Monday, October 13, 2008

What Do You Do When You When You've Forgotten the Camera? Iketeru Revisited

October has turned out to be a surprisingly unhappening month for me, socially. Well, actually it's a myth that I lead a busy social life to begin with, ...I'm usually free as a Malaysian Civil Servant (okay, to be fair, I know certain civil servants are swamped, such as doctors) but October seems to be even free-er. Take last weekend for example, apart from a Raya Open House and Birthday Party on Friday night, I had the WHOLE weekend to recuperate from the hangover that I obtained on Friday. Ain't that great. So, when it comes to these thumb twiddling weekends, nothing like utitizing the hotel discount card, for wife and me, (50% off wor!), and watch a B Grade movie after.

Actually, the same thing happened LAST Saturday (ie, no social obligations), and we headed to Iketeru, KL Hilton, for dinner. Halfway into our destination, after dropping off a large cake order, I realised I had forgotten my camera. Halfway into the meal, I sms-ed AWOL (A Whiff of Lemongrass) who replied I should take pics with my phone camera. But as the sms-es were coming in fast and furious (not from her), I totally forgot to do that as well. I have developed this skill of appearing to talk to the wife while sms-ing....

For a restaurant of Iketeru's stature, I have to say the tables are FAR too close to each other, especially the couple tables. I could've easily stroked the thigh of the lady on the next table, afterall, I was already privvy to their intimate conversations. Speculation, as to whether she was the girlfriend, or the SPG, or the flavour du jour, to the Mat Salleh chap who was paying the bill.

Another observation I made were the rich families, who bring their very bored looking kids to dinner at such establishments. This week, there was a family of four, where one of the kids had his ears perpetually plugged, and the glare of some kind of LCD device illuminated his countenance..., much like a halo. Last week, it was your typical rich taukeh, probably drives a BMW 7 series, with his three daughters, ....who looked as though they were on the way to the Tower of London to suffer the same fate as Anne Boleyn.

So what does one do when one forgets the camera? Go again la.

The lighting at our regular table (regular, coz we sat there for two consecutive Saturdays) is shocking to say the least.

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The sashimi Hamachi was superb, and felt like the fish could have been doing the 100m freestyle just a minute ago. RM73 for 5 pieces, before discount. Pretty good, I was doing the mental arithmetic in my head, despite not having the privilege of a Chinese School Education.


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Spider Maki, or soft shell crab roll. Of course, all these dishes inevitably get compared with our usual Zipangu, Shangri-la. Well, both are equally good, to be honest. I love that balsamicky sauce that is used to embellish the dish. Being the pleb that I am, I am never very sure which are garnish, and decor, and which are meant to be eaten. I almost ate the yellow flower on the plate of sashimi.

The previous Saturday, we had ordered a Salmon Skin Roll as well, but this time decided not to. Also, we had the Rib Eye teppenyaki, which was SUPERB!!! Marbled fatty meat, perfectly done to medimum-ness, accompanied by a generous serving of garnishing vegetables.

This time round, we only had the seafood fried rice and enoki mushroom teppenyaki. Afterall, the KLSE has dropped by a few points since last saturday, so an austerity drive is called for.

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I love enoki mushroom. That chewy slimy feel, gives my palate such a kick. And the fried teppenyaki garlic, oooh, I could eat a whole bowl of that.

The seafood fried rice was also delicious. Fluffy grains of short grained Japanese rice, fried with enough wok hei, (surprisingly), and not oily at all. Fantastic. I should just have this for lunch one of these days. Oh, with the hamachi of course.

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Compared with those high class flers who indulge in kaisekis, and other forms of degustation menu, I am but a peasant. I love Tempura, and make no apologies for it. And I love the tempura at Iketeru even more. The batter is light, and almost fluffy. Crispy on the outside, maintaining the moistness and succulence of the fresh prawn within.

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Finally, we had the saba teriyaki. I love mackerel, (I told you I am a pleb), but honestly, I think this was too fancied up. I prefer it done the usual way, with skin on, and without all the fancy weave work on the surface. The flesh was tender and juicy, exceedingly fresh.

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Usually I would order a black sesame ice cream (as I did the previous week), but I had an Upside Down Pear and Ginger Pudding waiting for me at home.

I had originally intended to bring it with me for karaoke organised by Hairy Berry, but as my head was still spinning like a washing machine, from the hangover of the previous night, I opted to sleep it off instead of listening to Hairy Berry and gang croon away.

Meanwhile, back to observations, I notice the couple next to us going Dutch. The lady opposite me told me that in her heyday, if she was out on a date she didn't fancy, she'd insist on paying for her share too. Hmmm, I should then take comfort that she's never insisted in paying her share while dining with me. Those of you who know her, don't go repeating this.

Apparently Zipangu is having a losbter promo beginning 17th October. Salivating.....any good stock tips anyone?


19 comments:

Anonymous said...

hey there ... were you really that hungover from fri nite's party ?? there's still an un-finished bottle of vodka you know ;-D

Anonymous said...

Darn, I was all set to be the first to leave a comment on your latest post... and then I got called away to conduct an interview. Darn, darn, darn.

But oh well, at least we learned the lady fancies ya, sort of. ;)

PureGlutton said...

Haha... so besides having a good meal, u were privy to a lot of "interesting" chatter from the people around you :-)

Argus Lou said...

Your "could've stroked the thigh of the woman next to me" made me cackle. And what did you mean by the lighting being shocking?
It must be unnerving for restaurateurs when they see floggers photographing everything that arrives at their tables. "Oh, that enoki is out of place! Bring the dish back at once! Or the whole world will see it on their blogs."

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

a coincidence that i was tipsy and my frens got drunk on friday haha..

didnt dare touch a single drop of alcohol the next day despite whiskey bottles calling out to me..

i think i am getting old also la..

iketeru, just u n ur missus only?? *wink*? sure no SPG lingering around the corner waiting for their bill to be paid as well?

HairyBerry said...

well, i DID eat that yellow flower at Fukuya last time...LOL..tasted like, well, my pleb tastebuds weren't erected. so, yeah..not nice, i guess. actually, i think can eat one cos i've seen them selling at village grocer. at the greens (vege) section, not the florist at the other end.

and so nice of you to bake us your wonderful Upside Down Pear and Ginger Pudding. really appreciate it! We'll do K next time! :)

Anonymous said...

Nic, my friend, how exactly does one "erect" one's tastebuds? Hmm...

Anonymous said...

LFB, heh heh, yeah, i was wondering too.

hairy berry, i know what you mean about the yellow flower, you're right, they do sell edible flowers in bangsar village for embellishing salads. groan, i ended up eating half of the pear and ginger pudding myself.

nipples, you, old? that puts me knocking on heaven's door then.

no, no spgs waiting for me to pay de bill. yalar, me & wife only mah, to maximise the 50% discount.

argus, lighting for photography was shocking la. hence the blur pics. since i dont have the photographic prowess of ppl like AWOL or nipple joe or hairy berry.

pure glutton, i tell u, i could've written an entire chapter!

LFB, ya la, she fancies me orite...hence was willing to bear the fruit of my loins, all four of them.

red planet, great party, you are my gateway to happening-ness. yup, i had a headache coz of mixing.

Ciki said...

hahahaha .. u must have been a stand up comedian in your last life..! so farnee. ya man.. i totally agree... kids these days.. i went for a makan thing at a semi-posh place.. and this family right, they brought out this MINI LCD TV THINGY device with headphones and all.. and plugged it into the kid's face. He watched a cartoon the entire dinner and didn't make a squeek. scary but erm.. scary!

Henry Yeo said...

two times at Iketeru?
you guys could already have 2 kaisekis for those prices.

at least people watching was fun until I joined the sushi counter gang to get away from most of the drama.

stock pick, go buy McD and dominos. Everyone has got to eat these days.

Anonymous said...

You would think that after paying so much (even tho 50% off), you'd have paid not just for the food but for extra space around you, hor. But this reminds me of how I met dear Henry at Iketeru. Our tables were so close that I could hear him whisper death threats to his fugu.

wmw said...

I love the enoki mushrooms too! That's what most of us do if we don't have our cameras with us, go again...unless the food isn't great and it doesn't warrant a second visit.

Anonymous said...

Dear Henry whom Lemongrass met at Iketeru: Drama? How much drama could there be lah? But more importantly, you run a sushi counter gang, eh? A Malaysian maki mafia? You're their tai lo, issit? :P

On other thoughts, someone should really write a film based on that, it would be a killer hit - When Henry Met Lemongrass (At Iketeru).

Anonymous said...

LFB, it'll be a killer alright. With a victim or two (preferably double-headed), skinned alive, and served at the sushi bar.

Argus Lou said...

FBB, where got blur? Thought it was shallow depth of field or meadow, or my multi-focals acting up, mah.
I can just see the tagline for 'When Henry Met Lemongrass' - There will be (fish) blood...

msiagirl said...

That yellow flower looks like a chrysanthemum...maybe hairy berry's cow will like it better - but could always pop it into hot water...

What a fantastic excuse...I forgot my camera...glad to hear the lady sitting opposite was de missus after all! Suspense oni.

Anonymous said...

msiagirl, i think it is some kind of chrys..but my flower knowledge is shocking, i couldnt tell a clitoria from a hymenia....

argus, indeed, it'll be an epic movie, more bloody than the texas chainsaw massacre...

AWOL, peace brada!

LFB, wonder if due to the close proximity of the tables, when AWOL met Henry, did either of them stroke thighs?

wmw, yeah, what a great invention hor, enoki mushrooms.

AWOL, obviously we're paying for the rental as well, judging by the prices.

henry, how much is the kaiseki? RM300 above right? our bill for both times added up to RM350...really ah? can have 2 kaisekis?

ciki, heh heh, glad you were amused. i was telling wife, i wont bother bringing kids to exp restaurants if they're gonna be staring into an lcd screen all night.... in any case, i dont think kids should be spoilt by going to hotels etc on a regular basis. special occasions only.

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

wah..y suddenly so much blood and gore around..maybe im underage not old then..haha cant stand the blood..*runs away*..

Henry Yeo said...

fbb: yeah, cheapest one goes for about rm260++, next one at RM320++ and the most expensive one at RM375++. go check the regular menu, they are listed (not that I bother to see it, they always bring out what I need when I arrived)

LFB, LL: will send you guys the first draft of the script.