Kuriya, BSC

I think the concept of INCEPTION is real. It is quite possible to plant a thought deep in the recesses of one's mind. For example, I distinctly remember reading in EatDrinkKL's post that Kuriya is BSC was poised to become one of the best and busiest restaurants in Bangsar. Had it come from some other random food blogger, I'd have dismissed it as one waves off a pesky fly on the dinner table, but these accolades come from the The Ultimate of the Food Cognoscenti himself...that's as good as sending Leonardo into the 4th level of my consciousness to plant an idea there.

So, you can imagine my excitement when Aly (I seem to talk alot about her these days huh) asked me to join the Red FM crew for a food review at Kuriya. I was beside myself with anticipation. Well, the thin guy in me screaming to come out would also like to have been beside myself, were it not trapped inside instead of beside.

Now I did not know this until today, (my journalistic skills are about as good as my formula F1 driving skills), but Kuriya means aristocratic kitchen. The Salmon Belly Aburi was yummy, fresh and fatty salmon that melts in the mouth, married with a slightly tangy sauce. It's not entirely raw. The outsides are seared slightly.


A sake margarita. Interesting, but I think I prefer the traditional tequila ones, despite having an aversion to Tequila. By the way, thanks Aly for the drink. Hope it didnt cost an arm and a leg.


Boiled Ebi (Prawns) & Hotate with garlic syouyu. (that's a good scrabble word if its English).


Hotate Mentai With Wasabi Mayo. Scallops, with roe and a lovely sauce with kick. The scallops were fresh, no complaints here.


This has to be my favourite dish of the night. The Chef's Special, Avocado Kakushiyaki. Avocado halves gratinated with scallops within. Yummy. Scallops, cheese and avocado. Fabulous combination.


They might be smiling now, but they had to fight over the last piece.


Terry's fruity drink...well, it was colorful. (FK, if you are reading this, this is for you)


OOOH, I loved this as well. The assorted sashimi platter. Topped with Toro, and Hamachi, and raw prawns, (which I think Terry tried for the first time! Go you raw prawn virgin). The platter was exceedingly fresh.





Dobin Mushi, a clear hearty broth, served in elegant teapots and a teeny weeny tea cup. Off hand, I'd say this method of serving is to ensure your soup doesn't get cold.


Wagyu Kushiyaki. Tender pieces of skewered beef.


A well ingredient-ed (is there such a word?) Chawan Mushi. Smooth silky steamed egg, with lots of goodies lurking beneath.


Soft Shell Crab Tempura. I love soft shell crabs, and I love tempura, because it's deep fried and unhealthy for you. So, this was good.


The dramatic flaming Toyota... like a flaming Lamborghini, but Japanese. I kid you. It's a Oyster Shell Flambe, and it's all about the presentation. However, I found the flames possibly rendered the scallops to be a bit overcooked and as a result were too tough.


Sizzling Seafood Teppenyaki. Now, that's a LOT of food!


Another chef's special. A special fish, which none of us had heard of or seen before, called a Grunt Fish. A simple yet effective way of cooking, preserving the fish's sweetness without overpowering it in sauce. Exceedingly fresh.


This is what the grunt fish looks like, lest you should need to identify one in a lineup.

Freshly pulled homemade Soba noodles. Actually, I had this childhood aversion to Cold Soba noodles, but this reversed my childhood experience, and I'm now a happy cold soba convert.


Mackerel Roll. Well, a bit on the fishy side, and probably an acquired taste.



Terry, Chef Nakagawa and Aly...

That was a rather comprehensive meal. Thanks again to Aly for the invite, and to the management of Kuriya for hosting us.

Kuriya is located on the 3rd floor of BSC's old wing, where Grand Imperial, LeMidi etc are.

Finally, Sek Yuen At Jln Pudu... And Happy Belated Birthday Lil Chef

Many tales have been told of Sek Yuen. In the flogger world, it is like the definitive compulsory pilgrimage destination we must all perform once in a lifetime at least. It is a glimpse into the Kuala Lumpur of yore, and it is as if time has stood somewhat still in this quaint restaurant. (you have to go to the old wing la! If you go to the aircond wing, cheh, there goes the illusion). The cashier still uses an abacus.

In a world full of change, its nice to see some vestiges of the past.

We were invited (here's to you, Jektan!) for Lil Chef's birthday, by his lovely other half, Aly of Red FM! Wow, to be invited by one celebrity for another celebrity's birthday. I have rarely felt so privileged. Amongst the OTHER privileged guests were The Goddess of the Food Bloggers herself, Boolicious of Masak Masak, the gregarious and delightful owner of Bijou, Bisou and Fit For Two, Datin & Dato, The Queen of the DSLR and Bald Eagle, and Cheryl, Aly's younger sister, and husband Gabriel.




Lil Chef looked suitably surprised, for whilst he knew that there was a dinner, he didn't know who to expect. It was afterall a surprise. And we had all been remarkably discrete.

The yue sang here is pretty traditional, using the Sang Yue.... I remember years ago, it went out of fashion cos people were afraid of River Fluke, a kind of bacteria found in raw fish. This was before Malaysians became so ladida and indulged in salmon sashimi etc.





Plates of raw Sang Yue. (I think its ikan haruan)


Bald Eagle brought a bottle of Jura Single Malt. Where there's single malt, there are happy people.





All the stuff made for a great toss. Lil Chef took a really good aerial shot in B&W, with his canggih lenses. I hope he puts it up somewhere. The taste of the Yue Sang was good, almost uncommon, from the ones you get at other restaurants these days. The texture of the Sang Yue is different as well, and really does trigger nostalgia.


A guy peddling currypuffs, who refused to be photographed, brought these Mother of Curry Puffs. We suspected Currypuff seller must've been a fugitive on the run, judging by the speed with which he fled the camera. Shortly after, another fella peddling peeled water chestnuts came by. Bald Eagle speculated that the next peddler would be selling Walt Disney Books.


"Is that really what I think it is? Gasp, that's big", says the Datin


Their 4 seasons platter REALLLLY is a trip down memory lane. Jellied cold chicken....I mean, WHO serves that these days? Talk about retro chic. And the little yam basket...Yam baskets are common, but rarely seen as an item in the four seasons platter.





The ubiquitous suckling pig, which reminds me, for the Chinese New Year duration, I had ......


The Three Little Pigs...

Moral of the story, it doesn't really matter if you build your house of straw, or of wood, OR slave away and build one of bricks. If you are a pig, you'll probably end up as one of the above, or bacon. Or proscuitto, if you are in Italy. Is anyone old enough to remember the Disney Version of this, and that wonderful jingle, "who's afraid of the big bad wolf?" Ah, they don't write songs like that anymore. I digress.


This little pig went to market? Well, wherever its been, it was good. Not overly fatty, like some suckling pigs, who never go to the gym. Obesity in youth is a real problem these days I hear.


Mixed Vegetables. Nothing to shout about.


Turn the other cheek, I hear you say? Our Lil Chef is an adventurous one...but not as adventurous one as THESE two....


Bald Eagle and Thamby sharing the pig's tail, and I'm obviously not talking about a Manchurian Hairdo.


Their specialty, 8 treasure duck. Absolutely yummy. Tender meat falling off the bone, infused with a million herbs, and stuffed with lotus and ginko.


Look at all the stuff within the duck!!!! What the duck!!!


This is a unique dish, called a fishken. It's a cross breed between a fish and a chicken.... it was quite difficult in finding a natural habitat, ...very Little Mermaid kinda tragic love story, but well, a compromise was made, whereby the fish would combine with the skin of the chicken, and live happily ever after. Fish paste on chicken skin. Yummy!!!


Look at the seamless intertwining of Ayam didarat, Ikan di laut, akhirnya bertemu juga di kuali.
(Translation: chicken from land, fish from sea, in the end both meet in the wok. Am I profound or what)


Fried Rice. Well, okay but nothing spectacular.


Sheesh, just cos I'm a Chef, they expect me to do everything myself!

Anyway, yeah, what a great meal. Coupled with great company, great booze, great food, this is how memorable meals should be.

Lil Chef, wishing you many many more happy years in KL, thank you for your hand of friendship, thank you Aly for yours too, and for the lovely dinner.... (it is Oscar season, so let me ramble).

I can't wait to return to Sek Yuen again. True, it might be "overated" to some, but I think it's really good traditional Chinese food, with ambience that is really nostalgic. But alas, since I didnt get to pay, I am not sure what the financial damage is like for the meal we had.

PS: Fratmustard, READ AND WEEEEEP!!!! BUWAHAHAHAH.