Food Adventures January to July 2017 - January

Table Setting for 50th Anniversary

Prior to the two month sojourn around Wales, France and Sicily across August through to mid October, I had been a bit taken up with a project that took me away from the food and wine writing (and the songwriting and recording) but I then got a bit of a breather to try and reflect over where the Lengui and I had eaten over the previous couple of months (well, seven actually). So I figured rather than try to document them individually, better to just load them all into a single narrative and see how it looked. So this is a full-ish listing of where, when, and with whom we ate and drank over this period. Some are barely one liners, others have a bit more detail. Whatever, it made for a more than usually long read so it got broken down into months for ease of, er, digestion. Not sure if it will prove useful, but when taken in total it does represent quite a litany of gluttony. Phoooooooo....

Jan 2nd Marco Polo friend's 50th Anniversary
Start the New Year as we mean to go on with good food and friends at the Marco Polo. Lots of boozing, singing and dancing. I was emcee. Apparently. Seem to remember kicking things off, then someone else taking charge. Which is fine - never get in the way of someone who wants to do your work. Fish was the standout, kitchen seemed a bit stretched. 

Old friends from the Philharmonic Society

Jan 8th Pik Wah with Tai Chi and a Roast Pig

The Pik Wah Restaurant is the default for the Tai Chi group to which Lenglui belongs and they decided to haul a Roast Pig to be carved up for the group. Located opposite the Methodist Church just up from Petaling Street in KL, we have been coming here for years and has always been good food. Can't remember the menu on this night, but the standards would have been here - the pork ribs, the prawns and the Soon Hock fish are always very good. The Karaoke singing not always so…  Roast Pigs and boozy nights with this group are always fun. No corkage on wines, but best to bring glasses. Solid food.

Pik Wah Fish. Not Soon Hock but well tasty

Jan 19th Uovo with Birthday Group

We had been here a few times previously thanks to Hustler who seems always to be well ahead of food curves here in KL. The owner also operates From Farm To Plate just up the road. Uovo is more uptown in its degustation serving, but the meat is exceptionally good - iberico ribs and wagyu beef. Service is excellent, no corkage on wines, good glassware. Not cheap but not unreasonable given what you get.

The Birthday Group Gang

Two January Birthdays!

Happy Birthday to Youse!!

Uovo Interior

Tasty soup and toasty bread

Food good or not? GOOD!

Scallop

Can't remember...

Iberico ribs - yum

Possibly the Crabmeat

Delicious and delightful angel pasta

Unbelievable - he brought some wine!!

Jan 22nd Uovo for my birthday

As above but with way more booze and food. And my portable Karaoke. And lots of sparkling wine. And cakes. Raucous. 

Cakes and Balloons

Happy...

Birthday...

To You!!!

BAbe - Cute food, wonderful tastes, amazing view!

January 14th 2016

Hmm…  Blogger playing up a bit. Not letting me drag photos to position. Complained twice but no response. So the layout is a bit basic and skanky to my eyes. Time to shift to Wordpress? Sell Google shares?

Have to say at the start, I enjoyed BAbe. It was nice. And fun. Pretty much all of the dishes worked and the food was far from insubstantial. No complaints. Happy to go back again. Did too.

Can't remember...

Which is why this note will be a combo of two visits to BAbe where we had pretty much the same menu (which is 12 dishes plus 3 desserts for RM200, whilst the RM300 adds soft shell crab and wagyu beef, if I heard correctly). We went for the RM300 for the December trip and the RM200 for January.
 

Sashimi starter

BAbe is located in the Clearwater Building off Jalan Semantan on the border of the real Damansara area in Kuala Lumpur. If you know where the old Shell office used to be, that's where it is. Seems that BAbe is an acronym for the Best of Asia at Be. The place is actually a Health Centre with Workout machinery and Spa services which gives rise to the name - it is a place you can just BE, which somehow feels a bit 1960s hippie. All those Be-ins to which the shiny happy people turned up and just…  be-ed? Or should it be "were"? Whatever, in its own way the idea is quite cool - I always get a good feeling when the hippies get justified and vindicated years down the line. They were really on to something, but got defeated by life and the needs of raising kids. Free love ain't never free.

Prior to our December visit, the organising Hustler had told us we didn't need to bring any wine as the list there was fairly okay and the corkage was fierce. Well, and maybe, but…   Hmmm. I figured better to play safe and bring a couple just in case - the worst that would happen is that we just take them back home unopened. On this occasion, my preparedness proved prescient as we got a phone call from Hustler whilst en route asking if we could return home and retrieve some extra booze. Seems the wine list had been declared grim and dire by the assembled. As luck would have it we were being diverted back home due to our usual road being blocked off for LRT construction (with no one knowing about it until it happened on the day, which is pretty much usual) and a massive traffic jam was ensuing. We got back, picked out some wines from the fridge, and in taking the top road to Damansara got to the Babe in ten minutes. On arriving and being happily able to park on the road outside, we found ourselves actually behind the Hustler who had gone on a swift drive to the Cold Storage to load up on some guzzle.

 

Curry Burger and Salmon Canneloni. Tubular.

Entering the Clearwater building, a guard gets the lift for you and you exit into a nicely lit area and (if your timing is good) an immediate dusk sunset view across the uptown skyline. This has to be one the best views in the city, and well worth the price of admission. Must have been a brahma here for New Years Eve with all the fireworks. Photo didn't do it justice, hence its omission from this post.

 

Whitefish sashimi and Air Blown Beef Crunchies. Wicked.

Everyone was already there and hungry to suck down the fizz which seemed to be taking an eternity to chill in the kitchen's ice fridges. I asked for some action and after five minutes with no response eventually grabbed two ice buckets and brought them to the table. The staff seemed a bit frazzled and clearly not used to a thirsty white boy taking charge of the booze arrangements. Well, we were all pretty parched and wanted to cheer the sunset…

The Pichon Longueville. Darling wine.

The decor was most pleasant, with a modern European ambience and feel about the place. Lots of soft furnishing and white bookcases. There were Christmas trees with cute reindeer decorations on our visit which lent a pleasant festive feel to the place. Music was a bit jazz ambient and fashion show, but it seemed to fit. Was a relief from the usual Christmas offerings at other establishments. Only downside was the flickering LED lights in the inside area which got annoying and would be a bugger for anyone borderline epileptic. Either cheap bulbs or cheap switches? Whatever, they gave me a headache.
 
The restaurant is split into the air-conditioned inside and the fan cooled outside. For our December visit we were inside whilst our January trip saw us venture outside. Think I prefer the inside. The outside got too noisy due to a combo of ceiling fans, a fair bit of outside ambient noise and high ceilings - the result was that I could not hear the descriptions of the dishes given by the pleasant waiter - - his words literally went straight out of the window. Also, his diction was a bit not good which suggests maybe a need for some training here by the restaurants - please make your staff louder and clearer to be heard by the borderline deaf like myself above the whirring of the ceiling fans and the drone of the traffic. Though being outside does give an unadulterated and magnificent view across Kuala Lumpur. The skyline from this side is very pretty and big city, all twinkling and neon. Nights like this make you feel quite blessed to be living here. 

Can't remember...

Overall, the food was nicely interesting. They call it Japas, which is a contraction for Japanese Tapas. Lots of nice cross textures, with occasional umami and zip from a wide range of ingredients combined in a spanky steel kitchen. Every single dish sizzled with taste and texture and cute surprise. There were lots of explosions on the tongue and across the cheeks, lots of coatings and tongue zappers and also a late night cool snort through the nose. All taste bases were well covered, though perhaps on reflection a bit too well covered. Sometimes a bit of air and sensation between dishes is welcome. As memory serves, this was all out assault.

 

Soft Shell Crab

But O what an assault and it was a lot of fun getting battered into submission by all the little bites. Can't remember all of the dishes, and could not secure a menu for it, so will have to let the photos speak for themselves. There was a wicked Croquette Ball with an inside of Pumpkin Curry which was sublime, with solid carbo crisp contrasting with sweet mush and a brilliant zip through the whole thing. The Sashimi tomato with its dab of wasabi got a bit lost trying to follow the croquette, but you couldn't deny the texture on this one - imagine the freshest tomato skin and flesh on top of a light dollop of sushi rice. It actually did good service as a sorbet. The soft shell crab was a bit Crab McNuggets but the lime sorbet and turmeric mayo that came with it made perfect sense and worked extremely well. There's a cute sense of using one type of food to make it look like something else - the tomato sushi looked like tuna, and some mini burger looking things that tasted more like macaroons. 

 

I have no idea...

We were on to the beef which came with some sweet potato puree to which a dab of mustard was genius and some Fatt Choy gave a sour vegetal crunch and a slight bitter note. It also came with truffle infused tissue which we were told to smell whilst eating to give the sense of truffle in the dish. Presumably is just a dab of truffle oil on the tissue. Crazy? It worked brilliantly and was indeed enough to get the sense without the thing overpowering the dish as truffle can sometimes do. Have to try this at home.

 

Beef with Sweet Potato Puree

Sadly, our wagyu beef was a shade overcooked and came out cold with a slight tang suggesting some age. Its replacememnt was way better and belter with some teriyaki sauce which we were told helps cook the meat on the plate, taking it from medium rare to…  actually a bit strange. Think maybe the teriyaki did a little too much magic to the marble and the end result was… strange. Not quite sure about this and my later notes don't recall anything. Will have to go back and try again to figure out what I was thinking. Meantime, I was still in love with my truffle tissue. I stole another and had a total nosegasm. 

 

Wagyu Beef and Truffle tissue. Nothing like a good snort of truffle...

Dessert was Passion Fruit Meringue frozen dipped in Nitrogen which gets snorted out through the nose dragon fashion as you eat the crunched up delight. Very cute and nasal, though you need to carefully time the freezing so as not to burn the nose. Someone dumped the truffle tissue into the nitrogen which somehow preserved the smell and gave an earthy frozen truffle nose. Quite cute. I seem to remember someone wanting to eat the frozen tissue and getting sensibly restrained.

 

The liquid Nitrogen and Meringue

There were three milk ice cream desserts - one charcoal, one toffee and one something else (my writing gets illegible two bottles into a meal). The charcoal was weirdly wonderful and my favourite. The toffee had wonderful crunch and milky mouthfeel and the other one was all coconut feel and smell. All were lovely. Final dessert was one of those toffee sugar paper things that maybe had been nitro-frozen and to be eaten with dark rich chocolate style petit fours and gelatin bites. Extremely yum.

Nothing like a good snort of Nitrogen too...

This is truly a pleasant restaurant. Great ambience, mood, vibe - darn cool place to be seen to be hanging out. Not stuffy or formal, very easy place to relax. The kitchen clearly works hard to get the dishes out perfectly and the staff know how to explain what they are and how to consume them, so kudos to the Management for taking the time here. One downside was that the inside area got a bit warm due to the doors to the outside tables being constantly opened and closed by staff transporting the dishes to the punters. And this being compounded by the concept of twelve to fifteen courses - the result was that the inside got a bit sweaty and mildly uncomfortable on occasion. Clearly a need to figure some way to keep the precious aircon in the room. Also, the toilet is downstairs and was quite a trek to get there. A pleasant and pretty trek, though.
 
On our first visit in December, the service was occasionally a bit slow and the wine service was pretty much non-existent - as said, I ended up taking command due to the staff being too busy getting food out from the kitchen to pay too much attention to the state of our glasses. I guess that is what happens with sixteen course dinners - it has to get out of the kitchen quickly so there is space for all the other dishes waiting to follow. Must be like a factory production line in there, all the chefs adding their individual bits to the dish on its way to us punters. I suppose we could self-serve ourselves, but it kind of defeats the point of going to a restaurant. Maybe need one of those Japanese conveyor belt systems with the dishes being taxi-ed around the tables. Maybe not - all it would take would be some oik snaffling our en route crab for there to be murder. Wines people brought were varied - some supermarket standard, others off the map delights. Have a memory of someone cracking a Bolly and the St Clair Pioneer Block SB 2014 we brought was delightful. Meaty body, crisp lemon zing, slight butter in the mouth and big finish. Chris and Sanjeev brought some superb Austrian wines, some of which were old friends from our IWFS visit there earlier in the year (still trying to write this one up - was a lot of food and party. Watch this space). 

Dessert. Yes.

On the second visit, staff were also a bit slow getting the ice bucket to the table, but at least this time it did get there. We cracked a 2011 Domaine Leflaive Puligny Montrachet Le Clavaillon and our friend brought a 1990 Chateau Pichon Longueville which was darling - sleek steely, taut and full with good lean fruit and a grip like a scotsman on his wallet. The Leflaive was equally darling, though naturally in a whiter Burgundian kind of way.

Staff were a bit more observant as to whether refills were necessary this time around, and were quite attentive through the night. Notwithstanding, I still feel there is a clear need for a dedicated sommelier and a team of wine waiters to relieve the endless running in and out of the kitchen by the staff. Either that or train them up to be more alert as to the states of the wine glasses on the tables. A dedicated sommelier / decent maitre d' would be better - he or she can keep a sole eye on the tables and glasses and hustle staff as and when necessary or step in and do the dirty when they are being stressed by the kitchen. As said, the outside area is a hugely pleasant place to have the dinner, with one of the best views of the KL city skyline in the entire metropolis. Some more, it was not too hot with the ceiling fans whirling away and cooling the evening and night air. BAbe must really suffer when the haze comes… 
 
BAbe is not for everyone, but it is a cute food experience which, like Mugaritz in San Sebastian, should be done at least once in a lifetime. It gives a different sense of food and the experience of eating it, and occasionally challenges our preconceptions of how food should be consumed - 12-plus single bite courses rather than full plate starter, entree, main, dessert style. Never a bad thing to get preconceptions challenged. 

Lovely sipper of a Bordeaux...

On which point, conversation turned to one foodie friend who had sworn against coming to BAbe again, apparently after having had a full blown rant with staff against the fact that the place was not offering FINE dining. To which our communal response was: well, we know this. On both my visits, staff took pains to emphasise that BAbe offers FUN dining rather than fine dining, so I am not sure that my ranting friend has a fair leg to stand on. I heard that they said they won't be back. Their loss. I for sure will. 

Which led to a discussion as to whether there was indeed any fine dining left in KL. The standard seemed to revolve around whether there were tablecloths on the tables, which marginalised most of the eateries. Those that remained got ticked off quite quickly. Cilantro came near the top, but we haven't been there for a while. Same with DC. The only other one seemed to be left standing was Lafite, which left us all immensely sad since none of us had had a good food experience there in the last three years. Our last outing with the IWFS where the fish came out fully boned was the final nail for many. Few people saw how VIP prices for this kind of presentation could be justified. RIP Lafite. Sage is still the default. Anyone got any thoughts on this?

Memphis Bistro - fantastic!

Memphis Bistro

February 6th 2016

This was recommended by a new friend at a recent Amante CNY feast somewhere in Taman Desa. We had expressed a liking for good steak and he started raving about this place called Memphis. So enthusiastic, he even whatsapped the contact details. We immediately decided it was a must try. And it would indeed prove to be a fantastic find.

Though trying to get there on the Friday evening directly before the Chinese New Year holiday was in hindsight hugely stupid. Initially looking good, the Federal Highway traffic ground to a, er, grinding halt in the drizzling rain just before the PJ Hilton. Waze started screeching for us to turn off on Jalan 222 which we figured would be better than the nerve frazzling crawl and took us through the back roads of Petaling Jaya to the LDP. Here, a quick U turn got us into the backwaters of Kelana Jaya and then surprisingly quickly to the restaurant. Took about forty minutes from the Jalan 222 turn off. 

Interior - kitchen and Chef and Lenglui and me reaching for a glass - as usual...

In fairness, without the Waze we would never have found the place. It was in a back corner of what looked like a recently constructed and even more recently abandoned shoplot village going by the name of Dana 1 Commercial Centre (or Pusat Perdagangan Dana 1 as the maps will name it). Seemingly very few tenants with lots of "To Let" signs. But the Waze was brilliant, taking us right to the front door of the place (though not initially so good getting back - it couldn't find the road out). There were many admonitions en route to the restaurant to park in the downstairs parking or risk a clamping but there was so much space everywhere in front of closed and vacant shoplots I decided to take a risk and park directly outside the place. I figured I could keep an eye on Willy through the large windows and move it if any of the Complex goons started hovering around (Willy is our nickname for the grey Honda Accord - when we first got it, it felt huge and like driving a grey whale, hence the name).

Specials of the House

The interior was warm and welcoming, with a long bar on one side and tables arranged in four and eight seaters. Figured a maximum of fifty could be catered to. Lots of wood and as said large windows facing on to the street. Very homely. At the far end of the room was a perspex board on which were written all the specials of the house. Wow. Lots of fresh seafood and steak. There was also an a la carte menu on which everything also looked excellent. Also had a Christmas Tree festooned with the usual baubles to which some Ang Pow packets had been added to give a Chinese New Year feel. Quite cute, yes? There was a large window through which we could see the kitchen and a homage poster of Elvis on the side. The King. Of course. Also a poster of the code of the Native North American peoples gave a sense of soul and spirit to the place. A reminder that we are all temporal beings connected to the Great Spirit. Who hunt and eat the buffalo. Om.

Squid Nuggets

We were about thirty minutes ahead of time so we sat down and got an ice bucket for the Oyster Bay SB. It needed about ten minutes to chill so I took a quick walk around outside to get a sense of the place whilst Lenglui sat whatsapping the incoming Texas (who would be joining us with his squeeze the FBQ). It did feel like a ghost town, though there were a few restaurants and outlets looking to try and make it. I couldn't see what would attract people to come here. The light drizzle just added to a sense of desolation about the place. Location wise, on a good day it would be easy to get to - U turn back on the Subang airport road, past the Citta Mall, hang a left and you are here. My guess is that Citta Mall takes much of the traffic. It also has lots of named food outlets which is always a good draw in Malaysia. Ten minutes wandering in the darkling rainy gloom of this concrete maze was enough so it was back into the warm glow of the Memphis.

Escargots

The wine was nicely chilled and the thirst worked up by the stroll was excellently slaked (slaken? slakened?) by the lean acidic crunch and throat tickling crispy fruit of this lovely wine. For some reason the 2014 had crashed in price and we had been picking it up for RM80 (normally RM130 in the supermarkets). Drinking nicely and better than some younger NZ offerings, it has maintained its lean firmness and was delightful both on its own and brilliant with the Squid Nugget starters we had ordered. Salty peppery crunchy bites that accentuated the crisp zip of the wine. Darn tasty, and a great start to the evening.

Mr and Mrs Texas arrived (they had done the Uber which whacked them for premium rate due to the time of day) and we got down to the serious business of ordering. With FBQ, is quite simple - order everything so we all can taste everything. We usually reign in such enthusiasm with the logic that we can't finish so much food (which surprisingly worked tonight) so we settled on four starters and two mains with a side salad. 

Wagyu M5 - double yum!

It would prove enough. We had another plate of the delightful Squid Nuggets and went with the Portobello Mushroom, the Crab Cake and the Escargots. It was all very good, though the Crab Cake felt a bit mushy for my taste. I like it a shade drier and crisper in the potato stakes. Big sizes, good tastes and fair prices - could not argue with anything here. The Escargots were done nicely in garlic butter (with a possible hit of truffle?). Perhaps lacking refinement in delicate textures but hey, we're in a Bistro here. You come for Soul Food not deconstruction or reconstruction or abstraction distraction nonsense. Yes.

And we had indeed come for the steak and they were darling pieces of meat done perfectly.We had ordered one piece of (presumably Australian) Wagyu M5 and one Sirloin with Goose Liver Butter just to compare. I carved them up and everyone got a chunk of each. The Wagyu was the clear winner, but not by much. Both were excellent. The Wagyu took it on texture and mouthfeel but in taste and quality terms both pieces were darn good. The Goose Liver butter was a cute surprise and soaked the sirloin with a cream fatty softness that helped it slip across the cheeks so sweetly. And it all came with a plate of roast potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, and (gasp!) Brussels Sprouts which were done perfectly. I have a total weakness for these softly bitter green little chaps. Everyone else vehemently asserted that they hated them so I was able to drizzle them with the gravy and totally glutton out. Happy as a dog in the mud. We had also ordered a salad which went pretty much untouched - there was more than enough food for four without it. 

Sirloin with Foie Gras Butter - yum

We had the meat with a magnificent Australian Shiraz that Texas had brought whose name escapes me - might have been an Executioner or Judge or one of these Wine Poetry jobboes. Whatever, it was an excellent match - light pepper silk with a velvet caress on the meat. Top, top end. (note - Texas read this and texted the name - Two Hands Gnarly Dudes)

We finished off with a delightful chocolate souffle kind of lavabomb with a dollop of ice cream on the side that erupted with cocoa goo and milky cold in the mouth and made for a well pleasant sweetener. 

Corkage at RM20 a bottle for ice buckets and decent glassware felt extremely reasonable compared to what one gets elsewhere for far more outlay (eg Osteria Realblue). Food was pretty fast out of the kitchen. Solid service, no real complaints. Definitely one to go back to, and quite often if time permits. One of those default places you feel can confidently go and get great food at fair price. Foodie friends said they had been going there for quite some time. Easy to see why. Total bill of RM400 inclusive of three bottles corkage for four people felt most friendly. 

Chef KJ Tan

The affable Chef KJ Tan came over to say hello and we shared a glass of wine with him. Clearly he has a passion for the kitchen and the meat and wine, and is one of those old rock and roll souls given his selection of decorative album covers adorning the walls of Memphis. Not sure what is the story behind Memphis and the web is remarkably silent on the point. Have to sit down with Chef next time and split a bottle to find out. And eat more of his wonderful wagyu. Come and join us! But make a reservation - it might be full. Cheers!

Memphis Bistro

D6-70G, BLK 7,

Pusat Perdagangan Dana 1

Jalan PJU 1A/46,

PJU 1A,

47301 Petaling Jaya

Selangor DE

Tel +603 7843 6818

HP +6012 3068717

Photos by kind permission of FBQ Jan Shaw

Code of the Native Americans

IWFS Tokyo February 2014 Day Four

FRIDAY FEB 21ST

Sashimi at the Sushizanmai Honten

Morning was a 6.30 wake up for a 7.30am away to the Tsukiji Fish market for sashimi and sushi breakfast with sake and green tea. It was a blazingly brilliant sunny morning, just the absolute perfect one for a hangover, and definitely getting warmer. Quite fuzzy on the bus. Had to break out the sunglasses for the ride to breakfast. The bus got parked in a temple style area with masses of space. We staggered across a road and were suddenly in the market and in the Sushizanmai Honten restaurant for our breakfast. A very unassuming place from the outside, the restaurant is legend for its fresh Sashimi. If you see the occasional news reports, it is traditionally the one that pays the record amounts for the big fish. It was on two levels, we were shuttled upstairs presumably because of our numbers. The locals were swallowing their sashimi at the downstairs bar. I was clearly too fuzzy to make notes about the breakfast, but the photos reminded that the Sashimi was indeed amazing - fresh, lean, clean and wonderful. Having sake first thing in the morning was a new experience but it did help drive some of the cobwebs away. Beer was also ordered by some but the wheat tea refills did wonders for me. 

Waking up with Tea and Sake

Breakfast : Sushizanmai Honten 朝食:寿司ざんまい 本店 

Date: 21st, February 2014

特選寿司ざんまい 刺身 / にぎりセット(おまかせ 6 貫) 

Tokusen Sushizanmai Sashimi / Nigiri Set

(6 kinds of Nigiri)

Drink

冷酒『喜び』 

*すしざんまいオリジナル特別純米酒【秋田】 

Yorokobi *Original Sake of Sushizanmai

Buying Chopsticks and Scallops

Then off for a wander around the market, where we bought some raw horseradish and large chopsticks for Sifu and Duchess back home. The market is a warren of food and kitchenware stalls, and every now and then guys on motorcarts with styrofoam boxes full of fresh fish would barge their way through the narrow tracks. We got some scallops and dried shrimp and more chopsticks, figuring they would find homes back in Malaysia and they were way less expensive than the crazy prices available at the Taka. Saw Jan and Barry drinking coffee in a coffee stall which looked a fantastic idea so we joined them. He repaid us the coffee we got for him on first morning at Rainbow Bridge when he had little cash. Very nice, especially being able to use the WC in the cafe at the back. Bumped into John Dixon looking for the actual fish market where all the auctioning and buying of the fish went on. We figured it was further behind in the market and a bit more than we were prepared to walk (he did eventually find it). Had we been more awake, we could have followed the little motorcarts that were bringing fish to the stalls back to where they coming from. But fuzzy is as fuzzy does and we stayed with the coffee and chopsticks. Good visit, enjoyed this. 

Buying the Beef

Next up was more shopping in an area called Ameyoko. This is located in the North side and near the Ueno Tube station. This was where our guide suggested we buy our beef. The big stuff of legend was at a department store called the Matsuzukaya and retailing at Y4800 per 100g (about RM180) and Y2000 (RM70) per 100g whereas the Food Street market around the corner was Y1000 (about RM40). Nakamura-san kindly took us to the Matzusukaya to look at the good stuff. And it did indeed look good. The marbling was magnificent. In the end, we decided to opt for the open air market. We are not that expert in Wagyu and perhaps there was too much marble in the good stuff for our taste. So we trooped off to the market where Nakamura-san took us to his favourite beef place. He helped tremendously in the negotiations and sale and we bought up some frozen Wagyu rump steaks, some beef cubes for stew and Karubi cuts for the fridge back home. It all got packed in polystyrene and Nakamura took it back to the hotel for storage in their freezer. We would later unpack it and wrap in all in newspaper and in the suitcase before we took the Airport Limousine bus for the flight home. Polystyrene boxes attract attention which is better avoided. 

Whilst buying the beef, I found a nearby stall selling some Yow Char Kwai on special and bought some for sharing with Nakamura and Jaya and Geeta who had joined us at the butcher. They also bought steaks and lamb. 

Entrance to Imahan

We wandered up and down the food streets before returning to the Matzusukaya department store for a looksee and a pee before heading back to the bus. The store is quite pleasant, though was undergoing some renovation which made navigation a bit awkward. Without our guide we would easily have got lost. On the way back we stopped for a coffee at one of the ubiquitous Lawson shops which seem to dot every other street across Tokyo. The coffee was terrible. Thin and watery. It was supposed to be Gourmet; more like Gourblimey. 

Back on the bus and off to lunch which was to be at the Imahan in Asakusa and would prove lovely. The entrance was through a cobble stone pathway and we were invited up a few steps (after kicking off the shoes) to a large room with two tables and frosted windows. Total isolation. Service was from Geisha clad mature ladies and was unobtrusive and excellent throughout lunch. Lovely setting and ambience, though the choice of music was a bit strange - Toto's "Africa" followed by Louis Armstrong with "Wonderful World".  Most pleasant though not exactly what one might expect in a Japanese restaurant.  

Getting served by Imahan Geisha

The beef was cooked in Soy Sauce sukiyaki style in a clay pot on a burner and dipped in raw egg before being chewed through. Total delight, with the excellent beef getting a coat of the whipped up eggy gunk. Choice of beer or sake to accompany, we chose beer starter with sake and green tea to follow. The sake was light and fine, almost wine like. Easy and fruity with good body.

Accompanying the beef were leek, glass noodles, enoki mushrooms and some green leaves which looked like dandelion. All got cooked in the Soy sauce which gave the salt yet still let the great tastes and textures of the ingredients come through. The pot got refilled throughout lunch with Soy Soup and the bits got added as and when needed. Rice and Miso soup with chives and cabbage also came out, though the soup was a bit thin and watery. Someone quipped that the soup was like "kissing your sister." 

Bachan gets his first lesson in being Geisha

Lunch : Ningyo-cho Imahan 昼食:人形町 今半 

www.asakusa-imahan.co.jp

Tel 03 3841 2690

Date: 21st, February 2014

すき焼き

Suki Yaki

ご飯

Rice

吸い物

Miso Soup

漬物

Japanese Pickles

Drink 

竹鶴 純米

Taketsuru Sake

IWFS Kuala Lumpur at the Senso-ji Shrine

The Nakamise

The Imahan is in the Asakusa Kannon area which contains the Senso-ji, an ancient Buddhist temple and once a great pilgrimage location. The site is an entire complex of shrines and temples though perhaps its main attraction is now a shopping strip along the temple's main thoroughfare called the Nakamise. The Nakamise was totally charming with its fake apple blossom strung along the stalls and their tinkling strips of bells. We had been blessed with an afternoon of brilliant sunshine and the shopwalk was bustling with tourists and locals alike. The stall offerings seemed a bit expensive and Lenglui, though on the look for bits for her Japanese Dance Classes back in KL, declined to buy. We found the WC, did our necessaries, and I went off to take a few more photos. The complex is bustling and the main temple like a rugby scrum with people jockeying to get close to the gold gods. I lit a candle for my mum and dad and a photo op of the smoky fire grate offerings delayed me by five minutes. They appeared frantic in looking for me, already in the process of sending out search parties. My ear got well bent. Needlessly as it would turn out since our bus was ten minutes away and required a brisk stroll to meet it. 

View from the Shrine

Back on the bus for our last touristy trip which would be to the Sky Tree. This was a telecom tower with observation deck about 400m in the air. It was impressively well organised, with the history of the building and its erection being graphically illustrated via wall exhibitions. There are about six elevators taking people up and down in well ordered groups. We did the trip in about 50 seconds at 600m a minute. No ear pop. On a clear day you could apparently see Mount Fuji. It would have to be a very VERY clear day to see much beyond the city smog and haze, and one would best go at midday or in the morning since the setting sun was blinding in its intensity. Indeed, the original schedule showed that we were supposed to have done the Sky Tree in the morning. Perhaps our need for beef and shopping caused this changeover. 

View from the Sky Tree

The view in the tower's shadow was quite impressive in the sunshine of the afternoon, but frankly quite missable. Just a mosaic of building and brick with a motorway in the distance. Not really worth the bother for me and time might be better spent elsewhere, though its popularity was clear with families and kids. It was impressively well organised, with museum and history of the building and its erection being graphically illustrated via wall exhibitions. A roaring trade was being done with photographs of couples and groups against the backdrop. And there were hundreds more coming up and down non stop in the lifts. At Y600 a pop, it will pay for itself quite quickly. Great for families, a bit meh for us foodies. 

IWFS Council Chair Yvonne Wallis and 
IWFS Roppongi PresidentTanaka-San

Back on the bus to the hotel to get togged up for the official launch dinner of the IWFS Roppongi. It was to be a suit and tie and medallions affair at a place called the No Bird, a swish looking jazz bar and restaurant in Ginza. A long thin room with a stage at one end and a bar at the other with tables spread in between. Dark wood and glass gave a chic New York ambience on the place. Cool and laid back. Most folks were already there when we arrived at about 6.45pm with some familiar IWFS faces from around the world. Expecting a Japanese cuisine style dinner we were pleasantly shocked when the menu suggested Italian. Another surprise was that we would be having wine made from Japanese vines grown on the islands. Never knew it existed. And very pleasant it would turn out to be. 

Dr Rajan of IWFS KL presents Pewter plate to
Tanaka-San

The IWFS Roppongi launch dinner at the No Bird Jazz Cafe started off with some good crispy bubbles courtesy of Louis Roederer. I guess we were the last to arrive since we got quickly seated and dinner got called to order, with IWFS Roppongi President Tanaka-san giving his welcome address before inviting IWFS Council of Management Chair Yvonne Wallis to also say a few words. The No Bird manager was also called to speak and we got the story of why it was No Bird - it was something to do with not having Charlie Parker around any more. I think. The manager was speaking in Japanese and getting translated so maybe it lost something on the way through. Or more probably I was a bit tired. 

IWFS Kuala Lumpur President Rajan was invited to speak and presented IWFS Roppongi President Tanaka-san with a Royal Selangor pewter plate to commemorate the launch of the new chapter. Past President Tony Narisawa was to be the sponsor of the Roppongi branch and so ties between the two chapters were sought to be tied in a somewhat more tighter bind than might exist between other branches. 

IWFS Kuala Lumpur with the Heritage 2011. Yum.

As said, we were told we would be having wines made in Japan from Japanese grapes. Quite a revelation to learn that there is grape wine in Japan whilst later research found that there has been for quite some time. First out was a Special Reserve Chardonnay from the Grace Winery in Katsunuma in the Yamamachi Prefecture. This is a family owned winery established in 1923 and now being run by fourth and fifth generation successors. The name "Grace" comes from the Three Graces and seeks to produce wines that are "eco-friendly, with a natural, gallant and quietly elegant taste." The grapes came from the Misawa Estate Vineyards in Aekno-cho with parcels being fermented separately before blending in oak. 

Ian Weston, Yvonne Wallis and Tony Narisawa

"On the nose, freshness, citrus fruit of lemon, and pear, soft oak nuances reminiscent of green tea rolls.On swirling, fruit aromas of freshly grated green and golden delicious apples, refreshing herbs of mint and lemon grass and at the back, chili spiciness, with a hint of saltiness. Balanced acidity was definitely leading on the palate. Transparent and clean mid-palate, no-frill, with a yellow fruit core. From mid to finish, oak nuances wrapping around the body, showing softness.Finish is soft, and on the overall, fresh and gentle." (Tasting note according to Naohisa Itou, Nov 16, 2012)

Antipasto

We got a wonderful burgundy feel, possibly a shade oaky but a good full mouth and crunchy finish. Crispy apples, firm and robust on the palate. I have no notes on the ham, though I recall it all got finished. Rarely is ham left on a plate.

James Lin from IWFS Taiwan with Mr and Mrs Tatsuji Echle from IWFS Tokyo Bay

The antipasto came across like a blended and repacked sashimi with a resulting texture that was as light as a white crane feather in the mouth and set off by the lemon zing. On one level, one might have preferred to have had the tuna raw and untouched. As it was, the processing gave it air and made for a total revelation. Toro belly tartare - outstanding.

The first red wine was the Heritage 2011. This had a Pinot ish feel to it with very light pepper and cherry on the tongue. A light and fragrant texture with great balance and power. Nice and lean with good structure, bordering on austere yet retaining enough suppleness to remain friendly. Ranks with some of the decent burgundies I have tasted, though whether it competes with the Premier Crus must be left to those with wider tasting experience. Can't seem to find any detail on the web about this one. Write to Roppongi friends and get the name.

Spaghetti

Matched with the spaghetti was… okay. Dusted with a very light grated cheddar it was light and crunchy with fresh tomato and a hint of pepper, which when compounded by the pepper zip in the wine resulted in the tongue getting a bit, er, peppered. We hear that there are some tremendous Italian restaurants in Tokyo. This was fine enough, simple and light. None remained on the plates around me. 

Next wine was the Chateau Mercian Special Reserve, a Merlot from the Nagano Prefecture and apparently Japan's finest Merlot since 1971. Chateau Mercian boasts a host of awards at various competitions around the world and claims to be the first Japanese wine to be featured in Wine Spectator. Well, and okay. I think maybe I missed something with the Merlot on offer. I found it tending toward the bitter and quite stalky and not a lot of fruit. Stiff and a bit grim, with a lot of firm grip and a shade too close to committing infanticide as the Kiwi would say. Not a wine that felt as friendly as its predecessors. Also didn't get a sense that this would be a keeper, since the fruit tannin balance felt way in favour of tannin already and not much fruit to support it through the years.  

The Duck

The duck was excellent. Firm and full in the mouth with a good firm bite. Our Sifu might have found it a bit "ducky" since it did have a slight tinge of too long on the chopping board but the Balsamic took the edge right off. Those of us who had saved some of the first red were well rewarded since it made for a brilliant match. 

Dolce

The Dolce was a bit on the firm side, like a sweet iced milk lolly we used to get as kids but more creamy and with a lighter bite that didn't freeze your eyes when you bit into it. The strawberry sauce went nicely, giving a good cold zing on the back teeth. The sprinkle of sugar sweetened the tongue to give a not too sweet cold milky cream finish with the coffee and tea. 

Megumi Yamazaki and Saya Takahashi from IWFS Roppongi

A Jazz Band was keeping us a shade too loudly entertained through the night and Takagi-san suggested I give a song. And so it was that Mack The IWFS Knife got sung by a short fat middle aged Welshman before the gathered clans of the IWFS. Changing the words to call out the personalities of the IWFS Board and characters clearly went down well. Very kindly, everyone applauded, and I think I got a return gig at the upcoming beanos in Taiwan and Melbourne. It was great to meet with new foodie and wino friends from across the globe. This IWFS is a whole lot of fun. 

Paul and Ria Thomas with Tanaka-san

Things closed up and dinner was over by 10.30 since many needed to get back and pack for a 5.30am wake up for 6.30am off to the airport for their 10am flight. We had booked the night flight so had an extra day to relax and shop. Into bed for a decent sleep. Less booze is always good for sleeping.  

Jagjit and Bachan with Tanaka-san

DINNER - IWFS NO BIRD DINNER

CENA COMPLETA - FULL COURSE DINNER

INIZIO

Grissini Torinese e Culatello di zibello con mostarda di mele della casa

Traditional Grissini (breadsticks) from Torino and Ham from Zibello served with homemade Apple Chutney

ANTIPASTO STARTER

Bresaola di tonno alle erbe aromatiche

Bresaola (air-dried salted) of Tuna in Favigna style, serve with herb, botargo and lemon

PRIMO PIATTO FIRST COURSE

Spaghettini alla Campidanese

Spaghettini with homemade Sausage and Tomato sauce in Campidano style

SECONDO PIATTO MAIN COURSE

Anatra cotta a 50 gradi per 12 ore con salsa all'aceto balsamico ristretto

Breast of Duck roasted for 12 hours at 50 degrees served with condensed Balsamic acid

DOLCE DESSERT

Crema catalane con salsa di fragola

Catalan Cream with a hint of Orange, served with Strawberry sauce

Tanaka-san, Taiwan Eddie and Mack the Knife