The golden snapper is incredibly fresh in this incarnation which also features avocado salsa and extra virgin olive oil. — Photos: ART CHEN/The Star
It isn’t often that a parent and their child decide to set up a business together. Most family businesses are multi-generational ventures, with each generation inheriting the business from the one before.
And yet, going against the grain is exactly what 58-year-old Azhar Mohd Yusof and his son Shafrizy Hazim, 36, have become good at.
Azhar is a former travel agent with charisma and charm oozing out of every pore while Shafrizy is the brains of the operation – a former deejay who has also spent over a decade in the F&B industry, working in hotels and restaurant chains.
At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, the two decided to team up on a shoestring budget and start an online seafood delivery company.
Eddie (seated) and Shafrizy are the father-son duo behind Itameshi.
“Our story actually started from zero. We did not have anybody to help us. We had no capital for our online business. So when Shafrizy asked me, ‘Daddy, let’s start a company’, I said, ‘Where got money?’
“We had a reprieve from our monthly commitments for a six-month period (when the government issued a moratorium on bank loans) so we didn’t have to pay our housing loan for six months. So he said, ‘Let’s use that money that we are saving to start a business’,” says Azhar, better known as Eddie.
Their online seafood business called Seafood Maestro was a huge success but it was tough from the get-go as the duo did everything themselves – from designing the website to actually delivering the seafood. Yet, they soon saw the rewards and were making sales in the region of RM200,000 every month.
But when the effects of the pandemic started to wane, online sales started to drop. Also people were looking for more tactile experiences with their seafood – they wanted something they could taste and touch.
To factor in these changes, Eddie and Shafrizy decided to open their first restaurant – Sushi Maestro in Kepong, Kuala Lumpur which is devoted to Nikkei cuisine (Peruvian-Japanese influenced food).
The eatery has a high ceiling and is buoyed by a cheerful mural positioned above the sushi bar.
The restaurant has been thriving since its inception and is typically bursting at the seams on any given day. Bolstered by that initial success, the two decided to open another outlet in KL’s Lorong Peel area. Initially meant to be a second Sushi Maestro, that plan soon fell through when the two realised a second outlet wasn’t going to work at all.
“We closed it in April and decided to think of something new, because our business was hit really bad during the Fukushima radioactive water incident last year and it was killing us. So we put a stop to everything until our finances stabilised.
“It also taught us that our concept and the kind of cuisine we were doing is special so we couldn’t have two outlets. We had to rethink everything and took a break for five months, even though we kept paying rent and staff wages,” explains Eddie.
Now, the Lorong Peel restaurant has reopened with a new name – Itameshi – and a brand new concept. In Japanese, “itameshi” means a type of cuisine that combines traditional elements of Japanese food and Italian food.
This is something Shafrizy wanted to spearhead as there is nothing like it in the market at the moment.
The tomato carpaccio underscores how a simple vegetarian dish can prove very, very satisfying.
“I would categorise our restaurant as contemporary cuisine that infuses Italian traditional cuisine by adding a Japanese essence to it. That’s basically the concept,” says Shafrizy.
The restaurant is pork-free and beef-free and Eddie and Shafrizy are also looking at getting halal certification. Seafood is a central feature of the restaurant as the father and son still run their online seafood business and consequently are able to get their hands on the freshest products in the market.
To begin your meal here, try the Tomato Carpaccio (RM28) which features fresh roma tomatoes, peach fruits, capers, balsamic olive and parmigiano Reggiano. While this might all sound rudimentary and uncomplicated, it works together beautifully. The acerbic tartness of the tomatoes contrasts well with the sweetness of the peaches and the astringency of the balsamic olive oil. It’s a smart dish that is light and yet so fulfilling.
Expect a deviation from the more classic minestrone, with this edamame-enhanced version.
The Ikejime Carpaccio (RM32) features golden snapper, tiger’s milk, fresh avocado salsa and extra virgin olive oil and highlights the beauty of the fish, which is velvety soft and extremely fresh. The salsa adds an aromatic, slightly spicy quotient to the meal that gives it verve and dimension.
Up next, look at sampling the Minestrone Di Aragosta (RM28) which features fresh yabby (crayfish), tomato coulis, edamame, butter beans and conchiglie pasta. This is a nourishing soup whose aquatic soul runs deep. The crayfish is present but don’t expect large amounts of it – while the pasta and edamame add textural value to the meal. Overall, it is a very nice take on a classic minestrone.
The Polpette Di Agnello (RM35) is made up of a homemade lamb meatball doused in a tomato coulis alongside fresh mozzarella and sourdough bread. The meatball is sturdy with rich meaty overtures and these carnivorous flavours are saturated with the richness of the tomato coulis which proffers a sweet, tomatoey contrast to this meal.
From the pastas on offer, have a go at the Aglio Olio Frutti Di Mare (RM45) which is composed of crayfish, mussels, clams and squid with spaghetti and parmigiano Reggiano. This is a dish that highlights the bounty of the sea – the seafood on offer is both plentiful and fresh and this forms the seascape for this underwater escapade. The spaghetti meanwhile proves to be a tender, pliant anchor that holds this meal together.
The seafood aglio olio is an aquatic treat for the senses.
Another worthy pasta contender is the Tuna Tartare Carbonara (RM48). Made up of bluefin tuna akami, portobello mushrooms, egg yolks, spaghetti and pecorino Romano, this is a carbonara that bears no resemblance to the rich, creamy incarnations you might have had before. In this variation, the dish is much lighter and less likely to incite that cloying sensation so familiar with many carbonara dishes. Instead, you’ll get hints of tuna juxtaposed against mushrooms and egg yolk in what proves to be a tasty dish that doesn’t go overboard on the richness scale.
From the big plates on offer, try the Branzino Intero (RM62). Here, you will find a whole European seabass with a passionfruit sauce and cherry tomatoes rounding out this concoction. The fish is very fresh with flesh that is both firm and yet yields easily and this is countenanced by the passionfruit sauce which offers a rich, sweet counterpoint to the meal and is addictively good.
The restaurant also has a range of interesting house-made mocktails. Of these, try the Ananas Picante (RM12) which is made up of pineapple juice, lemon, honey and cili padi in what proves to be an effervescent drink with a wonderful hit of heat reverberating through its core.
A passionfruit sauce is central to the success of this seabass dish.
Moving forward, Eddie and Shafrizy say Itameshi – much like Sushi Maestro – will be the only one of its kind as they have no plans to replicate it. But they are also open to any and all possibilities.
“We are putting all our brands together into a holding company and then we’ll see where that takes us. Maybe investors will approach us. Who knows?
“My dream was to retire next year and for Shafrizy to take over, but we have struggled so much this past year with this restaurant, so maybe I will retire next year. But it’s been a great journey,” says Eddie, smiling.
Itameshi
L1-01, Residensi Lavile
Lorong Peel
55100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 012-312 4112
Open Tuesday to Sunday: Noon to 3pm; 6pm to 10pm
