Kogetsu Japanese Restaurant at The Saujana Hotel Kuala Lumpur

[Hotel/ Dining]

My partner in crime and I recently headed over to The Saujana Hotel in Saujana which is located along Jalan Lapangan Terbang SAAS (opposite Ara Damansara) to try the latest dinner menu at Kogetsu, wich is the hotel’s Japanese restaurant.

Kogetsu is somewhat an institution in the area, and many Japanese businessmen and expatriates can be seen dining there. When you see Japanese people dining in a Japanese restaurant (outside Japan that is), you know that the food has to be pretty good and authentic!

Kogetsu Japanese restaurant at The Saujana Hotel Kuala Lumpur is modeled in the style of a traditional Japanese wooden countryside dining house, partially built upon a man-made lake giving diners a serene view of the waters and greens. The restaurant can host up to 60 persons in one seating facing its newly upgraded open kitchen, while the a cosy Teppanyaki room can seat up to 10 persons. For more privacy, there are three (3) Tatami rooms for exclusive private dining.

The difference between The Saujana Hotel and most other hotels is that it’s located right beside the Saujana golf course and thus has a nice big garden and man made lake

Kogetsu is a free standing Japanese restaurant situated by the lake and offers a calming and serene view

As we got there rather early and the restaurant wasn’t open yet, we took the opportunity to stroll around the gardens and snap some pics

We made our way into the restaurant at 6.30pm. The ambiance of the restaurant gets more romantic as the sun sets and darkness falls over the lake, which is lit by moonlight.

The sushi bar which gets pretty busy during the weekend brunch which is an all you can eat buffet of fresh sashimi, sushi, teppanyaki, grilled meats, deep fried and simmered quality seafood to rice dishes, soups, noodles and desserts

The view from our table which set the tone for an intimate evening with good food and deep conversations

Helming the kitchen and team at Kogetsu is Japanese Chef Taketoshi Minami who brings with him more than 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry. Having worked in various hotels and restaurants in his hometown Kyoto, Japan, Chef Minami brought his knowledge and culinary skills in Japanese cuisine to our shores.

Chef Taketoshi Minami has put together a well-crafted traditional Japanese menu which leverages on fresh ingredients with locally sourced vegetables as well as seafood items imported from Japan and other regions.

“What makes the food at Kogetsu special is that the recipes and cooking techniques used are from my hometown Kyoto with a little bit of mix and match from different Japanese regions,” he added.

We left it to Chef Taketoshi to showcase some of his signature dishes, making our dinner (which incidentally was to celebrate our birthdays which are just days apart!) somewhat of an omakase (I leave it to the chef) experience!

Started off with an ice cold Asahi Super Dry to cool down after a very hot day! There’s just something calming having an nice cold beer in Kogetsu while watching the sunset.

We then ordered some sake to go along with the meal. Kogetsu has an extensive list of sakes and as we weren’t quite well versed with sake, we left it to the staff to recommend something that would match our food.

APPETIZERS
Vinegar Octopus Wasabi, Ginnan Skewer, Salmon Roll, Deep Fried Satoimo and Braised Duck

Wow this was something really unexpected (definitely not your typical sushi/ sashimi/ maki) but nonetheless appreciated! This appetizer platter really showcased the chef’s variety of culinary skills! Was very impressed with the tender duck and the salmon roll!

DEEP FRIED DISHES
Ebi Tempura, Kisu Isobe Age, Maguro Rere Katsu

Freshly fried and crispy tempura with just the right amount of batter to ingredient! The surprise on this dish was the maguro (tuna) katu (ie. fried tuna in batter) which was crispy on the outside yet soft on the inside! Lovely play of textures!

SALADA
Shake Kawa and Avocado Salad served with Sesame Dressing

The pairing of crispy salmon skin with the avocado and the salad was an interesting combination of flavours and textures! This was the third dish where Chef Taketoshi showcased dishes that had interesting/ additional dimensions (ie. not a one dimensional dish) to them.

TEPPANYAKI
Tokushima Wa Gyu Beef Teppanyaki Style

ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL AND COOKED TO PERFECTION! I loved every single cube of juicy, buttery, tender and rich wagyu beef which was prepared in a teppanyaki style. Really took my time to enjoy every single piece, most of it with my eyes closed, amusing my partner in crime with a yummmm from my lips and the blissful look on my face. Yes it really was that good!

MAIN DISH
Kitsune Soba

A simple yet flavourful and heartwarming bowl of soba noodles which was the perfect elixir after the tremendous richness of the wagyu beef!

DESSERT
Mochi and matcha ice cream

Something sweet (but fortunately not too sweet) to end the meal with. The mochi balls had different fillings, with my favourite being the red bean mochi! We were pretty impressed with the matcha ice cream which I’m told is made in-house. It had a rich matcha flavour and was the perfect ending to a wonderful meal.

Finished off the remaining sake before bidding goodnight to the chef! It was a truly memorable evening!

As always, a visit to Kogetsu Japanese restaurant at The Saujana Hotel Kuala Lumpur is always a memorable one. The restaurant is suitable for romantic dates, birthday celebrations, business lunches/ dinners, and even family outings (for weekend brunch). An institution of Saujana and the surrounding areas that has stood the test of time and one that continues to delight diners to this day.

Kogetsu Japanese Restaurant is located at:

The Saujana Hotel

Saujana Resort, Jalan Lapangan Terbang SAAS,

40150 Shah Alam,

Selangor, Malaysia.

Operating Hours (Daily):

Lunch 12.00 pm – 2.30 pm (last order at 2.00 pm)

Dinner 6.30 pm – 10.00 pm (last order at 9.30 pm)

Brunch 11.30 am – 3.00pm (last order at 2.30pm, Saturdays & Sundays only)

For enquiries and reservations, call +603 7843 1234, ext.6122 or e-mail dine@thesaujana.com