Good Food, Good Friends

While it's always nice to be paid to eat, it is nicer to eat in the company of people one loves. When it happens that the person one loves is also the one paying for the meal, it becomes a feast for the heart as well as the stomach.

A random introduction by an old neighbour connected me with a man who now features  prominently in my life. His son is adored by my daughter, and his wife, who is an amazing baker, keeps surprising us with her lovely creations.

On the occasion of their son's birthday, AF treated us to dinner at Rakuzen in Tropicana City Mall. The close to 20-strong guests ordered off the ala carte menu, and relished the food and the company in a private room.

Where friends gather.

Our selections drew from the more exotic, to the more usual in Japanese cuisine, and it must be said that at least from my side of the table, there were absolutely no complaints.

Livering it up.

How a restaurant treats its offal is always an indication of the finesse of its chefs. Animal 'spare parts' (I never did understand this term, because without our 'spare' parts, we'd be functionless vegetables), are always difficult to handle. Some need a tender touch, others require firmer handling. Fish offal takes it to another level, seeing that there is so much less of it. Granted monkfish can grow to quite impressive sizes (up to four feet, with urban fishing legends claiming six feet whoppers), and thus have larger livers, but they are still nothing compared to the liver of a cow or pig. As such, I was curious to how the ankimo ponzu (monkfish liver in ponzu sauce), RM13, would be served.

I like ponzu, possibly because of the connection it has with one of my most-loved chefs, Oliver Lopez, whose Chilean seabass in ponzu helped me see beyond the ugliness of a whole fish on a plate. Ponzu is a citrusy-tasting, thin, dark sauce which is made by simmering mirin, rice vinegar, katsuobushi flakes (from tuna), and seaweed (kombu) over medium heat.

The sizeable portion of monkfish liver was served atop slices of cucumber and seaweed, and garnished with spring onions. The texture of monkfish liver is pastey and floury, something many cannot stand, but which I am completely fine with. It feels very substantial and meaty, and though rich, as offal tends to be, it is lighter in flavour, coming from a marine creature. It is odour-less, but it does have a flavour of Omega Oils which the salty ponzu helps negate. It was something I thoroughly enjoyed and will order again.

Lotus root and fermented soybeans.

I enjoy eating things many people consider rather noisome. It is my way of honing my palate and adding to my  repertoire of food descriptions. Natto, or fermented soybeans has never scored big with my dining partners, due, I believe, largely to the mucilaginous texture and the way the enzymes make the starches stretch out into think strings. I guess it's okay in mozzarella cheese, but when it is clear, it does look, as my six-year-old friend Julian says, "like saliva."

Still, I enjoyed this with plain steamed white rice, relishing the crunch of the pan-fried lotus root. I was relieved to find that Rakuzen serves this dish with the lotus roots grilled, as opposed to steamed, as I have had some very mushy boiled roots before that were pretty unpalatable. For RM13, the renkon natto no kimpara was a tasty study in texture and taste.

Oyster hot pot: warm and comforting.

From subtle to stronger, I opted for the spicy miso soup with oysters (kaki no miso nabe). At RM38 for a set meal, it was nearly too much for me. The save was because it was spicy, making it very moreish and a lot less 'jelak'. It also had lots of vegetables, along with the oysters.

Loads of goodies in this spicy hotpot.

The sushi to mini udon zen, RM36, was the most conventional meal item we ordered. The sushi and mini udon set was selected to ensure that Rakuzen continued to get its basics right. And of course it did. The sushi seafood was fresh, the cuts well proportioned, the rice firm and adhesive enough and well-vinegared.

Sushi and udon set.

Fresh seafood on perfect rice gave the sushi top marks.

It was a mini udon, but they didn't stinge on ingredients.

While it was my first time to this Rakuzen, I do remember the first time I sampled their wares in Singapore, before they embarked on the Malaysian expansion. Back then, about five years ago, I was wowed by the mastery of tradition offered and their boldness in serving the more unconventional dishes. Today, I think they play a big part in the furthering of Malaysian diners' understanding of good Japanese cuisine. And I'm not saying this just because I got a free meal!

Rakuzen
G-41 & 42 Ground Floor
Tropicana City Mall
3, Jalan SS20/27
Petaling Jaya