The Point has found ways to incorporate uni into styles unheard of, like whipping it into sauces and infusing it into butters for a menu of sea urchin goodness from start to finish.
There are many good delightful things the Japanese brought to the fore in the world of dining, but one of the most important is its introduction of the 5th taste profile: umami.
There isn’t an English term for the taste that sums up the sweet-salty-savoury goodness of the sea. For the best idea on what tastes umami, think no further than sea urchin – or as the Japanese call it, uni.
Often served in no more than a few dollops, the creamy bright orange morsel is one of the most expensive ingredients in the world. A whole kg of sea urchin will probably harvest only a few tens of grams of uni. Its flavour is even more precious – rich, robust and a regal mix of game and sea sweetness, it has a way of lingering at the back of your palate and mind long after it has melted on the tongue.
Have we got your appetite whet for some?
The Point is shining the spotlight on the precious ingredient with a special menu dedicated to all things uni. It has a found a way to not only serve the golden slivers in the best way to play up the flavours, it’s also ingeniusly incorporated it into styles unheard of, like whipping it into sauces and infusing it into butters.
Amuse bouche: Truffled potato cream, dill oil and uni
The way the uni is served atop a single crisp means the sea urchin spreads itself generously across your tongue the moment you pop the amuse bouche in your mouth. Creamy and delightfully sweet, the oiliness of the sea urchin is intensified with truffled potato cream and dill oil, lengthening its precious flavour tail.
Appetiser: Chilled truffle angel hair pasta
For something with a little more bite, uni is served alongwide Avurga caviar and ponzu gel atop chilled angel hair pasta. The pasta on its own is fragrant with a dash of truffle oil; stir in the ingredients and what you get are perfectly al dente mouthfuls exploding with the prized brine of fatty caviar, buttery uni and sweet ponzu.
Entrée: Pan-seared Hokkaido Bay scallop
Matching umami with more umami, huge medallions of scallops come dressed in a golden orange sauce made of uni for the entrée. This is so the uni doesn’t overpower the delicate scallop – instead, it merely enhances the scallops’ sweetness while lending a touch of smokiness. The ikura deepens the umami-ness with its oil while the cauliflower puree cleverly coats the tongue in texture so flavours stay on for longer.
Main: Grain-fed Australian Black Angus Tenderloin
Just thinking of a juicy medium-rare tenderloin fills our mouths with anticipatory strong game and briney, bloody beef jus. Now imagine that intensified with uni-infused butter – each mouthful is bold and beefy, with the marbling of the tenderloin made even silkier thanks to the butter.
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Main: Sesame crusted Japanese tuna loin
If you’re not a fan of beef, the alternative is just as intensely flavourful. Japanese tuna is rendered slightly crunchy and a whole lot of nutty with a coat of sesame seeds. Whole tongues of uni then balance out that earthy combination with its signature sea sweetness, that at the same time also draws out the best flavours of the tuna.
Dessert: Rock melon, honeydew, passionfruit and champagne granite
After all the intense flavours, dessert is a refreshing change. Honeydew, rock melon and passionfruit are dehydrated to take on the consistency of a solid cake, but minus the extra calories, only double the flavours. Chewy and mildly sweet, it is also satisfyingly bitey with nut crumble and cantaloupe soil, ending things on a satisfying note in both texture and taste.
This 5-course uni menu is priced at RM268++ per person. For more information or reservation enquiries, call +603 2011 8008, email enquiry@thepointkl.com or log on to the official website here.
