vkeong loves good food, travel and photography!
Posts tagged sashimi
Kampachi Japanese Restaurant @ Hotel Equatorial Penang
Feb 24th
As far as Japanese restaurants go, Kampachi of Hotel Equatorial located at Bukit Jambul was and still remains as one of the top ones in Penang. Kampachi’s reputation is so strong that when you think of having great Japanese food, the restaurant comes into mind. However, the indulgence comes with a price, as Kampachi is also one of the most expensive Japanese restaurants in town.
Because of that, I never stepped foot into Kampachi even though I had lots of opportunity to visit them. For each state that I went to either study or work, there is a Kampachi restaurant. For example in Melaka where I had my pre-U, in Penang where I grew up and in KL and Bangi (Selangor) where I completed my degree and worked for 4 years.
It’s kinda ironic considering I am more than willing to pay and go for some unknown Japanese buffets lol. So one day I just decided it was time to aim for quality instead of quantity and finally had my first meal at Kampachi. Oh well, better late than never.
One noticeable difference with Kampachi as soon as we started ordering was that the waitresses were professional, helpful and able to give recommendations. Even when you ask about the ingredients, they were able to answer accurately and confidently. Some would just run back to the kitchen to ask the chefs for answers lol.
By the way I didn’t go alone yeah, my brother came along and I decided to treat him because it was New Year. Besides, he always fetched me home whenever I took a flight. So you can say it was both a celebration and ‘thank him’ meal. Tori No Tatsuta-Age (Deep-fried Marinated Chicken) @ RM22 was his order, made even before I could open the menu lol. Good choice though, the fried chicken used the thigh part resulting in a very succulent taste and can be dipped into ponzu sauce.
Then for my compulsory sashimi fix, Shake (salmon) Sashimi @ RM42. It was the most expensive item we had that night, but deemed worth it for the thick slices given. Freshness was top notch too. All it required was a quick dip into the shoyu for the extra flavoring.
Azuma Japanese Restaurant @ Queensbay Mall, Penang
Jan 10th
On Christmas Eve me and my brother went to Azuma Japanese Restaurant at Queensbay Mall for dinner. I specifically chose Queensbay because it was one of the places I used to hang out a lot when I was still working in Penang, I wanted to see how much changes had taken place since then.
Well it seemed like quite a number of restaurants and cafes had established themselves in the mall, which is a good thing because I seriously felt that Queensbay lacked choices when it came to food. But I still don’t understand why they wouldn’t do anything about the open air car – the road condition is still bad!
While I am not entirely happy being having to work in Singapore because of the deterioration of quality of life, earning Singapore dollar means I get to spend more comfortably when I return to Malaysia. My brother is not much of a sashimi fan so I only ordered for myself – Kiku Sashimi @ RM35 that consisted of 8 pieces of assorted raw fish.
The sashimi was fresh and quite thick sliced, obviously something I am very happy about. I enjoyed the salmon sashimi the most and I think I am gonna order just that next time. Maguro is juicy but the texture is just not as great as salmon’s while I find Tako just too rubbery for my liking.
My brother had a piece of Unagi Kabayaki all to himself. RM22.
There was a promotion for pan fried salmon so we had one of it as well.
Japanese Desserts @ Kin Shui Tei, Tropicana Golf & Country Resort
Feb 15th
Yesterday (Valentine’s Day) I was invited to a Japanese Dessert Fair at Kin Shui Tei located within Tropicana Golf and Country Resort. The invitation was extended by Tam, who also invited me to Nagomi shabu shabu restaurant not long ago.
Kin Shui Tei is a classy Japanese restaurant its restaurant run by Mr. Ikuo Tanabe, a vastly experienced chef in Japanese cuisine. Needless to say, I was extremely excited about the food review for the entire week. For a food blogger, an invited review like this is as good as it can get, almost a dream come true!
Three new desserts I sampled were (clockwise) Fruits Panna Cotta, Fruits Mizu Mame and San Shoku Abekawa. I just love how vibrant the colors are in this photo.
I am going to start with my most favorite Japanese dessert of all, the luscious Fruits Mizu Mame @ RM19. Mixed fruit (apple, orange, grape, watermelon), lemon tea jelly, raisins and Japanese black beans (mame) are served on a dollop of vanilla ice cream.
The presentation was nothing short of impressive, especially the leaf shaped apple slices. It was so beautiful that I was quite reluctant to dip my spoon into the dessert. But, it had to be done anyway lol.
Besides the fresh fruits, I particularly enjoyed the raisins because they were not your ordinary dry raisins but infused with white wine and honey. This gave the raisins a juicy texture and nice honey taste, which was very delicious when coupled with the vanilla ice cream.
At first I thought RM19 was a little expensive for a dessert. But after knowing the extra mile Kin Shui Tei takes from providing the freshest ingredients to preparing and presenting them delectably well, the price tag was well worth it.
Fruits Panna Cotta @ RM19 is quite similar to Fruits Mizu Mame, except it had less fruits and a pudding. The pudding is called Panna Cotta, an Italian dessert made from cream and milk. It had a silky smooth texture which melts in your mouth and tasted not too sweet. White wine infused raisins were also present in this dessert, with honeydew and bits of juicy lychee flesh sprinkled on top.
Nagomi Shabu Shabu @ Menara Hap Seng, KL
Sep 3rd
During the National Day last Sunday, I had a [tag]shabu shabu[/tag] dinner at Nagomi Shabu Shabu in Menara Hap Seng, KL. Ms Tam Poh Poh, the acting COO of Nagomi Shabu-Shabu was our host that night. My first impression on the restaurant was bright, classy and the huge entrance gives people a welcome feeling.
Shabu shabu means swish swish, referring to the swishing action when cooking thinly sliced meat in the broth. This method of eating was actually introduced by Genghis Khan in the 13th century, who intended to feed his army more efficiently by gathering them around the food cooked in a huge pot of broth. It was then introduced in Japan in 1948 and subsequently to the whole world.
We chose a window side seat, so we could enjoy [tag]Kuala Lumpur[/tag]‘s night view while enjoying our [tag]Japanese food[/tag]. Shown here is the single pot each customer will be using for shabu shabu. Purpose is to promote a better hygienic dining experience. According to Tam, shabu shabu restaurants in Japan are small and they use only one pot for cooking.
Because of that, customers have to huddle around the pot and it could be pretty uncomfortable. Which is why Nagomi Shabu-Shabu chose the Japanese word ‘Nagomi’ as the restaurant’s name, it carries the meaning of peace and harmony.
Maguro Pirikaara Age, Fried Tuna @ RM18 is an appetizer consisting of white and red tuna. Behind the tuna are Japanese cucumber and fresh mango juice. The juices in [tag]Nagomi[/tag] are prepared by blending freshly cut fruits with crushed ice and no sugar is added (honey is added into the cucumber drink) The fruit juice’s creamy and thick texture is nice but I would probably like it even more if it was sweeter lol.
If you look carefully you’d make out the white and red tuna in the dish. Red tuna would have a darker color and has a stronger taste compared to white tuna. Maguro Pirikaara Age is light and fresh in taste, a palate opener and an excellent way to start the meal.
Besides shabu shabu, Nagomi also serves good sashimi and [tag]sushi[/tag]. There are over 30 items to be ordered from the sushi and sashmi menu alone. One of them being the Soft Shell Crab or Spider Maki @ Rm18. It is a delicious hand roll sushi made using generous amount of deep fried soft shell crabs.
Although the price is quite expensive, it is value for money because of the huge pieces – look at the big chunk of soft shell crab meat in the sushi, you can really feel its crunchiness in your mouth, damn nice. And the satisfaction of enjoying it in a mouthful was just indescribable, haha!
A set of shabu shabu in Nagomi, be it Sake Nabe, Ribeye Nabe or Chicken Nabe is always complemented with vegetables as side dish. There are three types of broth available in Nagomi – Nagomi’s signature broth, spicy or chicken broth. All the broth as well as the dipping sauces in Nagomi are specially handcrafted by their Master Chef Ikuo Tanabe-san. Tanabe is one of the most experienced Japanese chef and was also the head chef of Daikoku, now known as Kampachi in Equatorial Hotel.
The vegetables used for shabu shabu in Nagomi are all soaked in icy salt water for 20 minutes, twice. This process is done to remove all unwanted pesticides, bacteria and insects from the vegetables. I really felt the difference, the vegetables are fresh and have a sweeter taste.
Shabu shabu is best enjoyed none other than getting to dip and swish Kobe Beef in the soup, then savoring it. Since young, I have read a lot of comics and watched some dramas from Japan. So, I know a little about [tag]Kobe Beef[/tag], it is a top-grade beef from the breed of Wagyu cattle which is so expensive it can be considered a luxury.
How luxurious? At Nagomi, it is priced at RM125 for 120g. That’s more than RM1000 for a kilo for a kg of the meat! From what I read, Kobe Beef is so soft and tender it could melt in your mouth.. that’s how special the meat is.
