Ishin Japanese Dining @ Old Klang Road

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.

Pear Smoothie

It's flu season again, so time to give the immune system a boost with cheap vitaminc C sources. Quality pears are by no means cheap, but guavas are grown locally and does wonders for the immune system.

Pear and Guava smoothie

Since gigantic crunchy juicy chinese gong pears (RM 2.49 per piece at Jusco) seem to be out of season, I've gone with Packham pears (RM 1.60 per piece) which are soft and extremely sweet. The Korean ones are delicious too. The dark brown Gingko pears are rougher but still juicy, and Forelle pears are just meh.

Nontheless they are all great for nomming, juicing, cooking, baking, and for salads. Pear marinated chicken? yum! Pear upside down cake? yum! Pear with bacon and grilled cheese? yum!

Korean Honey Golden Pear

My obsession with pears started ever since reading an 8 page conversation between Beatrice and Virgil about pears from a book by Yann Martel which is really worth the read despite low ratings on Goodreads. I accidentally bought this novel at the Big Bad Wolf book sale because I wanted to see what the big deal was with the Life of Pi.

Turned out to be an underrated novel not about the life of Pi, but of the equally tragic yet intriguing lives of Beatrice and Virgil. Below is an excerpt that will make you want to eat pears.

~
	(Virgil and Beatrice are sitting at the foot of a tree. They are looking out blankly. Silence.)
Virgil	What I'd give for a pear.
Beatrice	A pear?
Virgil	Yes. A ripe and juicy one. (Pause.)
Beatrice	I'd never had a pear.
Virgil	What?
Beatrice	In fact, I don't think I've ever set eyes on one.
Virgil	How is that possible? It's a common fruit.
Beatrice	My parents were always eating apples and carrots. I guess they didn't like pears.
Virgil	But pears are so good! I bet you there's a pear tree right around here. (He looks about.)
Beatrice	Describe a pear for me. What is a pear like?
Virgil	(Settling back) I can try. Let's see... To start with, a pear has an unusual shape. It's round and fat on the bottom, but tapered on top.
Beatrice	Like a guord.
Virgil	A guord? You know guords but you don't know pears? How odd the things we know and don't. At any rate, no, a pear is smaller than an average guord, and its shape is more pleasing to the eye. A pear becomes tapered in a symmetrical way, its upper half sitting straight and centered atop its lower half. Can you see what I mean?
Beatrice	I think so.
Virgil	Let's start with the bottom half. Can you imagine a fruit that is round and flat?
Beatrice	Like an apple?
~

This goes on for a while and I'll be violating some copyright laws so we skip to the last part of this dialogue ...

~
Beatrice	Can one eat it?
Virgil	Of course. We're not talking here of the waxy, thuggish skin of an orange. The skin of a pear is soft and yielding when ripe.
Beatrice	And what does a pear taste like?
Virgil	Wait. You must smell it first. A ripe pear breathes a fragrance that is watery and subtle, its power lying in the lightness of its impression upon the olfactory sense. Can you imagine the smell of nutmeg or cinnamon?
Beatrice	I can.
Virgil	The smell of a ripe pear has the same effect on the mind as these aromatic spices. The mind is arrested, spellbound, and a thousand and one memories and associations are thrown up as the mind burrows deep to understand the allure of this beguiling smell - which it never comes to understand, by the way.
Beatrice	But how does it taste? I can't wait any longer.
Virgil	A ripe pear overflows with sweet juiciness.
Beatrice	Oh, that sounds good.
Virgil	Slice a pear and you will find that its flesh is incandescent white. It glows with inner light. Those who carry a knife and a pear are never afraid of the dark.
Beatrice	I must have one.
Virgil	The texture of a pear, its consistency, is yet another difficult matter to put into words. Some pears are a little crunchy.
Beatrice	Like an apple?
Virgil	No, not at all like an apple! An apple resists being eaten. An apple is not eaten, it is conquered. The crunchiness of a pear is far more appealing. It is giving and fragile. To eat a pear is akin to … kissing.
Beatrice	Oh, my. It sounds so good.
Virgil	The flesh of a pear can be slightly gritty. And yet it melts in the mouth.
Beatrice	Is such a thing possible?
Virgil	With every pear. And that is only the look, the feel, the smell, the texture. I have not even told you of the taste.
Beatrice	My God!
Virgil	The taste of a good pear is such that when you eat one, when your teeth sink into the bliss of one, it becomes a wholly engrossing activity. You want to do nothing else but eat your pear. You would rather sit than stand. You would rather be alone than in company. You would rather have silence than music. All your senses but taste fall inactive. You see nothing, you hear nothing, you feel nothing - for only as it helps you to appreciate the divine taste of your pear.
Beatrice	But what does it actually taste like?
Virgil	A pear tastes like, it tastes like … (He struggles. He gives up with a shrug.) I don't know. I can't put it into words. A pear tastes like itself.
Beatrice	(sadly) I wish you had a pear.
Virgil	And if I had one, I would give it to you.
	(Silence.)
~

:)

Rawang Famous Tilapia Fish Wantan Mee as seen on Ho Chiak!

“Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.” ― Allen Saunders

This fine morning brought us to Restoran R Cheng Fei Chou Yu Wantan Mee (it is a mouth full), with no regrets of skipping breakfast at Publika, KL in favour of cheaper and more authentic local nomnoms en route to Fraser's Hill. I found this place thanks to j2fkm via google ("Rawang Food" or "Rawang Eat").

My plan was to arrive at this wantan mee place for lunch, but we arrived early at 10:00am even after making a few wrong turns. I was fretting that they wouldn't be opened yet but as luck would have it, their business hours are from 8:15am - 8:00pm, and 8:15am - 6:15pm on Mondays! The aunty welcomed us in and we had the entire place to ourselves for a short while.

Crabs, fish or politics? No brainer lah!

Tucked deep in a housing estate in Rawang (Jalan LKS 5), with many signages leading to this place.

Fish wantan noodles shop opening hours ... it's not just software engineers that work long & arduous hours.

"So what should we do with the garden and extra parking space around our house?"

The menu with pictures, but kinda tiny pictures

Clockwise from top to bottom :

Jing Zhen - Golden Special Garlic Sauce or somehting
Jiang Zheng - Steamed with Ginger
"You Hua" - Oily and smooth
"Jia Li" - Curry
"Gan Jian" - deep fried.

"Want to eat good fish then come to 'Ya Ching'. Each person 1 fish, RM 13.80, eat until air float water rise, whole life prosper-prosper."

Big Prosperity!

Since they specialize in tilapia fish with wantan noodles, that's what we had, and we did not stop at one.

Curry Fish Wantan Noodles

Fish is fresh, cripsy and crunchy. Curry is pungent and not spicy. Sambal accompanying the wantan noodles giving it extra flavour. My sister loved this curry fish wantan and hogged it. A+ for gravity defying deep fried fish tail curling upwards into the sky!

Steamed Garlic Fish Wantan Noodles

Delicious, fresh tilapia fish with mildly spicy and garlicky sauce. Very nice and pleasant aroma from this combination. The Wantan noodles also tasted really good in this sauce.

Breakfast!

A very massive and satisfying meal in two extra large metal bowl plates.

Happy face. :)

Herbal drinks

The bill

Must ask about the Tom Yum next time

Restoran R Cheng Fei Zhou Yu Wantan Mee
No: E-13, Jalan LKS 5, Kampung Lee Kim Sai, 48000 Rawang, Selangor

Visited on April 27, 2013.

Il Lido, Kuala Lumpur

"To achieve happiness, it is not to have what we want, but rather to want and appreciate what we already have" - The Dalai Lama

In this rat race of a life plagued with materialistic distractions, it's easy to forget what we already have, be it given, blessed with, or chanced upon. So we chase after our desires, one after the other, thinking it would bring about happiness when we get there. Often times so engrossed in the process that we inevitably forget to take a step back to fully appreciate what we already have.

What do I already have? Plenty! But why do I always want more?

Take for instance, a lovely exquisite meal at Il Lido : six finely crafted dishes from the Degustation Menu, but fell slightly short of the first fine dining experience my sister and I had before at Millesime, Solaris Dutamas (first times are more special and makes the biggest impression). It left me wanting more, like :

1. Some butter to go with the bread would have been great
2. Almost having to pay RM 18 for an additional bottle of water which we did not order ... Folks, always check the bill!
3. Water was RM 18. Waiter, can we just have tap water please?
4. Service level was a notch down compared to Milleseme (ie: I had breadcrumbs all over the table, and the maitre'd at Milleseme cleaned it with a silver table comb!)

But it's not a fair comparison because Millesime is so much pricier. Despite these gripes, my sister and I still walked away happy, contented, and we actually felt quite full. Bonus points must also be given to Il Lido for having decaf coffee. Anyway, I hope my sister enjoyed her Il Lido birthday present (partially sponsored by Groupon's vouchers).

Happy Birthday to my beautiful sister :)

As for cake, I am really impressed with this petite Chocolate Elegance cake from King's Confectionary. Nomming the chocolate mousse cake and having the dense, frothy chocolate texture implode then melt in my mouth was like heaven, sweet dreams and orgasms all rolled into one. I loved it and attacked it like a cake monster I never knew existed within me.

Chocolate Elegance cake from King's Confectionary

Now, presenting Il Lido's "Degustation Set Menu" with these nomworthy photos, mostly shot by my sister because she is the one with artistic talent among the two of us.

Bread that was a bit hard.

The massive carbo serving helped fill us up.

Amuse Bouche

To be honest, we have no idea what this was, because the Waiter just introduced it as the Amuse Bouche. There is so much room for improvement in that area for Il Lido. It's not that they were busy either - we were the first to Il Lido and when this was served, there were just two to three tables occupied. So this was probably tuna with a mysteriously light and healthy tasting cream coloured sauce, might be chinese turnip or white carrot, I will never know.

Hokkaido Scallops with Celeriac & Truffle Cream

The menu said Hokkaido Scallops, but there was only one scallop. Sweet and nutty taste with generous portions of funky, earthy truffle cream drizzled over it.

Roasted Goose Liver with Duck Bacon and Lentils

Buttery, rich, creamy ... Goose Liver is so delicious but so wrong. If I were buddhist I'd probably be re-incarnated as a Goose in my next life as punishment. The Duck bacon was amazing too - crunchy in texture but giving and fragile. Unlike beef or pork bacon - it crumbled immediately at the tip of my tongue and the subtle gamey flavour of bacon bits tasted so fine I wanted more.

Chitarrugi with Lobster and Smoked Paprika

The Chitarrugi - which we were told was home made Spaghetti common in Northern Italy - whereas in the Southern, they make Chitarra, was interesting - firm, little bit coarse in texture, and springy. It was like having chinese Pan Mee and tasted very different from the Spaghetti we were used to having.

The spiciness from the smoked paprika tingled our tastebuds, laying the groundwork for the lobster to calm and please us with it's sweet, succulent meat.

Wagyu Beef Cheek with Caramelized Root Vegetables

It tasted like beef stew and my sister kept insisting this dish was lamb. I've yet to nom Wagyu Beef that wowed me so I shouldn't be disappointed that I wasn't wowed by this - I just wasn't expecting braised beef because I do not like my beef cooked any other way than seared, pan fried, or barbequed. Nevertheless, the meat was tender and juicy.

Caramelized Root Vegables

The root vegetables were done perfectly: soft, juicy and sweet.

Molten Lava Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Ice-cream

To top everything off, this dessert was quite a treat - raspberrries, deep brown rich melty chocolate, creamy vanilla ice-cream and some crunchy waffles.

Molten Lava

If I had a bottomless bank account, I would definitely go back to Il Lido (and Milleseme for that matter) to try the other items on their menu. Couldn't help but notice the multitude of luxury cars parked at Il Lido's when we were leaving. I wonder what the Dalai Lama would say about that, or to this joke about money and happiness.

"Money can't buy me happiness, but I'd rather cry in my Ferrari."

"Il Lido was shortlisted in the Best New Restaurant category of the Time Out KL Food Awards 2010. The restaurant was also shortlisted for Best Italian Restaurant in 2011 and 2012. Our food awards are 100% voted for by the people of KL." - TimeoutKL

Visited on 13th April, 2013

Bulgogi Brothers @ Mid valley Megamall

Located in the newly renovated corner of Mid Valley and looking rather posh, Bulgogi Brothers finally opened up in Mid Valley! Pets Wonderland has been moved to this corner as well, and one will find I Need House tucked away on the 4th floor, with no signage leading to that shop for obvious reasons.

I've been wanting to try Bulgogi Brothers ever since reading about them in the local newspaper - Beautiful Bulgogi. Touted as the top 2 South Korean dining chains in South Korea, their simple menu intensifies one's craving for BBQ Beef.

 

Bulgogi Brothers in Mid Valley

So the first thing noticeable about Bulgogi Brothers is the casual Korean interior. All furnitures have been imported from South Korea to give patrons an authentic Bulgogi Brothers Korean BBQ feel.

 

Korean Wallpaper.

Free tea of the day

I love how at Korean BBQ Restaurants, you only need to pick one or two BBQ dishes off the menu and you will be served a variety of refillable side dishes (Ban Chan). Picking out 6 different sidedishes is not easy for indecisive people and the good news is, korean restaurants happily do it for you!

 

Corn on the cob was fantastic! Easily the juiciest corn on the cob I've nommed

I am not a fan of corn on the cob because I hate digging corn out from between my teeth, but at Bulgogi Brothers, they were superbly juicy, sweet and worth digging out from between teeth. There were also green peas, yellow potato, and the usual mash potatoes, vegetables, Kim Chi (very crunchy and above average size), and other assortment of pickles.

 

The usual suspects

Raw carrots, Kim Chi and other greens.

Complimentary Korean Pumpkin Porridge soup

Bulgogi Brothers uses induction cooker which reduces the amount of heat when your meat is being cooked. There is still a fair amount of smoke which is when one will notice the lack of a cooker hood above the table.

 

Our final spread

Our waiter Kimi was camera shy, but I finally managed to get him to ignore me and continue cooking :-) It was also a relief to find out that there is no minimum order required at Bulgogi Brothers for them to fire up the induction cooker, unlike many other Malaysian Korean Restaurants, which can be overkill for a table of two nommers.

 

Leave it to the pros :)

The Seaoulsik Bulgogi did not look like an exact replica of what is shown on the menu (surprise surprise) but it was good none the less. Costing RM 52.90, the special bulgogi sauce of apple and pear was excellent. These fruity tenderizers made the beef sweet, saucy, and nomworthy! My only complaint is that I could have nom'ed it all of it by myself which is what I might do the next time! The quality of the beef was excellent, as was the service. Newly opened restaurants are usually that way though.

 

Seoulsik Bulgogi - picked because it looked like the healthiest option!

Since Bulgogi Brothers were offering free noodles, we decided to redeem the offer. Janchi Guksu - wheat flour noodles in vegetable broth, eaten traditionally on special occasions like wedding feasts and birthday parties.

 

The free Janchi Guksu noodles deal floating around facebook (RM 17.90) - Noodles enough for two, but overpriced.

We scooped the noodles up from the vegetable soup base and ate it with the delicious bulgogi juices leftover from the Seoulsik Bulgogi instead.

 

Delicious beef juices leftover in the pot

Finally, we were given plum juice to wash all that food down :-)

 

Complimentary Plum Juice

Be prepared to overnom at Bulgogi Brothers as I did, and walk away with a big contented smile. I was also delighted to receive a free Pinch of Salt loyalty card. I will definitely be coming back here when I'm in Mid Valley the next time.

Website : Bulgogi Brothers
Visited on the 23rd of February, 2013.