Happy 50th Birthday Malaysia

On August 31, 2007 commemorates Malaysia's 50th year of independence with fireworks, flag-waving and prayer for unity across all the races and religions. We were in a joyous mood at the countdown party at Ikano Power Centre yesterday night. The song ‘Tanggal 31’ by Sudirman Arshad has resonant on everyone as it is such an upbeat song that never fails to amaze the crowd.

Tanggal 31
Bulan lapan lima puluh tujuh
Merdeka! Merdeka!
Tetaplah merdeka
Ia pasti menjadi sejarah

Tanggal 31
Bulan lapan lima puluh tujuh
Hari yang mulia
Hari bahagia
Sambut dengan jiwa yang merdeka

Mari kita seluruh warga negara
Ramai-ramai menyambut hari merdeka
Merdeka!
Tiga satu bulan lapan lima puluh tujuh
Hari mulia negaraku merdeka

The countdown party was ended by a 10 minutes fireworks display that leave the crowd spellbound.

Malaysiaku yang dicantai, sentiasa gemilang, cermelang & terbilang! Selamat Menyambut Merdeka ke-50!

Happy Anniversary - Simple Dinner & Lavish Buffet @ Rakuzen

That special day is here again, 26 August. On our anniversary I'd like to remind you how very special you are to me. You will never know how it thrills my heart every time I see you.

Over the pass three years, we've had our troubles and woes, but our love for each other had no attached strings. I am so very grateful for your unconditional love and support in a world full of conditions. I would like to dedicate ‘Everything’ by Michael Buble to you as the chorus matches the rhythm inside my heart so much.

And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It's you, it's you, You make me sing.
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything.

You're a carousel, you're a wishing well,
And you light me up, when you ring my bell.
You're a mystery, you're from outer space,
You're every minute of my everyday.

And I can't believe, uh that I'm your man,
And I get to kiss you baby just because I can.
Whatever comes our way, ah we'll see it through,
And you know that's what our love can do.

Happy anniversary. Looking forward to many more years with you!

I thought that we won’t be having any celebration this year as Kampungboy needs to work on both Saturday and Sunday. I made him a simple, hearty and filling dinner on Saturday night.

I was a lousy cook back then, my cooking skill is still pathetic till now but I guess when you love food, you should know what good food should taste and you pick things up along the way. Fortunately I have that cooking card up my sleeve for when I decide to come out with something decent. Black pepper pork blade steak with a side of mashed potato, fresh poached broccoli and angel hair pasta with fresh tomato sauce was served in a jiffy once he came back. Kampungboy has always appreciated my cooking, especially the love infused dinner on our anniversary eve. LOL

It comes to my surprise that he doesn’t have to work on Sunday and I get to hung with him the whole day. Feel like stuffing ourselves up, we headed to Rakuzen at Chulan Square for a little taste of Japanese elegance. The exquisite taste of Japanese food often comes at a price but not for the buffet lunch priced at only RM 55++ per head.

The minimalist design of the interior reflects a traditional Japanese architecture. The dining space and wooden interiors appeal to those with a penchant for coziness and intimacy. It has an open concept kitchen that allows the chef to take the limelight away with all the slicing, tossing and flipping actions going on.

As starter, we order the spider maki, the crispy rendition of soft shell crab in the Spider Maki complement the rice and seaweed very well.

The miniature and reddish brown coloured octopus (chuka lidako) took some courage to eat but I found it quite delicious and not at all chewy. The thinly sliced seasoned scallop (chuka kurage) is crunchy and I love the welcoming hint of spiciness.

Our choice of taro sashimi is impeccably fresh and properly presented. The silky, custardy piping hot tofu squares in a clear soy sauce based sauce is absolutely delicious. How could I missed out my favourite, the yummy and healthy snack - Boiled green soy bean (Edamame)?

However, our assorted tempura was served lukewarm instead of pipping hot. We suspected that they made it in advance and piled them up because of the big dining crowd. It is soggy and greasy, a sign of old oil. The batter was not diaphanous but thick.

The assorted skewered grill (kushiyaki moriawase) was disappointing, they over grill the chicken, as it result in a hard and tasteless meat. I love to have my grilled chicken (yakitori) with some tare sauce (mixture of mirin, sweet sake and soy sauce) but it is not served in Rakuzen. The smelt (Shishamo) with huge egg sacs inside is utterly tasteless too. The grilled Shiitake Mushrooms is a total rip off too, dry and tasteless.

The unagi combines a rich flavor with an appetizing texture, crisp on the outside but tender on the inside. The flavour is too rich in fact, they must have splurge on the kabayaki sauce.

With a limited dessert selection, we settled for scoops of aromatic and macha ice cream and fruit platter.

The service was slow; we were informed by the serving staff that it takes longer time for the food to reach you after the first order was taken. Is it some kind of policy? Ambiance wise, Rakuzen has one of the most pleasant settings. The starter selection, sashimi selection and sushi selection was good but the same does not go to the skewered grilled item and tempura item. The quality of all you can eat buffet is not as good as ala carte. They adopt a more personal approach through their ala carte menu but it usually costs you a bomb. It actually varies across individuals, value for money or quality in food?

Finally, an obligatory picture of us. Find out more on our celebration last year here.

Rakuzen Japanese Restaurant

Address
Block B, Lot 2A, Chulan Square, 92 Jalan Raja Chulan
50200 Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Telephone
+603-2145 6200

Izzi Pizza, Pasta and Coffee @ Jalan Sultan Ismail

After the convocation, we adjourn to dinner at Izzi Pizza Pasta and Coffee. Izzi is part of an Indonesian chain, they opened up the brand's first flagship restaurant in Bukit Bintang and the new outlet at Damansara Uptown is coming soon. I called boolicious for direction before hand because the map provided in the website is too brief. Thanks boolicous! It is hard to miss out the striking coloured restaurant along the busy Jalan Sultan Ismail. I love the fact that they provide free jockey parking because getting a place around that area is hassle and stressful.

The restaurant is beautifully decorated with a modern contemporary feel. It is a spacious venue with plenty of seating, upstairs and downstairs, and even has a gorgeous area set at the third floor, available for all kinds of functions. The bright colours and comfy seating make it easy to relax awhile and let the pressures of the day slide away. A glimpse through the menu, I was impressed with trusty choice of east meets west cuisine. Other than the obligatory pizza and pasta, there is an extensive range of Asian favourites such as mee goring, hainan chicken rice and beef bo luc lac.

These refrigerated dessert display with an insulated curved front glass is very attractive. I couldn’t take my eyes off the dessert once I step into Izzi.

Steak (RM36.80). Chow and Poh ordered the roasted imported steak with Izzi’s Balsamico sauce on ratatouille pasta. They like their steak to be medium rare but the steak arrive overcooked. They did not send it back because they were famished by then! The ratatouille is pretty and rustic with a fresh herb flavour.

Arina’s prawn linguine with garlic and red chilli (RM17.80). The linguine is nicely tossed with olive oil, red chili flakes and garlic and it has a noticeable spicy smell. Arina could not take it after a few bites because it is burning her tongue. Her boyfriend happily took over the plate and devour. I nibble on some and find it nice, a pasta dish with a refreshing touch.

Lee Ping and I shared a chicken steak with pasta (RM 20.80).Grilled chicken cooked with mushroom sauce lies on a bed linguine. The skinless and boneless chicken piece is tender and succulent but the accompanying mushroom sauce though creamy, was too salty for my liking.

We ordered a regular Milano (RM27.80++) which came with lots of Italian beef sausage, gorgonzola cheese, mozzarella cheese and tomato. The distinctive and old fashioned pizza has great thin crust, generous amount of bubbly cheese and the right combination of toppings. Ten Ten finds it absolutely delicious!

Kah Yee’s Tom Yam Gong (RM 11.80). The initial taste was mild but comes with a piquant and intriguing spicy after taste. Only complain is that they skimped on the ingredients, we can only find some scarcely cut abalone mushroom and a few pieces of pathetic looking shrimps. You can add another RM 2 for a plate of appealing looking fragrant rice to fill up your stomach.

Strawberry Cheesecake, Mango Mousse, The Volcanic Looking Cake, Desire, Double Swirl Cheese (Top left to Bottom). My taste bud was doing the hockey pocky after I take a bite at Desire and The Volcanic Looking Cake, it was that good. I was hooked with the bittersweet taste of chocolate. The creamy and delicious Double Swirl Cheese is on par to Secret Recipe’s marble cheese cake while strawberry cheesecake is too dense and not fluffy as it should be. I’ll try to avoid the mango mousse on my next visit as it has a very strong artificial tasting and the sponge cake was wet and soggy.

The total bill comes at RM 140++ for the 8 of us. Thanks to Arina and Kah Yee for buying us the meal. Citibank card holders enjoy a 50% discount for every RM 100 spent at Izzi Kl until 31^st August. HSBC credit card holder are entitled to 50% discount for every RM 100 spent at Izzi KL until 31^st December and 75% off total bill for every RM 100 spent at Izzi Uptown from 12^rd September to 18th September. Overall, the service staffs are CUTE and they are very attentive towards our request, the ambiance is simple yet stylish. I wouldn’t mind coming back even though some of the food is good and some is just mediocre. I’ll know what to order next time.

Izzi Pizza Pasta and Coffee
44-2A, 44-3A and 44-4A
Jalan Sultan Ismail
Kuala Lumpur

Tel No: 03 - 2141 4111

Sup Pedas Ayam Kampung @ Sri Kembangan

The big day had come, my heart is racing and my adrenaline-addled brain is screaming “NO, it’s not your convocation YET!” I almost forget that my convocation will be year 2008 because of one extra semester of industrial training. I’ll be very bitter thinking that convocation is not that wonderful after all; imagine thousands of names being read out, and how many hands our president will have to shake and not to forget the thousands of student dresses in identical caps and gowns. Despite the sour grape, I have to say that the afternoon's convocation was wonderful.

To Victor, Yichang, Carrine, Rachel, Kah Yee, Arina, Suat Ling, Rachelle, and all graduates of year 2007, you guys can firmly state that you have toil and strive throughout the journey by the sweat of your brows,. Your families are extremely proud of you. With a degree for sail, I wish you guys all the best. * Some pictures are courtesy of Yichang*

The whole picture taking process was fun, although many find smiling hectic as the muscle tension around mouth and jaw after some time. We were famished by the time we left our campus and adjourn to the famous sup pedas ayam kampong at Sri Kembangan. I hope that none of us is squeamish about innards, because they wouldn’t know what they have missed.

We were lucky to secure a table at the air conditioned room. The thirty quenching sour plum lime juice with an extra kick prepare us for the aromatic, fiery and almost searing heat soup.

Our plate of green is delightful too; the lightly cooked lettuce is glistening with oil and sprinkled with caramelize fried shallots.

Fa Diu Gai (Chinese Wine Chicken RM 7 per head). Served in a clay pot, the tender chicken chunks were coated with a slightly sweet and sticky sauce, plus a welcoming hint of wine. The dark coloured sauce goes well with plain o’l white rice.

The Lat Tong (Spicy Soup RM 7 per head) comes with chunks of chicken, pork, intestines, liver, preserved vegetables, ginger slices and the fiery white pepper was use liberally. The soup may be deceiving, looking all clear minus the fiery red colour, as it glides down my throat; my whole body is warmed up in a jiffy. I felt a horrible thirsty sensation soon after, which makes me wonder the culprit is MSG or the spiciness of pepper?

I found the food deteriorates compared to my first visit but this restaurant still comes highly recommended for their simmering spicy soup by everyone who goes there. Mind you that getting here was hectic when you are not familiar with Sri Kembangan area; I’ll post up a map for your convenience soon.

D-1, Jalan 10/3,
43300 Seri Kembangan, Selangor.
Tel : 012 - 350 9900
Business hour:
9:30am - 3:00pm
5:30pm - 9:00pm (Close on Monday)