the correct order to really savour the flavour and feel of each – and we’re not going to disobey Chef Thomas on this one. First, Japanese red shrimp with Hokkaido volcano salt and shiso leaf oil; a wonderful, almost creamy feel on the meaty shrimp, offset with an earthy, nutty shiso leaf oil. The sakura trout with sea urchin is topped with a fiery dab of fresh wasabi – which we’ve just seen being grated before us with a special shark-skin-covered utensil – to really lift the palate and put one’s taste buds on full alert. The 30-day-aged toro (bluefin tuna) is meaty, slightly sweet, and works well with the wasabi. The dish is served with an ingenious transparent soya sauce on the side, which hasn’t been fermented to preserve (and not overpower) the freshness of the sashimi. This salty little side sauce is a delicate, delicious complement to everything on the plate.
Aizakana – Takeen Omakase
The Aizakana course is chawanmushi (Japanese steamed egg custard) with Hokkaido snow crab. Chef Thomas steeps the custard at 90℃ for an extra silky texture. It works wonderfully, with the fresh, sweet crab meat adding a delightful dimension to the smooth custard mouthful.
Shiizakana
Shiizakana is possibly the most complete dish on the menu, where every element of Chef Thomas’ experience really shines through on the signature items. The yari-ika (spear squid) is fresh in season and bursting with roe – and squid ink has been used in a very creative fashion on the plate. It’s grilled to perfection, chewy, with a hint of crispiness on the outside. The bluefin tuna portion is actually cut from the forehead meat – which you will only get from massive specimens – and comes with white asparagus and the in-house special yuzu miso sauce. The citrus from the yuzu combines beautifully with the earthy miso and flaky tuna flesh, and there’s the slightest hint of crust on the bite before the fish just melts into your mouth. Stunning. The Miyazaki wagyu A5 short-rib beef (another signature dish) is braised for eight hours and served with seasonal nameko mushrooms. Forget ‘melt in the mouth’ – this beef would fall apart if you just asked it nicely enough. It’s juicy, tender, and rich, with just the right amount of fat for that added flavour.
Shokuji
The Shokuji course is actually an award-winning dish from Xenri, Takeen’s sister restaurant next door, and we can see what the fuss is about. Short-grain rice is cooked with baby sardines and mountain pepper and wrapped in a barley leaf. It sounds simple, but there’s a complex depth of flavour to this dish, with a little spice to it from the fresh pepper.
Kanmi – Takeen Omakase
The Kanmi (‘sweet’) course is a soft-jelly-like Sakura raindrop with toasted akita rice and syrup on the side. The jelly itself is deliberately plain, so you can add the rice grain and syrup – which turns out to be a stunning Okinawa black sugar syrup – to your taste and preference. And I don’t doubt a hearty combination of all three will turn out to be most people’s preference.
Sake & Wine List
It wouldn’t be Japanese fine dining without Japanese premium drinks. Takeen also boasts an extensive menu of wines and sakes to pair with your selection, and we’re not going to say no. We choose a Kuheiji Junmai Daiginjo Omachi Sauvage 2019 (RM340), which is served in a wine glass to really express the minerality. It’s delicious, aromatic, and rich, with plenty of fruits on the palate. Needless to say, it goes down very smoothly.
We finish with a coffee, and I can’t resist ordering an Izuku Peach Sake Jelly Shot (RM26) as soon as I see it on the menu. It turns out it’s a popular Japanese canned alcoholic drink, but hey – it’s still authentic, right? It’s fun, sweet, and a little out of context compared to its premium sake sibling – but no less enjoyable.
Takeen Omakase Dining Review
Throughout our meal, Chef Thomas and his wonderful team have been the perfect hosts; patient, attentive, and eager to answer all of our questions about seasonal ingredients and secret techniques. The true omakase experience is all about the connection with the chef, and that shines through at Takeen; and not only the connection between the chef and his customers, but the entire team and their passion for delivering a polished, premium, and highly professional Japanese dining experience.
From the obvious culinary skill on show to the absolute care and attention devoted to developing a diverse menu of Japanese delicacies with fresh, seasonal ingredients, it’s not just the set menus that work in perfect harmony – it’s everything about this place.
Reasons to visit Takeen Omakase: authentic Kappo-style omakase served by expert chefs; high-quality fresh produce air-flown from Japan; seasonal ingredients and constantly changing menus to offer customers the very best available at the time of visiting; stunning, secluded space with omakase bar seating and private rooms for medium-large groups; premium sake and wines to pair.
Takeen Omakase
Lot 5-G, Lorong 4/137C, Batu 5
Off Jalan Klang Lama, 58000 Kuala Lumpur
@takeenomakase
+6018 220 0352
Takeen Omakase Opening Hours
Lunch: 12pm-2.30pm
Dinner: 6pm-10.30pm
Find more Japanese restaurants in KL here and stay up-to-date with the latest gourmet and travel recommendations for Malaysia here and here.
Pretty neat that they serve matcha the proper way with all the fancy food.