The Sake Place is indeed a jewel for sake lover. The place I called heaven where the restaurant not just bringing you sake and food but they offer more than that.
And in Sake Place they have over 50 types of sakes on their belt and they are one of the largest in Malaysia.
The Sake Place owner- Mr Danny Leong, a Master Saké Sommelier (One of the only 8 Master Saké Sommelier in the world at the moment) holds the philosophy and educating Malaysians on how to drink sake and the story behind sake.
At the Level 2 of the restaurant, here you goes with their mini-museum saké to explore. In here, one can learn on how sake is being produce from the start till the end and also the different cups and the overall process of sake is being produced. And in here, we walked through the whole process.
✅Rice Milling: Rice Milling is where the percentage of rice milled will determined the quality of sake.
✅Rice Washing: The rice is then washed and soaked where this will introduce the moisture into the grain. Mr Danny explained that timing of washing is very precise and they are timed down to the seconds.
✅Rice Steaming : The rice is then being steamed for an hour.
✅Making Koji: The steamed rice is sprinkled with the koji where the rice is spread out on long table and koji mold powder is sprinkled over the grains. After around 2 days, the mold is fully covering each grain and koji rice has been created.
✅Fermentation: Next comes the fermentation where the yeast, water, steamed sake rice and koji rice are mix together. This is where it allows the yeast and koji adjust nicely to each other and without giving any rooms for unwanted wild mico-organisms to grow. It will take around 1 month.
✅Pressing: Once the sake is done brewing, they are then proceed with automatic pressing machine where the mash is poured into vertical pockets of these frames and pressure is applied from the side. the sake is forced out of the bottom and fabric mesh lining the frames holds the rice solids behind.
✅Pasteurization : Once the sake is pressed and filtered, the next step is often pasteurization. The purpose of this heating to deactivate enzymes and to kill of any remaining bacteria and yeast to make the sake shelf stable without refrigeration. Finally, it will proceed with storage and bottling.
We also learned that different sake cups will brings you different flavours.
Not just that, The Sake Place is a place where you can have local delights to paired with their sake.
Start your meal with the refreshing starter which is the ice vegetables which comes simply crunchy. Topped with the generous cubes of fresh strawberries and pine nuts and they are then drizzled with yuzu. It brings up the overall taste which not just refreshing but the it enhanced the overall flavours after pairing with the sake
The tuna is beautifully pan seared till perfection. And they are served on the bed of fresh greens. This comes simply fragrant with the touch of light char taste that really enhanced the overall flavours.
The Torched Mackarel is perfect to go with the sake. It brings up the overall taste of the torched mackerel which comes smoky.
Next is the bowl of mouth-watering pasta. I am in love how the pasta is cooked with al-dente and topped with the creamy turmeric sauce and topped with the juicy grilled chicken. The sauce comes simply rich and aromatic too.
One of the premium white rice from Japan, Akita Komachi Rice comes with the delicious taste and superior quality. And in The Sake Place, the rice is beautifully fried and topped with scallops.
The Braised Pork is braised the Chinese style and it is filled with loads of collagen. The pork comes simply moist and juicy and I am in love with the texture as well.
Have your asam laksa with a twist. Instead of using lai-fun; they are using the glass noodles instead. The glass noodles is perfectly soaked up the fragrant blend of the asam laksa.
Don’t miss out their Salmon which is smoked in cherry wood chips. Beautifully presented and they are served with the gorgeous Quill Egg Dip which is perfectly well-paired.
Overall, the food here are good and we learned that Sake not only paired with Japanese food but you can have them with local delicacies as well.
The Saké Place
F-1-16, Block Faraday, Plaza Arkadia,
Jalan Intisari Perdana,
Desa ParkCity, Kuala Lumpur.
Open 4pm-11pm; closed Mondays.
Tel: 03-6419-6981