I have been feeling so stressed lately it's quite unnerving. What's there to be stressed about you say? How about work, deadlines, appraisals, and ... letting go of people and things you know deep down inside that you have to.
"In this world, there is a kind of painful progress. Longing for what we've left behind, and dreaming ahead."
― Tony Kushner
How about de-stressing with a glass of blueberries, pears and jambu merah?
Ok, that helped a little.
How about treating your parents to some Japanese food! How often we take for granted those who love us unconditionally? After recommendations from a friend, I decided to give Ishin Japanese Dining at Old Klang Road a go myself.
The review below consists of multiple visits, and what I hope is a fair judgement of what Ishin has to offer.
Deep fried prawn appetizers - this was good. I love prawns and the yellow creamy mayo masked the oily taste you usually get with deep fried noms. I nommed everything including the eyeballs because they were good. Served on a Sunday.
Deep fried salted fish appetizers - Salty, boney, but crunchy. I wasn't a fan of this because salted fish needs a bland pairing like porridge or taugeh. This was served with a piece of lettuce on a Saturday. How odd!
Tako Shiokara (RM 11) - octopus entrails! A worthwhile appetizer, a burst of sharply sourish flavours coming from the fermented sauces with octopus (that alien under the sea) entrails that wets your tastebuds for more japanese seafood goodness.
Thick cuts of raw salmon sashimi (RM 28). Lets just say if I were a grizzly bear, I would tear Ishin apart for more. You can tell that these are hardworking, upstream swimming, quality salmons! Although Rakuzen offers better money for value with their Salmon Sashimi set, I had no regrets with this.
Seafood Salad (RM 20). This dish is fast becoming my favourite. It comes with a cooked prawn, tuna, butter fish, tako, and salmon sashimi (though not as thick a cut as the standalone sake sashimi dish).
There was 1 time the cooked prawn pinked my raw salmon, but all is forgiven because the combination of raw, cooked seafood with soy sesame house dressing and leafy greens made it awesome.
Three taste chawanmushi (RM 14) - first one with Uni or Sea Urchin. Delicious, fantastic uni that was incredibly rich to taste, with that melt-in-your-mouth feeling. Paired perfectly with the tender, light, fluffy steamed egg chawan mushi that oozed uni juices with every nom.
The 2 other flavours, fish roe and something else I couldn't identify. Beautifully served in 3 egg shells in a traditional bamboo cup holder.
Sashimi Moriawase - Consisting of red tuna, white tuna, salmon, yellowtail, and butterfish (RM 62). I have to admit that tuna is something I prefer cooked because it is sweeter and juicier after it has been cooked. So, salmon sashimi is still my favourite at Ishin.
The butterfish tasted weird. It even looks weird in this photo. It did not introduce itself like butterfish normally would by screaming into your mouth saying, "I'm buttery, and bursting with a subtle sweetness that makes all the fat that is contained within me worthwhile, so please don't spare me!". Maybe it wasn't butterfish. It was rather dry.
Hokkaido Uni Sashimi (RM 42). Maybe too much for 3 persons, with a very strong taste of the sea (briny). Compared to the Uni on the 3 taste mini chawan mushi, this was different and not as pleasant because it had such a strong conquering flavour. Perhaps it tastes best when paired with something else, like chawan mushi :)
Fancy some regular chawan mushi at Ishin? It's good with many baby mushrooms hidden within it and a nice chunk of chicken at the very bottom.
Jikasei Tofu - Served warm. Thick and custardy in texture, with bonito flakes dancing at the top. You have to be a really big fan of tofu to enjoy this homemade tofu delicacy though. It reminded me of a very thick and dense version of tofu fah.
Hotate Cheese Yaki (RM 45) - Baked cheese with scallops - creamy and dripping with sauces upon the first bite. OMG mozerella cheesy melting madness that reminds you of pizzas and all western savoury cheese baked noms.
Peekaboo! The good ole sweet & juicy scallop hidden within all that cheesy mess.
Daddy's teppan lamb course. That's right, lamb is an option at Ishin Japanese Dining and is quite decent despite my prejudices about having lamb at a Japanese dining place.
I've seen chef Q watching over his minions under keen eagle eyes as they prepare patron's orders. Packed on weekends so be sure to call ahead first if you're bringing family.
Visit : http://ishin.my/
<3
Visited between June and July of 2013.
Back home, an interrogation of sorts ensued:
The Atlantic RM 22. 
Baked eggs RM 18. 
Said girl playing with her food. See her smile of pure joy for not having to eat salads. Again.
Salted caramel cheesecake RM 14. 
Cappuccino RM 9. 
Picollo Latte RM 9 
The interior. Service was fast despite the place being packed to the seams. Our waiter was efficient and friendly. I liked that each table had its own bottle of water we could help ourselves to. It was overall a nice experience for a yuppie breakfast instead of the usual roadside wanton mee.
The Red BeanBag Cafe
