Gourmet Garden

We have pass by this Kuchi Japanese Restaurant some time back, and it did not seem to be anything out of the ordinary. But then again, looks can be deceiving! It was an invitation through our blogging friend, Lonely Teacher. He had tried the place out and recommended that we give them a chance to ‘sell’ what they have to us picky eaters.

Kuchi’s co-owner, Alex Soon, was present to keep us inform of what was to be serve and what are their initial concept for their few months old restaurant that is nestle just opposite the “famous” Sri Batik Nyonya eatery.  From him we got to know that they will have in their menu fresh seafood that are caught in our local waters and also air-flown chilled varieties that are imported from various sources. They even have live octopus on the menu for people who are adventurous enough to give it a bite.

It was short sampling session after business hours. We only samples 7 dishes out of the many that are contained in their Japanese Asian fusion menu. First up was their Special Maki RM11 (Sushi) or ‘Dragon Roll’ to me. Large deep fried battered prawn encase in a firmly hand pressed sushi rice roll coated with sweet and savoury prawn roe.

Then we had their Name Ika Teriyaki RM25 or grilled squid which was one of our key likable. Crunchy yet tender squid generously seasoned and flavoured with their specially concocted sweet earthy sauce.

Kaki Guratan RM18 or oyster baked with butter and crumbs. I a mouthful, there was the feeling of crunchy grainy bread crumbs with the smooth soft texture of the oyster. Flavour wise, it was rich creamy and buttery with a medium salty end.

Ginmutsu Teppan Yaki RM26 is a deep fried cod and home-made kimchi dish that goes very well with dry noodles or plain old white rice. Though the fish was deep fried till crisp, it was still moist inside. The sweet and spicy sauce was quite appetizing for people who like a bit of heat in their food.

Lastly we had their Somen Chanpuru RM13 or Japanese Mee Sua. The stir fried somen was firm and not too oily to taste. It was a light noodle dish that has lots of vegetables.

Address:  102-A-5, New World Park, Burmah Road,10500 Penang

Tel: 04-2285176

GPS: N5 25.212 E100 19.638 View Gourmet Garden Food Trial in a larger map

Popularity: 3% [?]

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Is it a review, not really? It was a gathering called be Project Penang and fully sponsored by Sakae Sushi. There were about 20-25 bloggers of different fields not only food bloggers and many of them were people we haven’t met before, there were some that may have been acquainted once during last years’ “Blog Fest” and there were a few that we have been in close collaboration to promote Penang through blogging and pod-casting. The gathering also saw some new faces, we had a Scottish travel blogger who have spent 5 years in Penang due to the fondness he has for this beautiful Island, we had Christer a photo blogger and her friend  and Legend a tech blogger.

Through the gathering, we had much fun especially when Sake Sushi’s frog mascot came out for a photo session with us. He was pinched, squeezed and even “molested” by the undertaker.

During the gathering, we were hosted by Ranney (in green) from Sakae Sushi and their chefs and managers. Sakae Sushi Autocity ,which was formerly called Sakae Teppanyaki, now offers not only teppanyaki but also a range of Sakae Sushi dishes after undergoing an extensive refurbishment that has infused their (Sake Sushi) signature contemporary and stylish ambiance. Beware! Some of the dishes served are only found in this outlet, and there are an impeccable range of live seafood like live lobster, seabass and oysters.

Ranney briefed us on the origins of Sakae Sushi, the various concepts within Sakae, the meaning of the frog logo and the newly acquired touched screen ordering system that they put in place in certain outlets. Did you know that Sakae started from the husband’s love for his wife, of which like enjoys sushi? 

The gathering began with much fun fair, and the meal or dinner that followed was also exceptional. First, came the Sakae Salad that consist of shredded cabbage, julienned egg omelette, fritters, deep fried crispy salmon skin, marinated jelly fish and served with a plum base dressing. It is something different from the usual salad that we have savoured in Miraku or Ajinoren.

Then we had a platter that had Hana Maki, Soft Shell Crab Crepe and Salmon Sushi. Their Hana Maki is a beautifully crafted flower roll with delicate salmon sashimi petals wrapped around tangy sushi rice that is topped with creamy mayo and garnish salty shrimp roe.

Soft Shell Crab Crape is made of savoury fried soft shell crab rolled in an eggy crepe with sweet bean curd and juicy green & red coral leafs.

Salmon Sushi, skilfully sliced air flown fresh Atlantic  salmon sashimi on a roll tangy sushi rice topped with creamy mentai sauce that is lightly torched to give it that smoky flavour. 

Omo Tempura Shell Crab is simple dish with fried soft shell crab “packaged” in an egg crepe and served with fish floss and dressed with Japanese sweet and sour sauce and mayo.

The star of the night was their Live Lobster Mentaiyaki. Simple yet delicious dish that just grilled lobster and mentaiko sauce, rich and creamy.

Lastly we had a serving of Garlic Fried rice that was cooked at their Tepan section down stairs. 

Address: 1815-B, Jalan Perusahaan, Auto City, North-South Highway, Juru Interchange, 13600 Prai Penang.

Tel: +604 5080268

Opt. Hrs: 11:30am-10:30pm

Popularity: 4% [?]

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Of recent we were invited by Miraku Japanese Restaurant in Penang’s G-Hotel to gather a small group of bloggers to share the opportunity to preview their new dishes and promotions, and bridge them to the mass of Japanese food lovers out there. To begin with the series of planned event is their March & April Hotate (Scallop) & Chuhai (Japanese Cocktail) promotions. The promotions begin from the 1st of March and ends on the 30th of April 2011.

There are 10 items to choose from their Hotate promotion menu that ranges from the naturally sweet Nama Hotate sashimi to the savoury Hotate Ramen.

If you are planning for a full night of Hotate craze, you could  start the meal with the Nama Hotate Sashimi (6pcs) RM19.90 that had a light natural sweetness and smooth tender flesh.

Then we had the Hotate Sushi (Nigiri Sushi) (3pcs) RM14.00. The texture of the scallops were similarly soft and tender like the sahsimi scallops and the hand pressed rice rolls were not too sour nor too compact.  With a small drop of shoyu and a touch of wasabi, it brought out the sweet taste of the scallop further.

After the raw hotate, we had the Hotate Chuka Chinmi RM8.00. They are actually the membranes on the side of the adductor muscle trimmed and tossed with sesame seeds, chili, vinegar and seasoned to taste. It had a crunchy texture and an appetising taste that helps to get the palate moving and duets quite well with certain beer sand sake.

Then we tried the Hotate Kakiage RM28.00. Mixed vegetables, onion, capsicum and scallops batter coated and deep fried till golden brown. It had a crisp surface with moist and juicy fillings that are appealing people who love fried foods.

Another deep fried item on the promotion menu was the Hotate Korroke (2pcs) RM18.00. The croquettes are different from the normal potato base, they were made from diary custard packed with corn kernels and scallop breaded and deep fried until achieving a golden crust and yet maintaining a rich creamy centre.

Continuing after the deep friend version, we had the Hotate Kushi Yaki (2 sticks with 6pcs scallop) RM11.50. Pieces of whole scallop grilled and glazed with their home made sauce of soyu, sugar & leek. It is said that the end product is very similar in taste as the ones found in Japan, authentic and exquisite.

Then there was the Hotate Kara Yaki RM19.90. Big size Scallops with roe pan grilled in butter, Mirin, sake, shoyu and seasoned with pepper. The scallops had a firm and tender texture with a buttery and savoury taste.

After the grilled, we had the Sanshoku Hotate Mayo ( a set of 3 colours with individual flavour) RM30.00, Green was Wasabi, Yellow was Mayo and Red was the  Mentaiko (明太子) is the marinated fish roe of Pollock. Each individual flavours would have a different appeal to different taste preference. Some liked the spicy Wasabi or horseradish taste, some enjoyed the rich mellow taste of the mayo and for me it was the rich and salty Mentaiko that hit the note.

Another creamy dish that was on the menu was the Hotate Gratin RM23.00. It had 5 lovely charred scallops on a bed of sweet and creamy gratin made of custard, cheese, mayonnaise and macaroni, then finish with a slight torch of the surface.

Last but not least, a hot bowl of Hotate Ramen RM25.00. The soup base had predominant flavour of Miso and Wakame or seaweed. The savoury and creamy tasting soup had in it a mount of Ramen noodles, Ginkensai or Pak Choy, Moyasi or bean-sprouts, corn kernels and most importantly the whole scallops with roes intact.

After finishing the last item on the “Hotate Promotion” menu, we went on to have some cocktails drinks. The drinks were also part of their March & April promos, “Chūhai Promotion” @ RM28.00 per tokkuri. Chūhai is a cocktail mixture of Shōchū (Japanese Liquor) with carbonated drinks & citrus drinks, the possible concoctions may include lime, grapefruit, apple, orange, pineapple, grape, kiwi, ume (plum), yuzu, lychee, and peach. In short, Chūhai is a Japanese Alcoholic Cocktail that can either be served hot or cold and any with any flavours according to the drinkers’ preference.

Miraku in its Chūhai promotion is providing a 150ml tokkuri (house pouring) of either Mugi (Wheat Shōchū) with 23% alcohol or Imo (Potato Shōchū) with 25% alcohol with a variety of choices mixers:

• A can soft drink of either tonic, soda, Sprite, Cola or Oolong,
• 300ml of choice of juice of either lime, Orange or Mango Juice.

The most desirable cocktail by the ladies that particular night was the Mugi (Wheat Shōchū) with Sprite and Lime Juice cocktail. It was well blend, with little bit sweetness, tang, mellow alcoholic taste and fizzy after taste.

The following is the Potato Shōchū or Imo with Sprite/Tonic, Lime and Plum. It had an alcoholic taste with a bit of salty sourish taste, and it was the second most liked concoction of the night.

This is Imo with just Oolong tea. It is for the more matured drinkers who like their cocktail strong.

Our chef of the day was Nakagawa-san, a shy chap at start but looks can be deceiving. If I am not wrong, he is still single and available for now!

Business Hour :

Daily Lunch 12:00pm to 2:30pm

Daily Dinner 6:00pm to 10:30pm

Reservation:

Tel No. : 604-229 8702

Fax No. : 604-229 8560

Email Add : fm@miraku-restaurant.com

Links to the other attendees of the preview:

• Food Promotions
• It’s Delicious
• Valyn Lim

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Popularity: 7% [?]

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Most local Japanese food patron would have one or many encounters with sake (酒) or to be more precise Nihonshu (日本酒)  in their course of dining out in their favourite Japanese restaurant, but not many would have been introduced to masu sake(枡酒).

Masu is a square wooden box that was originally used to measure rice in Japan during the feudal period. One masu was supposedly enough rice to feed a person for one day. Today the masu is largely used for drinking sake with standard size of one gō or approximately 180ml. The masu is a symbol or celebration of life, love, friendship and happiness and are commonly used for New Year celebrations, weddings and company gatherings. The box is hand crafted in Japan from hinoki (桧) wood (lemon-scented, light pinkish-brown, with a rich, straight grain, and is highly rot-resistant) using traditional method without any use of nails or glue, it is all about old world carpentry skills and good wood. It will impart a delicate hint of lemony, woody and sweetness to your sake and smoothers the body of the sake that you are having regardless of brand or type. Thus, the masu box is never to be wash using soapy water or anything that will distort the unique flavours of the wood. It is usually washed by using hot water.

To further enhance the experience, salt can be placed on the rim edge of the box before drinking from it. It adds a dash of savouriness to the sake.

We had our first masu sake experience at Miraku Japanese Restaurant sometime late last year, and the latest encounter was during this January. Miraku is having a promotion from January to February (2011) to promote the traditional art of masu sake drinking with each serving charge at RM28 per full masu box.

Miraku Japanese Restaurant

Address: 1st Floor G Hotel, 168A Persiaran Gurney, 10250 Penang
Tel No. : 604-229 8702
Fax No. : 604-229 8560
Email Add : fm@miraku-restaurant.com

Popularity: 4% [?]

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We have found a new Japanese Restaurant in town. The exact location is the junction of Macalister Road and Madras Lane. The restaurant serves fusion Japanese Cuisine. The taste is more suited for the local tongue rather than Japanese.  For a quick dinner, we had pork chop rice, noodles and a stir fired chicken rice.

As usual, for starters at a new Japanese restaurant, I would try out one of their basic dish which is their pork chop rice or tonkatsu don. It was average to my standard. The pork chop was breaded and deep fried to slightly over brown, but it was still tender inside. May be they should look into the oil temperature or the lifespan of the frying oil. Taste wise was a bit more salty comapre to the ones I have eaten.

As the stir fry chicken rice that Gill had, taste was also on the heavy side of savory and sweet. The pairing of  french beans gave the dish a fresh and crunchy feeling. For rice lovers, it went well with the bowl of plain white rice.

Our business associate had a bowl of their noodle. We were busy talking and rushing for time, thus I did not had an opportunity to taste or ask him of what he felt about the noodle.

To sum up our experience at Jit Xin:

Taste & Texture: 2.9/5 (average with room to improve)
Money Value : 3.8/5 (price wise is quite cheap with a standard portion for my tonkatsu don)
Service: 2.5/5 (need to be more pro-active)
Cleanliness: 4.0/5 (still new, lets wait and see)
Atmosphere: 3.0/5 (quiet)

Popularity: 7% [?]

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