Monthly Archives: March 2012

Ipoh –Restaurant Foh San (Day 2 : Stop 1)

27 Tuesday Mar 2012

Posted by in Gastronomy, Local Restaurants

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Our friends told us that Foh San can get pretty crowded and advice us to reach there as early as possible. So, we actually woke up at 6am hoping to be the early worm. As we make our way to Foh San from our hotel, we saw scatters of groups  heading the same direction !!! oh my oh my… by the time we reach there, it was about 7am and the place was packed !!!

Hub and I actually have been to Foh San some time back. So, we were quite impressed by the newly renovated Foh San. Love the colors and high ceiling.

When we were waiting for a table, we noticed that one small group of people hogged a huge table. We asked is they mind sharing and to our shock, they mind !!! bleh. So, we patiently waited and search for a table. Finally, we manage to secure one…Yay !!! Eating time…

Unlike most Dim Sum place in KL, you actually have to line up to grab the dim sum you want. The lines are crazy. When fresh batch of dim sum comes up, it’s like everyone knows and dash there. When you see the line clear up, it means that there’s nothing much left in the steamer stall.

We manage to lay our hands on the typical dim sum like Siew Mai, Har Gau, Steam Fish Ball, Chee Cheung Fun (Prawn), lotus seed bun, and some other dumplings. Most of these are rather so-so. Not bad but not fantastic either.

I also had their Milk Custard and Mango Puding…

The best dish I had there was the Water Chestnut Cake / Jelly. When served, it was still hot. The sweetness was just right and I love love love the chewy texture. It’s really good.

We saw an elderly couple waiting for table and asked them if they wish to share our table with us. It was quite interesting as they told us many people don’t have sharing habits here. It was not a biggie for us and it doesn’t make sense since it’s not like the other party will eat your dim sum. Esh… We were glad we share our table as they share with us many interesting stories about Ipoh and juicy gossips. Hehehe… And they even share and insist we try the radish cake they ordered. (Good deeds are rewarded –ok !)

Overall it was an ok experience. Definitely worth trying but we were not really impressed. Maybe it’s because we are not quick on our feet and didn’t manage to grab any really interesting dim sum? Oh well – maybe in our next trip.

 

Kame Sushi – Hartamas

23 Friday Mar 2012

Posted by in Gastronomy, Local Restaurants

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This little jewel is an accident find. We decided to have dinner in Hartamas but only make decision on the restaurant when we find a parking (It’s almost impossible to find parking spot sometimes).

From outside, you would not even have notice this restaurant as the frontage was completely blocked off with tall hedges. And if you are walking outside the restaurant, the air surround this restaurant gives the impression that it is some sort of private club which scares people off. But, mom being mom, she just waltz right in and ask them what do they serve. (Another thing is they don’t display their menu outside).

When the sushi chef told us that they ONLY do Omakase for dinner, I was hooked. I know Omakase is very typical for sushi chefs but I have never come across one in Malaysia. You do have some around but you can normally still order their ala carte.

Interesting…

So, we ask the chef to prepare 2 portion of the Omakase for the three of us since mom claim that she was not very hungry and she just wanted to nimble.

They started us off with 2 appetisers each (3 sets of 2). I really appreciate this as I know most restaurant would have just give us 2 sets of appetiser. Baby ikan bilis boiled with some salt served with a dallop of dashi. (yumm) and Spinach boil in soyu (simple but pack with flavour)

Next, 2 plates of different soyu were next placed in front of us. I knew the next would be the shasimi and I was already salivating for it. When it was serve to us by the boss, Kame-san, I hesitate to touch it as it was so beautiful, like an art. The each slice of fish glisten and looks so fresh.

We had Tuna Belly, Mackerel, Rock Fish, Sweet Prawn, Akagai (Japanese big Si-Ham) and Tako. The Akagai was absolutely amazing…

After that, we had grill fish (I suspect is saba) with some dashi. The fish slice is much bigger than that. I was too excited to dig in that I only remember to snap a picture later. Hehehe.. Gomen-ne.

Finishing the fish, Kame-san brought over 3 pcs of tamago. It was still warm !!! Wow. I love it. Many people thinks Tamago is easy to prepare but I was told once (by a Japanese client) that to prepare a good tamago, it takes a lot of skill. Personally, I am not sure how good the tamago was prepared since I am no expert. But, for me, it was damn delicious. It’s sweet but not too sweet till it covers the fragrant of egg. I could eat all 3 pieces by myself. But, I learn to share. ;p

I have no idea what is the English name for the next item and mom only know it’s Cantonese name (Wai-San). Mom told us that it’s some sort of root and she has use it to prepare soup for us before. After googling abit, I think it’s the burdock or “gobō” (牛蒡 or ごぼう). It’s stew softly served with some miso and mushroom. This was a little disappointing for me. There was not much flavour and the only thing which really stands out was the miso.

Kame serves tempura with salt. You can sprinkling the salt according to how salty you like. They served the shiso leaves and young bamboo shoot. Another dish which I thought was so-so. The batter was nice and light but it was abit oily to me.

Another of Kame-san’s chef prepared the sushi for us. Chef Leon is really friendly. He entertained all the questions we had. We had fun chatting with him and Candy (the head waitress). Both of them are really nice. This is what makes the dining experiences great.

When we were presented with the sushi, I was speechless. Again like the sashimi, the sushi platter was beautifully prepared and you can literally see the freshness of the fish.

Finale meal for the course is the green tea ice cream. It’s taste really creamy – in fact, it was almost buttery. Mom and I loved it…

I can’t go without an additional order of ChaSoba (which I shared with hub). I LOVE chasoba. It’s one of the dish that I will always try in every Japanese restaurant I go. The noodle was done al Dente and served cold enough without the need of draping it over ice (don’t like it when they do that).

Definitely a place I would come back to. I think I would just concentrate on Sushi and Sashimi the next time I return.

It’s better you call in advance to make booking especially on days when the fish comes in (Tuesday and Friday). You just need to let them know how much you want to spend on your Omakase experience and the chef will prepare it for you. Their standard price starts between RM 150-200.

Or if the skies the limit, why not let Kame-san continue to surprise you until you say stop. 😉

Marine aquarium at work

15 Thursday Mar 2012

Posted by in Under the Sea

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We have a marine aquarium in our office. Every fortnight or so, there will be this guy (sub-con by the company) that comes and clean the tank. The permanent resident in this tank is Dory and Nemo. We have at least 3-4 of them each at all times. A big hit with most of our visitors.

Besides cleaning it, he will also replace some of the fish (We suspect he brings them and rotate them between all the different tanks which he maintain) and replace it with some other species.

So, it’s always interesting to find the new fish he introduce to the tank. It has become a habit for us to try and spot them. I couldn’t resist posting about these 2 as they look amazing.

Look at this little guy’s eye lashes !!! Girls would kill to have such long and curvy ones. 🙂 The eyes are so big and expressive. I guess it’s sort of a compensate for this fellow since the rest of the body is nothing spectacular.

Updated : 24th Aug, this is a blenny.

As for the next fellow, it took us quite some time before even realising it was there. I only see it after my colleague pointed it out.

Look at it’s beautiful colors and pattern on it’s body. He is quite small. Only about 4-5 cm in length and spend most of it’s time hidden between the corals. It took me quite some time before managing to get a good shot of him. So beautiful, right?

Updated : 24th August. This little fellow is a mandarin dragonet.

Thanks to a friend (Wen) who pointed out the fish type to me. 🙂