Nagomi ShabuShabu@Jaya 33, PJ

Demona: A friend of ours, SinHui, is currently based in Malaysia for a while for some acting/singing etc. An upcoming star, whos got a great voice, just got back from Taiwan.. and whooosh. Major transformation. a star.. becoming more, and more refined. Dogma and I whispered to one another.

Demona: Psst... pssssssssst. Better get her signature and picture first before she no longer has

time for us.

Dogma : *snap*snap* See picture below.

Demona: She suggested Nagomi ShabuShabu. We arrived before her, so we went into the restaurant to get a table first. To be honest, we were slightly intimidated when we walked in and there weren't many patrons inside, plus the place was quite posh looking.

Dogma: Superstar ma!

We weren't sure on what to expect from this restaurant as we rarely have steamboat meals in Kl, even if they are local. As we flipped through the menu, nothing was below RM30, except the vegetarian steamboat set, which was a dollar less. Besides steamboat sets, they also offer famous japanese known delicacies eg: sushis, sashimis, etc. The prices were sky rocket high, thus we quickly looked at SH and showed our puppy sad eyes. *sniff*sniff*

SH: Let's choose the buy 3 free 1 steamboat set meals.

Demona&Dogma: Yippie Yay!

Demona: This was some awesome kick-ass spicy dipping sauce. A mixture of sour, spicy, peppery-like taste. Purrrrrrrrr-fect.

Demona: SH ordered the beef slice set... which we did not get a chance to try them out. The plate was placed a little further away from the maximum reach of the tip of our chopsticks. So.... we were.... a little too shy to grab some from it.

Dogma ordered the duck slice set, where as I chose the chicken slice set. They both gave similar tastes once dipped into the hot soup. The hot and spicy soup was really quite delicious! Although a little salty, but savouryyyyyyy. SLURPS. Bottomless soups BTW.

Demona: We chose salmon slice set for the free one. Bad, bad choice. Once added into the hot soup, the meat turned hard and the deliciousness tender factor just fizzled away. We did try, dipping the meat in the soup at a shorter time duration, but somehow, just we failed getting it cooked at the right consistency. I attempted eating it raw..... which was , uh oh, bad idea also. Dogma ala food cleaner helped finished it up, although even he, found it challenging to do so.

Demona: Besides the meat slices set, each one also came with a HUGEEEEE bowl of vegetables eg: cabbages, mushrooms, jellyfish strips, tofu, brocolli etc. Just one set, with a combination of both the meat, and vegetable together was enough to feed 3 girls. And here we were, 2 girls and 1 guy, attempting to finish 4 sets. Our tummies deserved a big round of applause for this.

I couldn't fathom anyone else ordering the vegetarian set after having this meal experience. I'm assuming the set would come with, 2 HUGEEEEEE bowls of vegetables? WHOW. Cows would grow green with envy if they ever see anyone eating that set.

The bill came up to RM 140, including drinks. A meat set, is priced at RM 30 plus, which I think Nagomi ShabuShabu 3+1 set meals would be a great choice for a group of maybe 5 or 6 friends, dining together and catching up, over steamy hot soups.

We had a good time there, and we did enjoy the dining experience that we had at Nagomi. I'm sure we'll come back again for another round, but we'll make sure that we have at least 5 confirmed growling tummies before we step in!

HomeCook@Kinrara

Again is the season for budgetary food experience. Equipped with a decade old oven in TS's gigantic mansion, we decided to cook a few dishes at home to liven things up...

First up was Dogma creation: Slow Grilled Chicken Breast topped with caramalized onions and melted cheddar cheese... sprinkled with some crushed black pepper and mustard sauce.. Oohh laa laa....The taste sure lives up to the dish name !

The assorted condiments that goes along with it: Ketchup, McDonalds Grape jelly and Freshly peeled local lime
Dessert: 3 jumbo sized local mango: Sweet to the bone!


Carbo Dish: Toasted wholemeal bread with omellete and mustard sauce..

Shiok..
Simple Dishes perfect Wishes

Budget constrained fish meal@Fatty Tiger Restaurant, Puchong

Demona: The images of rows and rows of fishes on this gigantic banner hanging outside the restaurant was definitely an eye catcher to anyone who passes by. So much so that even if you were standing on the other end of the lot, you could still faintly see it.

However, it wasn't the fishes which caught much of our attention. Instead, it was the two digit number that was printed next to the fishes, the beautiful number of 1 2 and the two alphabets before them, R M.

RM 12/ one full fish woey.!?
We could hardly believe our eyes. Well at least, for KL's price of fishes, that is.

Demona: Fatty Tiger was fairly packed, so we proceeded upstairs. Biz looked good for the taukehs here as several tables were occupied upstairs as well. The menu boasts of a huge range of river rishes, which a frog-under-the-coconut-shell person like myself, wouldn't know how to differentiate except some obvious difference in shapes and sizes between the several few.

Some fishes had golden bar price tags, potentially costing a mere fish head alone to be several hundred bucks (WOW!)

We hunted for the RM12/fish but couldn't spot it on the menu. The waitress came up and explained to us that there was such a fish at such a price. These particular riverfishes are reared by the taukeh and sold at a real good deal price, and they do not make much profit out of this. Instead, their profit targets are more on the higher end river rishes eg: the golden price tag fishes.

Demona: Poor RM 12 river fish, you. Fed to the right size, and scooped right out of its pond and in it went, into a pack of ice, waiting to be served fresh to the next customer...... US.

Demona: Sorry, fishy fish. You were the chosen one to serve us. Cooked assam nyonya style. Initially, the sauce was really spicy and sour, yet at the end palate, the sweetness of the pineapples showed up. The fish meat was fairly fresh. We had this fish, cooked plain steamed before, and my gf who joined in the dinner mentioned that there was a slight muddy taste to it but thankfully, wasn't obvious enough to put you off eating it further. With the assam nyonya paste, the mud taste was of course, covered.

Anyhow, in usual circumstances, almost all self reared riverfishes couldn't run too far from having the distinct muddy taste to their meat as they have less room to freely swim about, unlike their wild river fish brothers.

Demona: Dogma ordered a Dried Chillis Fried Chicken rice to eat along with the fish. The chicken meat was quite tender, with a nice fragrant aroma of ginger, onions and dried chillies absorbed into the meat. Deliciouso! As for me, the usual rice skipper.... I also stole half of Dogma's chicken slices away. Grrrrrrrrrr.

I'm guessing the owner will shake his head whenever he sees people like us coming in, as we chose the cheapes fish, and ate the least (some more share meal!). If there are more of us diners coming in, the restaurant's profit margin's going to decline drastically.

On the contrary, the owner came up to us instead, with a big sincere smile, explaining to us about the fish which we ate, as well as the other fishes that he was selling, and even brought those expensive dead fishes on a tray, just to show us. He did subtly mentioned that the profit earnings for the RM12/fish was not much but that did not affect him severely as this strategy also earned him more happy return customers who potentially have golden goose pockets, and willing to explore more than just the RM12/fish deal.

This is one restaurant that we shall always come to whenever we feel like having good olde' fish meat to eat and not having to burn our wallets too much.

Konig Ludwig Beer from the comfort of home

Demona: I miss you, Mr. KonigLudwig. I miss sipping down, your golden bubbly bits, trickling down my throat... ahhhhhh. Florally, refreshing. JW, if you're reading this.. I do, terribly miss our after-work days clanking our Konig pint glasses to some good music in Wala Wala. There isn't a place here that could give me such an euphoric feel. After work days are mostly occupied by.. bad traffic, or swims (luckily there was something good!)

After viewing my new place to be, I walked over to Hartamas Shopping Centre for some window shopping. Whilst strolling around the alcohol section in Mercato.... I saw you.. you... you.. Mr.Konig, all stacked up with the rest of your clan. Sadly, almost all the bottles were slightly covered with dirt (Shows not many people took notice of 'em).

A bottle cost RM 16.90 (I've also seen more expensive price tags on it in some other places).

Gasps. So expensive here and it isn't even draught. I surely miss the buy1 (SGD 16) free1 days in WalaWala.

For crave sake, I bought a bottle.
We also had a Konig glass at home, so it was like.. rekindling the days of WalaWala, with not so-refreshing and tasty Konig (since it wasn't draught), and the only music I could get was Dogma strumming my guitar.

Man... satisfaction.. UNfulfilled.

Assorted Wines

This Netton Napa Valley Clarte 2003 was quite an impressive QPR wines. Retailed at only SGD58. it bears close resemblances to an old world claret albeit with its own distinctive character.

Online Winemaker Tasting notes:
Bordeaux fans will appreciate the casual sophistication and elegant structure of this wine. The wine opens with aromas of blueberries, cranberries, and strawberries with touches of cassis. On the palate ripe tannins surround rich black cherries, blackberries and plum flavors with a hind of tasted oak balanced with a nice acidity.

Dogma tasting note:
Nice whiff of cassis and light pencil shavings on the nose. Vanilla, Black and blue fruits. some alcohol heat at the back. On the palate, delicious black berries and sweet licorice, thou with a noticiable new world Fruit presence. Slightly over oaked but tannins were grainy and yet fine. Smooth. Demona gulp this down real fast..

La Spinetta Pin 1999: This has to be one of the very best super Tuscan i ever had, even compared to Sassicaia, Ornelaia and others. Screaming perfection and indicating a long life ahead of it. I had purchased this direct from a wine merchant in Italy and after laying down for a few months, it just screamed delicious! The 1999 Pin was Rated Robert Parker 95pointers,

Dogma Tasting notes:
Once open, an heavy flurry of blueberry, cassis and black fruits filled up the room literally. It is so perfumy and floral that Demona and i were speechless. secondly flavour of tar and vanila emerges and the sweet cassis on the palate and nose was pure bliss. On the palate, tar, dark berries, and grainy tannins interplay seeamlessly with the heavy fruits and good acid. Excellent weight on the mouthfeel. A pure gem. Grab them if you can and it have a comfortable 8 years ahead of it easily.

Verget Meursault Casse Tetes 1996:
rated 92point Robert Parker. Got this as a gift from SH. Open up with a nose of citrus, lemon and oak. Still abundant of fruit and oak at this age. Not too well integrated. Secondary flavour of salt and stone. Buttery nose typical of Meursault. Certainly not at the premier cru/grand cru level.