Recently, I had dinner with a very old friend, JL, whom I haven't seen for years. As usual, being a Friday night, neither being in the mood to choose where to eat, I just told him, "Surprise me!".
JL asked, with a twinkle in his eyes, "are you sure you want to be surprised?"
"Bring it on!"
And surprised I was!
We went to a Japanese restaurant where JL was obviously a regular. It was one of the Jap restaurants in Desa Sri Hartamas which I somehow never ate at before.
Anyway, we sat at the counter and didn't order, for the Chef played "
congker' (i.e dealer) that night and just surprised us one dish after another.
The first dish was probably the biggest surprise because the Chef presented us with
FUGU sashi. For the uninitiated, yes, it is the fish you can die from if not prepared properly. Read more about this deadly fish by clicking
hereI think we were both VERY surprised and it became a case of "you go first", "no, you go!" Anyway, we both gingerly pick up the very thin translucent slices and dipped it in a vinegary sauce and popped it in. I must say, it is rather bland (sauce was nice) but the texture was different, with a almost crunchy quality about it. I was rather disappointed not to feel the numbness on the lips which is supposed to be a 'value add' from having fugu sashi. But I guess this really had ALL poison removed ... Chef said if there was still poison in it, we would be dead within 7 minutes. Anyway, we survived the 7 minutes and live to enjoy the rest of our meal!
After the
fugu sashi, we were served seard
ahi tuna topped with
foie gras. This was also very yummy, the firmness for the tuna in contrast to the soft texture of the liver, though the taste of the foie gras was a little too subtle. Next was some salmon sushi roll with something inside which I can't remember. I like the contrast of texture of it. After all these and a bowl of soup each, we were both surprisingly quite stuffed.
Anyway,
fugu sashi aside, the other dishes there, especially the innovative sushi rolls looked quite interesting with various fusions of local and Japanese ingredients and is definitely worth another visit soon.
Anyway, thank you, JL, for a real surprising dinner, what's next? :)
For Jap surprises and innovate Jap fusion food, do visit
Aoyama The Green Room Japanese Restaurant10, Jalan 27/70A,
Desa Sri Hartamas
50480 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03 2300 0683
Fax: 03 2300 0515
Location: Same row as Penang Village. Car Park behind Devi's is just opposite.
Reservations recommended.
