We celebrated Ming’s birthday with a lovely lunch at Hoshun Sushi Kaiseki recently.
We were immediately greeted by a multitude of white paper cranes hanging from the ceiling as soon as we stepped into the reception area. Over at the main sushi bar, Red Hong Yi’s beautiful “Look To The Mountains” art installation dominates the view of the room (read more about the art and interior in Part 1 here).
Red Hong Yi’s “Look to the Mountains” formed the
beautiful backdrop in the main sushi bar area.
This setting formed a beautiful backdrop as we tucked into some delicious dishes here. Hoshun specialises in kaiseki and sushi omakase courses – helmed respectively by chef Tanaka and Hiro. Opened in Feb with only the kaiseki menu then, the sushi courses were finally made available this month when Hiro-san joined the fold (both had previously served at Le Meridien’s Ginza Sushimasa).
The lunch menu is simple with two set options available – Sugi 杉 and Sakura 桜. We opted for two Sakura sets (RM280 each) which comprises appetiser, chawanmushi, grilled dish, a main course, soup, and dessert.
Bonito (skipjack tuna)
For starters – we were served with bonito (skipjack tuna) with seaweed and onions. It was refreshing – and whetted our appetite for what is to come.
Grilled Patagonian toothfish – a highlight of our meal
The grilled Patagonian toothfish was fabulous! It was naturally sweet with a texture similar to cod but sweeter, and slightly more buttery. We both enjoyed this very much!
Chawanmushi
The Chawanmushi was lovely as well – delicate custard egg that’s seasoned well and topped with piquant ikura (salmon roe). We found scallop, prawn, and mushroom in our eggs. All the seafood was especially fresh, and we especially loved the burst of umami when each ikura popped in our mouth. Absolutely divine!
For mains, Ming opted for sushi. Compared to the Sugi course, the Sakura set offers more premium neta (toppings). Her platter comprised chutoro, kue (longtooth grouper), akagai (ark shell), aji (horse mackarel), uni (sea urchin) and and anago (eel).
Sushi (L-R) – chutoro, kue, akagai, aji, uni, anago
They were lovely but the most outstanding had to be the uni – it was rich and buttery. The akagai (butterflied ark shell) was sweet and slightly chewy, while the anago was light and flaky. Overall, we thought the shari (sushi rice) was done well to highlight the natural taste and texture of the various neta.
However, we wished the sushi was served one at a time, though (for optimal texture and temperature). We did found out later that you can request for that.
Today’s kettle rice showcases sweet crab flesh topped with more uni(!)
Max opted for the premium kamameshi 釜飯 (kettle rice) – which showcased the craft of Tanaka-san and seasonal highlight ingredients.
This was awesome! The rice had a really nice earthy flavours, with lovely accents from bamboo shoot and sweet crab flesh. Rice was first mixed in the pot before it is topped with more buttery, creamy uni.
The kettle rice is first presented to the guest before it is mixed
(like claypot chicken rice), served in a bowl and topped with more buttery uni.
As it was Ming’s birthday, the staff presented her with a special dessert comprising pumpkin ice-cream (yums!), Japanese melon, matcha and chocolate ganache, and the most perfect wagashi 和菓子 ever! In fact, she loved it so much that she is taking a course to learn how to make wagashi.
Special dessert for Ming. Max got ice-cream and a wagashi. 
Wagashi!
Overall, we enjoyed the food and space. We thought the chefs excelled in highlighting the natural flavours of the seasonal ingredients with a deft touch and acute sensibilities.
Service was also exceptional! In particular, we applaud Ms. Khai Chyi who was ever so attentive and helpful – even going the extra effort to thoroughly explain our dishes and showing us the venue.
All descriptions are on best effort – as we diligently checked with the staff and are based on information provided. Kalau salah, sila tunjuk ajar (do let us know if there are any inaccuracies, and we’ll be happy to make amendments). This is also our first time at a high-end sushi establishment focusing on omakase experiences.
Check out our Instagram Reel below for video of the food served.
And see our previous post here for highlights of the beautifully curated interior and Red Hong Yi’s art.
Hoshun Sushi Kaiseki
Address: 54-1, Jalan Medan Setia 2, Bukit Damansara, 50490 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan
Hours: 12pm-2.30pm, 6-11pm (Closed on Sundays)
Phone: 017-600 8190
Website: https://www.hoshun.my/
Reservations: letsumai.com
Thanks for sharing! Def adding this to my list of omakase places to visit 😋