Starting the Year Off with a Bang?! (Tenji Japanese Buffet @ Solaris Mont Kiara)

A break from the Melaka post, and rewind back to a week ago .... the dawn of a new bullish year. I said BULL-ISH, according to the lunar calendar. Not Bullsh*t. Though given the current economic downward spiral trend, the latter may suit our prospects for the coming 365 days more ....

So, how was YOUR new year celebration? Mine = Ruckus. Should've known better than to spend it around the Golden Triangle area in KL. The seas of revellers flooded the streets around the city(which fortunately, were closed for the celebration since evening. If not? Refer Xmas Gurney Drive pandemonium).

The fireworks display (a fix affair over at KLCC every year), and the aftermath of 'WAR' along Jln Sultan Ismail .... had us cowering in fear of sprayed with snow.

Since early evening, Astro started the ball rolling by staging a show outside of Sg Wang Plaza, with mostly local and some international Chinese artistes performing. Over at Pavilion, booming loud music was emanating from some boombox around the giant Xmas tree at the entrance. Xmas was ... in fact, a week's old story though.

But really, it was cool to see Malaysians from every race and background, as well as generation, celebrating amidst the turbulent times, for one night only ..... albeit the un-ruliness. But hey, all in the name of fun, no? :)

Tenji Japanese Buffet Restaurant @ Solaris Mont Kiara

On the 1st day of 2009, I was still reeling from the previous night's experience, walked miles after miles of unnecessary pilgrimage with thousands of others, as I chose to take the train, seeing that most roads were closed off to traffic.

However, on the day after, things started to pick up, as influenced by the many rave reviews of Tenji's buffet promotion, we crawled, traversed and scrambled our way to Mont Kiara. (Side note : Do ask or search for directions beforehand, if you're not familiar with the way. Mont Kiara can be seen from the highway, but took us a few extra rounds to find our way there from town. It's in fact, rather near to Hartamas).

Notice the clips with numbers 172 and 173? Our tables' numbers, meant to be used for ordering cooked items. Much like Jogoya.

When KCA called up to book a day before, the staff stated that the place was fully booked. Yeah, right. But we pushed our luck and arrived at 11.30am, the time when they open for business. Full prepared to be turned away, we were surprised to be ushered to our seats. Although at the verandah on the outside, the weather was thankfully cooling that afternoon.

The starters - Sashimi (raw fish slices), sushis, HUMOUNGOUS raw oysters, and various boiled seafood

Tenji is running a promotion until the 15th of January 2009, whereby lunch buffet starts from RM29.90+ onwards for the 1st hour, RM39.90+ for 2 hours of binging, and RM49.90+ for prolonged glutton session, up til 4.00pm. Do take note that from roughly 2-3pm onwards, a few counters would've stopped 'production', according to the crowd.

And the sudden blackout on the day we went rendered most kitchens dark and eventually closed. Rats.

The variety of cooked items

Of course, even RM49.90 per pax is a steal, if you're a fan of large oysters (REALLY big, I tell ya .... length comparable to a spoon! And required THREE mouthfuls each! You can gulp one at one slurp, but risk suffocation), sashimi (salmon, swordfish, scallops and tilapia only. Yup, TILAPIA. Never realised they can be eaten raw!), Haagen Dazs ice-cream (retail price at Haagen Dazs outlet? RM10 per scoop!) and seafood.

But seriously, we were rather disappointed at the choices of raw cuts, and sushis available. There's no maguro (tuna), butterfish, or ika (squid). Of course none of the yellowtail, bluefin, blackfin or whatever-tuna. Hmm.

Chinese cuisine station with Dim Sum - But we skipped those.

At the oriental station, you get Kam Heong snails (not bad, but messy), herbal soup (drop your clip and wait), greens cooked to your liking (drop clips), steamed fish (redfish or siakap), dim sum (ready for taking), and various other cooked dishes. Even the lobster salad's there, though the minced bits of the prized crustacean was akin to 'needle in a haystack' comparison. Not exactly impressive, but the steamed redfish was OK (refer pic below).

Steamed Redfish - Requires at least 15 mins of preparation. We waited more than that though ...

Kushiyaki - Unagi (eel), Mushrooms, Grilled Lamb Shoulder, and Grilled Salmon

One gripe we had about the clip-dropping system is that you can ONLY drop ONE clip into each bowl, wait for your dish to arrive, then only drop another. BUT, the grilled items on skewers eg. unagi, yakitori, etc come only in solitary form, or in duo. Imagine a table of 3-4, sharing ONE pathetic skewer of unagi. Hmm, certainly something to improve on.

And look at the slab of salmon above. Roughly 10-15 mins of wait, and gone in an instance. Not to say it's good though, the flesh was dry and tasteless. With minimal citrusy dressing. We skipped the fish and chips, as the cut of fish is equivalent to the size of a nugget. Really.

Fresh, sweet young coconut juice

Worthy of praises are the coconuts. Very sweet, thirst-quenching to the max. The juice counter offered 4 types of fruit juices. But not all were freshly-squeezed ones. Stick to the coconuts only, please!

The Chocolate Fountain

It could be the trend nowadays. Every reputable (or not) buffet spread in hotels or restaurants MUST incorporate a chocolate fountain (black or/and white) for chocolate-lovers to indulge in some work. OK, not much work la, just drizzle/drench your sticks of fruits or biscuit, or even marshmallow (not available at Tenji though) with the flowing chocolate sauce. Sinful,right? WRONG!

Desserts galore

The chocolate syrup was way too diluted, and tasteless. Reminded me of Nini's chocolate sauce. If you're not sure what's Nini, go back 10 or 20 years in time, or back to your childhood, and reminiscence. Thumbs down ....

The other desserts were not too memorable either. Though so many options available at the counter, but you're served by the staff at the counter, handing you your picks, on such a small plate. You can't even fit more than 4 pieces of mochi (sticky glutinous desserts in various flavours), cookies or cakes, at one shot. Imagine going back and forth a few trips to sample everything. Which is impossible anyway.

Hint : Go for ONLY the Haagen Dazs ice-cream (forgot the pic!) in 5-6 flavours, and get your $$$ worth! The cookies are HORRIBLE, btw.

Floral/fruity tea - A soothing end

The variety of floral tea available was impressive. There was lavender, chamomile (I think), mixed berry tea, and a few other unrecognizable names. You can even brew them freshly with the leaves provided, in a mug.

Sipping on them while seated at the verandah overlooking the highway = Bliss.

Thick, frothy cuppa coffee

Chef at work .... the misty effect looks cool, no?

On the whole, I'd suggest go for only an hour of rapid downing of oysters and sashimi, followed by Haagen Dazs ice cream. For RM29.90+, it's well-worth the price. Don't go for anything more, the cooked items are not worth the time and gut-space. :)

Location : TENJI Japanese Buffet @ Lot L-01-01, SohoKL, Solaris Mont' Kiara2 Jalan Solaris, 5o480 Kuala LumpurTel: 1700-80-1818 / 03-6203.6896

TAO Cuisine Japanese Buffet @ Juru Autocity, Penang

The front entrance to TAO Cuisine - Famous for its Japanese buffet and sushi

Imagine a week in anticipation. Advance booking's necessary especially on weekends. I still remembered them doubters, flicking me off when I suggested that we should book in advance. Then reality sunk in while we were dining, and the whole place was packed to the brim. With overflowing crowd, some peeking at us through the glass window, probably wishing for a taste, or a maybe a seat.

The heavy eastern influence clearly projected through the ambience

Situated in Auto-City in Juru, Penang, this restaurant famous for its Japanese buffet, had been operating for a few years, with another outlet at E-Gate on Penang island. When I was a mere student, forking out RM50 per person for a meal sounded far-fetched, and bordering on absurdity. Now? It's possibly time for a comeback. With a vengeance. Muahaha ...

Their sushi counter, with UNlimited supplies of rolled rice with all types of fish imaginable ... With the sushi master helming the process, you can be assure of the freshness of the cuts

With more than 100 items on their menu, the concept is simple, albeit slightly different from the average buffet meals. You ORDER the dishes you desire through the person waiting (waiter-ing?) your table, instead of getting up from your seat every few minutes to replenish your plates. Pros? Perfect for lazybums (like us), and you can browse the menu in the comfort of your seats, rather than pressured to choose at the buffet line. Cons? The 10% service charge, and frantically waving for their attention. But fortunately, although we were seated in a private room (for larger crowds, obviously) the waiter was very attentive, and dropped by our door to check if we need anything, periodically.

Sary Abalone - Fresh, QQ-texture abalone slices with mayo sauce

Sashimi Karapacho (yup, I suspect they mean carpaccio, but the raw cuts were different) - Various chunks of fish/octopus drizzled, or doused with mayo, and sweet Japanese sauce

Salmon Papaya

Their signature item, Salmon Papaya which were cuts of sweet, matured papaya wrapped with smoked salmon. A different flavour, fusion if you will, but remember to eat them once they're served. After awhile, the cuts tend to get a little soggy. Over-hyped, me thinks.

Sashimi Moriawase and various Hand Rolls

Thick cuts of salmon, butterfish and octopus served fresh. However, the serving above was a DOUBLE portion. Imagine that. Probably a strategy to minimize wastage, OR cut cost. As I'm sure everyone would be gunning for the sashimi to get his/her money's worth. The hand rolls were so-so, too much rice, and too little fillings. And the seaweed's too chewy for my preference.

Chef Maki - Changes every now and then, depending on the chef at helm. Delightful salmon slices with kiwi, and sides of crunchy seaweeds and salad

Kimisu Tako, Tako Sunomono, and Lingo To Mozuku Zuke - All passable appetizers, the first two involved tako, or octopus, while the latter was crunchy strands of seaweed

(Clockwise from top left) : Thai Spicy Lamb, Grilled Shisamo (smelt), Teppanyaki Duck Breast, and Yakitori (grilled chicken on skewers)

The cooked items on the menu were an impressive lot, incorporation grilling, steaming, and boiling, and influences from every corner, from Chinese to Western, and Thai to Korean. Particularly interesting was the Thai Spicy Lamb, marinated lamb cuts cooked in a spicy sauce, with capsicums and onions. Every bite was an explosive myriad of flavours, savoury, and spicy. The grilled chicken on skewers were exceptionally large cuts of chicken thigh meat, so much that we were having problem finishing them. Probably a plot to fill our stomach in order to prevent over-binging on other items? Hmm ....

(Clockwise from top left) : Steamed Unagi (eel), Taiwan Mantis Prawns, Tako Kimchi, and White Skin Crab

Some crappy stuff like the White Skin Crab resembled poorly wrapped Chee Cheong Fun, with bits of crab meat, and the mantis prawns which were a tad saltish. The steamed unagi was delectable, and its freshness shone through. If only we opted for a larger portion ...

Grilled Lamb Shoulder

No gravy was necessary. Juicy cuts of lamb shoulder marinated to perfection. No gamey taste, no chewy texture. But some fatty parts remained intimidatin. Must-try.

Sakana with Spicy Mayo

Grilled cuts of cod fish, topped with creamy mayo sauce with a kick. Suffice to say, these disappeared in a flash.

Grilled Salmon

Rich with Omega-3, salmon remains as the top choice for fatty fishes, as tuna and cod are pricier options. Large plate of perfectly grilled salmon, fresh, and devoid of fishy flavour. KYT nodded in agreement. Hehehe .... The skin was crispy as well.

Mixed Tempura (Prawns and Vegetables)

Normally, the main problem with tempura dishes in buffet meals would be too cold, and the batter too thick, rendering them inedible if not dunked in the tentsuyu sauce, and lots of daikon (white radish). But at Tao, as they deep-fry them ON-THE-SPOT, the crunchy and light batter complemented the fresh prawns really well. One minor gripe; Where's the daikon??!!

Shitake Kushi (Grilled shitake mushrooms on skewers)

Juicy mushrooms, grilled with a bit of salt. Appeared rather dry and shrunken, but surprisingly moist and tasty. Good snack. Though the others did not resound my opinions.

Crab Meat With Cheese

One glimpse and these fried 'wanton'-like structures looked mediocre. But one bite, and we were in seventh heaven. Hot, creamy cheese oozed from the fillings, very rich, but paired with the crunchy skin, this is a MUST-TRY item. We ordered second servings before the end of the meal.

Motoyaki Scallops

And this might be MY favourite choice for the whole evening. Grilled scallops with a spicy and creamy sauce. I downed a few in no time. And we ordered seconds as well. Not exactly BIG in sizes, but scored with the full flavour. And you can have UNlimited servings of these babies. Size indeed, DOES NOT matter.

One word ... Zen

We only managed to order roughly only 50% of the items in the menu. Yup, there are WAY more to choose from. Of course, some dishes I did not snap, and some photos came out blurry as everybody's in frenzy to tuck in.

Price : RM48/person ++. But come before 6.30pm and you'll get an "Early Bird" discount of 10%. Thus, we paid RM50 per pax nett. Their dining session is separated into two, to cater to a larger crowd. 5.30pm - 8.00pm, and 8.00pm - 10.30pm. Pick one, and remember to book in advance if you're going on weekends or public holidays, to avoid disappointment.

Location : TAO Authentic Asian Cuisine @ Juru Auto-City, Penang. From the North-South highway towards Penang from the south, turn left into the JURU exit, after the Juru toll. You'll see the Auto-City on your left, even from the highway. Tel No : 04-5017826.

Website : www.tao-cuisine.com

The Southern Escapade (Johor Bahru) - Part 1

A cool, breezy morning on the highway ...

We thought June was a hectic month. And July had the potential to be stress-free, with lighter schedule, and fewer outstation trips. But as usual, we were wrong.

(P/S : This job is unpredictable. Imagine packing and unpacking, and then packing again in a matter of days. All within short notice.)

No need to strain your necks/eyes for the movies, secondary screens available!

However, compared to the previous trip in April this year, we could not book flight tickets in a rush, therefore the 6 of us had to travel by bus. Yeah, not unlike school children, going on a field trip. 7+ hours on a bus (RM56 on Nice Express @ Jln Bendahara, Ipoh) was taxing, but at least we were entertained by TWO "blockbusters", ie : War of the Dragons (still on show in theatres, hmm ... ) and 10,000 BC. Kinda made the trip slightly more bearable ....

Plain old nasi lemak (RM3.50)

Those familiar to travelling down south to Singapore/Johor by bus would've recognized a place called Yong Peng in Johor, the assigned rest stop for express buses. With so many unsuspecting tourists forcibly alighting for a quick fix, we felt like slabs of meat on chopper boards, waiting to be chopped ....

All the food served is HALAL (supposedly) or rather pork-free, but the prices are inflated. Paying RM6 per plate of chicken rice, sizzling noodles, or fried rice may sound absurd, for these are NOT restaurant-quality servings. But who's to complain? Our Singapore counterparts may find them reasonable, and they made up quite a number of the passengers.

Anyhow, the nasi lemak with sambal, anchovies and peanuts, and a fried egg was pretty good (or I could be really hungry), at RM3.50 per plate, at least did not dent my wallet so severely.

Sensing familiarity here?

Arriving in JB in the evening, we were glad to be transported from to the hotel instantly by taxi (RM8 from town to our hotel at Stulang Laut). Checking in was a breeze (albeit some teething problems) as our Johor counterparts booked the rooms for us in advance. Wanna know where we stayed? Let's see some hints ;

All 16 floors of the hotel, overlooking the middle lounge on 5th floor

A handy gadget, controlling practically all the switches and electronic gadgets in the room

Plush, comfy beds - ensuring a good slumber ...

Yup, the SAME hotel I stayed in April. Not to condemn though, far from it. Situated at Stulang Laut, overlooking the Tebrau straits, Singapore's basically a "swim" away. But of course, none of us pushed our luck ... =)

One noteworthy gadget in the room is the almighty remote controller by our bedside, whereby everything's a click away, from the TV channels to the lights in the room, and setting alarm as well as requesting for a room makeover, or a 'privacy please' note. Talk about inventions.

Nasi Lemak with condiments and Rendang Chicken

Cured beef slices, like an old friend now

Golden balls of indulgence

Yummy, unlimited pancakes

Unlike previous experience, this time around, only breakfasts are complimentary to our rooms. Shucks ... and we thought all meals are provided. Salt & Pepper Cafe on Level 5 is a trusted name, reassuring of a hearty breakfast, although the variety may get slightly repetitive. But, who's complaining? (certainly not the gluttons in us!)

The fun ZON - Coming alive at night ...

Singapore's on the other end ...

More delicious posts in subsequent episodes. Gee, my posts lately are continuous, huh? Sorry, but quite hard to squeeze everything in one single post.

P/S : Will be down to KL for the weekend, therefore blogging would take a back seat. Care to bump into the Motormouth in KL? =P

Once Upon A Time in Johor ... (Part 4 - The Mains)

.... continued from Part 3

Not my intention to bore you any longer, might as well post everything else we had at The Zon Regency, Johor Bahru ...

Notice the reflection of Suzy? How nice of her to pose strategically between Salt n Pepper ...

Boiled prawns, mussels, and scallops on ice
Smoked salmon and some random fish (sorry, bad at identifying species)
Oh yeah, unlimited & free supplies of fresh seafood
Made-to-order spaghetti, and various cooked dishes
Nasi Briyani, Mutton curry, Grilled Lemon Fish, & funny-looking Cekodok Pisang (sp?)
Bread and Butter Pudding (again) @ every meal
Hors d'oeuvres ?
Chef in action, slicing up leg of lamb with ease
Was wondering, what's the orange sack next to the scallop? Roes?

Yeah, imagine every meal of indulgence for 4 days. The consequences? Broadening of horizon? or rather horizontally broadening ... Hmm ... who cares? :)

There were 101 & more items that I did not manage to snap, for mealtime was pretty limited. Everyone was raiding the buffet spread like there's no tomorrow. LOL.

The hotel management was considerate enough to rotate among this Western restaurant, a Thai restaurant, and another Chinese one for 3 days' worth of lunch. However, the Chinese restaurant (A halal one) was really really bad, while the Thai one was forgettable. Lucky for us dinners were served at Salt n Pepper.

Location : Salt & Pepper Cafe & Restaurant, The Zon Regency Hotel, 88, Jalan Ibrahim Sultan, Stulang Laut, 80720, Johor Bahru.