Staple Japanese. Benkay, Hotel Nikko, Jalan Ampang, KL.

from Paranoid Android

(no pork served)

Angry looking lobster in the tank at Benkay. Fresh lobster Teppanyaki is available from their a la carte menu.

My quest for a good restaurant that serves good Japanese Food say me trotting off to Benkay. The abnormal proliferation of Japanese Restaurants in KL like a good Catholic that does not believe in family planning has led to a deplorable condition where there is an over abundance of restaurants with very little quality. Some of the Japanese Restaurants are owned by large chains that contribute to the blurring of boundaries between the restaurants, all of which serves to attempt some form of fusion food. Food that attempts to stroke too many senses at one go and ends up miserably on the road to gastronomic perdition. The menu is often frightfully overwrought with misconceived notions of what Fusion Japanese cuisine should be and churns out something quite similar to Gozilla running amok in New York, clueless and seething with rage, which is pretty close to what I feel too after a bad Japanese meal. And we have not even begun to talk about Kaiseki yet.

Salad

The interior of Benkay is functional and simple with lots of wood based furniture and bright windows. Unfortunately the Restaurant attracts a new breed of lunch crowd diners whose idea of a civil conversation involves shouting across the table and into their mobile phones. Be prepared for an auditory assault while dining here.

California Roll

The simple and functional decor is reflected in their lunch menu, which is devoid of any pretensions as well. Their salad was restrained, just pieces of fresh vegetable and corn showered with Shoyu Vinaigrette. The California hand roll which came with my set was mercifully devoid of the horrid Kewpie Mayonnaise that I often complain about. The Sunomono showed too much restraint with the vinegar and was generously sweet, a minor complaint that has nothing to do with the competency of the chef, but personal taste.

Sunomono

The Chawan Mushi was perfectly smooth and topped with Ginko besides the usual Mushroom. I ordered the Udon Set, and was served with beautifully textured Udon noodles in a Konbu based soup with the usual condiments of kakiage, wakame and scallions. There is something about warm and perfected done broth and a good dining companion that acts as a calming panacea for distracted souls. The Udon worked it's magic during lunch.

Sushi

My Dining companion had the Sliced Beef and Vegetable hot pot set, which was also similar, but came without the Hand Rolled Sushi which was substituted with rice.

Sliced Beef and Vege Hot Pot

Actually. Mondays are not a good day to visit Japanese Restaurants in KL. Fishes are replenished on Tuesdays and Fridays. We cautiously avoided the Sashimi Fish Nigiris and fell back on to Tako and Ebi Sushi which just confirmed our suspicion. The freshness was slightly off, just squirmingly so, but not to the point of being offensive.

Chawan Mushi

Their choices for dessert is somewhat limited. We had both the Green Tea and Black Sesame ice cream which seems to be the basic yet boring staple for Japanese Restaurant Desserts in KL.

Ebi Sushi

No massacres, no mayo and no cheese. Not dazzling, but just good old plain Japanese Food which some people might term comfort food. It doesn't come cheap. Lunch for 2, i.e. 2 sets plus 4 pieces of sushi, desserts and green tea came up to RM110 per pax.

Udon

I know that this is a food blog, but sometimes I just can't help myself. I was just thinking about my recent tirade against Thomas Lee's op ed piece, and had thought about the question whether if Morality can exist without God. I am still sticking to my guns.

Black Sesame Ice Cream

Sorry for the short post, as I am feeling tired after a long day walking. I am still on Holidays and will be back on the 4th. Ta's!

Benkay Japanese Restaurant
Hotel Nikko
165 Jalan Ampang
50450 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: +6.03.21.61.11.11
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The Food Was So Good, I Could Just Diet. Photos from J and R.

Whimsical Musings


Weight. The karmic retribution that plagues most foodies for the sin of gluttony coupled with sloth. I love being unobtrusive and obscure. My favourite seat at Sage (perhaps I should not be revealing this) is actually at the corner of the right hand side as you enter the restaurant, right where the pillar is. But it is extremely difficult to remain hidden, even by a big pillar when my paunch is the size of Everest, jutting out in it's full glory. A physical sign to announce to the world that I have arrived, the paunch being a debutant gift after completing finishing school in overeating. I do not believe in the Devil or any of those mumbo jumbo superstitious stuff. My idle mind is the workshop of edacity, the playground of lovely morsels of tidbits and food. Whisper sweet nothings inside my ear, and my mind wanders and tries to figure out where to have dinner to continue the conversation.


It is not like I have not tried to lose weight before. You name it, I've tried it. When the Atkin's Diet was in the vogue I made it my mission in life to get ketones in the urine. Being stuffed with proteins and fat and leafy vegetables with not a morsel of Carbohydrates for 2 weeks made my mouth smell like putrefying garbage, gave me a bad headache and nausea and I had to spend a longer time sitting on my throne in the morning than being stuck on the Federal Highway on a rainy day. Other than losing 4 kilograms, I also lost some friends due to halitosis and awful mood swings, and I lost a couple of bucks more for some medication for hemorrhoids.


The beetroot and grapefruit diet was worse. Half a Grapefruit, A cup of Coffee and half a cup of cereal for breakfast had me hallucinating by 10am. I thought the files to be pancakes and my secretary a red lobster and suddenly the CD-ROMs look strangely delectable by 11.


When I was not a foodie and just starting out at a much junior position in Bangkok, I had no problems with weight. I was a paltry 72kg. It was wonderful. I felt lighter and my present 2 dimensional face which needs google maps to render it into 3D view now, was much smaller and ermmm.... 3 dimensional. But then again, I was following the Wagyu diet. Not that I ate a lot of wagyu, but just like prime Wagyu, I was fed on beer and whiskey every night at the clubs and massages in the evening before hitting the clubs to dance the night away again. Of course if you have seen me dance, you would know that it would take copious amounts of alcohol for me to flail my arms and shake my bootie and generally make a fool of my self. The Ratchada Strip was my favourite grazing ground. Unfortunately hangovers in the morning gave me nausea and I was surviving on hot liquid diet as well. Porridge, Noodle Soup for breakfast and my lunches always at MK Suki, which serves Thai Hot Pot. Nothing more adventurous was possible and just by having chicken rice for lunch puts me into a prolonged food coma and wretching like an expecting mum after lunch.


A couple of jumps in the hierarchy saw me making the decision to stop my Wagyu diet. Turning up for work in the office wearing the shirt inside out would be ridiculously embarrassing. That was when my girth started expanding. It was controllable in Bangkok. The Gym at my apartment is fairly well equipped and is open 24 hours a day. I could still go clubbing till 6 in the morning at the small hell hole dance clubs for extra workout on weekends.

When I had my first posting in KL 3 years back, that was when my weight ballooned out of control. The public transportation was so bad, I had to drive. My apartment Gym (poorly equipped) closes at 9 and Clubs closes at 2 am. Drats. That meant that my wagyu diet was not going to go anywhere at all. A much heavier workload meant that I would not be getting enough sleep and the best way to keep awake for me is by snacking. Malaysia remains one of the funniest places to work. This is one place where the staff refuses to work for money, and would scheme and snake their way out of working extra hours. If you force them, the work they produce is just crap anyway, and that means I have to clean up their mess myself. My larder in the office and at home was better stocked than an animal that was going into hibernation. And the price to pay is 25 kg in 3 years.

I have recently embarked on an exercise program and so far have been able to reduce my weight by a miserable 3 kg in 3 months. The best way I can envision myself with a six pack will be to buy six cans of Heneiken and stick it to my abdominal wall. I still can't diet.


Food from this post was from Jarrod and Rawlins, who were such good sports and did not mind me being my prissy, sanctimonious self by refusing to write a review of the food because it was an invite. Nah... Actually I was stuffed when I went and did not get to taste much of the food.

Anyway, who could diet when faced with food like these all the time, screaming to be eaten?

Nice week ahead, all!

Ms. Jazz Reviews: Gu Yue Tien (All you can eat dimsum)

You can refer to my prior entries 30Apr, 25Feb, as well as 7Jan

Gu Yue Tien has been offering "ALL YOU CAN EAT" dimsum for RM55+ since awhile ago. I get unequivocally excited over deals similar to this. This offer only runs on Public holiday as well as Sundays onlyfrom 11.30am- 2.30pm. With my KIASU attitude, no cost for guessing right what time i arrived to start my dimsum conflict with 2 other galfriends. =D

What appeals to me unequivocally is not a common orders of burn siew bao, siew mai, har gao (prawn dumplings)butrather it is a vast choices of fusion-like dimsumsthat got me goingGAGA (again). Good thing that a dimsums are made to sequence as it assures uninformed as well as hot servings.

You know, there's a approach of eating those total orders deals. It's a form of art, a approach of strategy. In my case, its called theKIASU strategy. as well as since i'm feeling inexhaustible today, i shall share it with you.

Kiasu Strategy

1. Come with an empty stomach- do not put liquid in to your body in a morning!

2. If a understanding starts at 11.30pm- BE THERE at 11.30pm.. =D

2. Read delicately a menu as well as investigate that are a most expensive items in a menu.First thingi speckled was a fresh oysters, salmon sashimi, scallop, crispy pork, poached uninformed prawns (do mental calculations)

3. Order those in large quantities. But to be safe, sequence 2 apportionment any initial as any food wastage will be charged RM20 per 100gm

4. Do not sequence stuffing food such as noodles, porridgeand any form of carbo food!

5. Keep an eye on a food, as well as do not waste time chatting.

There we go, keep this tighten in heart, you'll find it utilitarian a single day hahaha

P/S I didn't exactly follow a manners , in actuality broken all of them since i was a horde that aftern! oonand h ave toappeargracious (but in my mind i'm thinking i wish 2 of those!) hahaha..

It's good that they came in small portion. While their steam dimsums areconsiderably unsignificant, i would suggest we to steer transparent of them as well as instead concentration on a special items.

Fresh oyster with 5 salt *must order* it's good!
Roasted Crispy Pork
Crispy Soft Shell Crab
Steam dishes: (L-R) Spare Ribs with Pumpkin & Black Bean, Phoenix Claws with Black Pepper Sauce
Beef Roll with Enoki Mushroom
Pan-Fried Cuttlefish baked sweat bread with Cheese *recommended*
Mango Roll *refreshing as well as recommended*
Salmon Roll
Fried Carrot Cake (quite nice, if only less moist)
Loh Mee *must order*
Crab Cake Salad
Pork Intestines Pepper Soup Noodles *must order*
Egg Tart
Chilled Sea Coconut & Dry Longan with Lemon
and most more...
You're spoilt with choices with a total 62 items in a list.
Thanks for a pretty poloraid photo dears =)
~*~*~*~*~*~
Gu Yue TienLot B5-A, Chulan Square,92, Jalan Raja ChulanTel: 03-21480808
(If you're propitious u might bump in to a little actors/singers)
Book Review & Writing Tips

Birthday lunch @ Sage, The Gardens, Kuala Lumpur

For my birthday this year, my silent treated with colour me to lunch at Sage, one of my favorite restaurants in KL. There is the sense of comfort whenever you sup here; maybe it's the familiarity of the place or perhaps the knowing which you would regularly be served pleasing as good as tasty plates of food here.



Service was impeccable; from the impulse you stepped by the doors to the impulse you left, the whole dining experience went similar to clockwork. Although we've been to Sage numerous times, this was the first ocassion which the menu was explained in item to us ie. what ingredients essentially go in to the plate as good as how it's cooked. you found this to be many helpful as good as informative as good as it essentially changed the viewpoint about the few meals upon the menu.



Sage is similar to the perfect lover; surprises you, serenades you, excites you, pleasures you as good as never disappoints.



We love the creatively baked bread here, but it was particularly good today. In fact, it was so good which you ate 2 plates in between us. Lovely crust, with the soothing warm centre.



Mum had the Glazed Duck Breast with Pine Nuts as good as Mesclun Salad for her starter. When you were browsing by the online menu, silent wasn't too keen upon this plate as it sounded too simple. However, after the waitress explained the bit some! -more ab out the plate to us, silent was sold. And she was really good rewarded, as you both felt this was an excellent starter. The steep meat was succulent with the crisp honey-glazed skin as good as melt-in-your-mouth covering of fat. There were 3 corpulent pieces of duck, so you did not hesitate when silent offered me the piece :-) The pine nuts combined the nice, pleasing flavour to the dish. There were additionally chunks of honeyed as good as luscious persimmons. A beautifully put together dish, both in terms of flavour as good as presentation.



I find it hard not to sequence anything with 'foie gras' in it. So for my starter, you had the Feuillantine of Foie Gras with Mushroom Veloute as good as Sherry Wine Sauce. This plate was the leader for me given you love both foie as good as mushrooms. The fritter was light as good as crumbly. you did however find which the foie was utterly tiny compared to what I've had here in the past.



Again, this was the plate silent was hesitant to sequence after celebration of the mass the online menu (the plate name had been truncated to exclude the abalone). However, Chef Daniel did the good pursuit with the Steamed Ike Jime of Sea Garoupa with Abalone as good as Nori Sauce. Ike jime is the method of paralyzing as good as bleeding the fish involving the insertion of the spike fast as good as without delay in to the hind brain to say the quality, producing improved phony as good as flavoured fillet. The fish was beautifully cooked as good as what you desired many about this plate was the combination of the flavorful nori salsa as good as the crunchy fried nori topping. The skinny slices of abalone had the delicate chewy texture. This was truly the tasty ! as good as well-constructed dish.



I had the Grilled Angus Beef with Dauphinoise Potato, Kailan as good as Yuzu Citrus. The beef was absolutely tasty as good as you was impressed with the inexhaustible portion. However, the yuzu citrus didn't utterly do it for me as good as felt the little out of place in this dish.




We both desired the Vichyssoise of Fuji Apple with Calvados Brandy Ice Cream. The 'soup' was the pleasure upon the palate; cold, refreshing, sweet, as good as creamy. Served with the apple vichyssoise was Calvados (apple brandy) ice-cream, poached apple chunks as good as apple jelly. Simply divine.



And to tip off the smashing lunch, the really nice people from Sage presented me with the nominal slice of chocolate mousse cake for my birthday.


It was the truly pleasant lunch at Sage. Everything from service to food was top-notch. Thanks silent for the birthday treat.


Opening hours: Lunch:Monday to Friday 12.00pm to 2.00pm; Dinner:Monday to Saturday 6.00pm to 10.30pm. Closed upon Sunday.

Price: RM100 nett per person. 10% off for The Gardens Club label members.

Location: Sage Restaurant & Wine Bar, The Gardens Residences, Level 6, The Gardens, Mid Valley City, Lingkaran Syed Putra, 59200 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-2268 1328

Website: http://ww! w.sagekl .com/lunch.php
Book Review & Writing Tips

Vines and Wines at Weingut Sommer, Austria

A grand brush of vineyards down to the hollow building as well as the skinny blue line of the Neusiedler See. Marvelling during the perspective is Brett Jones, upon the right. About to take the photo is Amy Lillard of French booze estate La Gramire as well as upon the left is Leopold Sommer whose vineyard lies at the back of us.

neusiedlersee scenery

After posing for the obligatory bloggers-snap with his father Leopold gave us the debate of the winery - proudly display the brand new building work (completed in 2008) housing brand new tanks as well as so on, which run upon from the original cellars. Established in 1698 the estate is small, usually 30 hectares, though the brand new planting of Gewurztraminer he took us up the mountain to check continues the expansion. The slate dominated soils during the tip of the mountain with the perfect bearing were usually recently privileged of dumpy as well as woodland having valid which there was the vineyard here 80 peculiar years ago. Our debate enclosed the tank sampling session including the Muskateller which Leo was disappointed in (I forget the specifics, something about the astringency we believe) as well as the rsther than considerable - as much as my untrained-in-the-art-of-tank-sampling taste could deduce - Sauvignon Blanc.

sommer_1.jpg

sommer_2.jpg

Visiting the winery is never complete but the proper sampling of the ultimate releases. Their reserve Grner Veltliner perplexed me above the others. Sommer Gruner Veltliner Leithberg Reserve 2009 [Adegga / Snooth] had which characteristic strain of vegetable fres! hness co upled with the complexity from the small barrel aging adding much to the abyss of flavour as well as the lemon as well as pepper base. An elegant, prolonged finish too. Alcohol 13.5%.

With borrowed camera the photos haven't turned out to badly. A small fiddling as well as we also managed to capture the couple of minutes of video, back upon which steep hill...


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