my lil oyster: japanese

Hmmmm why did I put a √ on the blog post title? Read on...enjoy the pictures...sniff the pictures a little...lick the screen a little:D

Last week I hopped over the Goku Raku Ramen for a brilliant journey through ramen. I say journey as we given a tour on ramen making. Taught some fine stuff on ramen and the broths that go with different ramen. Learnt the art of making ramen and I figured out that I think I'll stick to eating:D

We started off with some green tea. A choice of hot or cold while waiting for the rest of the buddies to arrive.

Appetizer was Pirikara Negi Char Siew. This is one dish that has a fine art of eating. Basically grab a little of everything with the char siew as how executive chef Kanai San demonstrated to us. This is tough because I am quite bad with my chopsticks and trying to do that and holding the camera on the other hand...I relied of Chef being the model holding the char siew:D Now take a bite of the pretty yummy thing if you have a small mouth like me. Its a burst of flavours and textures. A wee juicy so do not choke:P

I love Gyozas. However there are not many places that I can find good gyozas that are crispy on one side and soft on the other. Yes...that is how good gyozas are supposed to be. At Goku Raku, gyozas are first fried. When its almost ready, some tempura sauce is poured into the pan. This results in the gyoza having 2 different textures i.e. nice and crisp on one side and yummily tender soft on the other side. A bite into each gyoza reveals a rich taste of fresh mice pork, onion, garlic, ginger, pork lard, cabbage and chives.

There is a choice of 2 dips for your gyoza. One is the original gyoza sauce and the other is known as the Shimizu San Special which has lemon, canola, soy sauce, shiso leaf and plus plus. You'll have to ask Shimizu San what the plus plus are:P My fave is of course Shimizu San sauce for its zesty taste.

Pork belly and tomato? Yeah pork belly and tomato make a good dish named Tomato Maki. Skewered and grilled, this maki is absolutely bursting with flavour. Juicy sweet tomato and the smokey salty taste of the pork belly will have you asking for more.

Another pork belly dish must have is the Buta Bara Kushi. A fried dish of pork belly and apple with some mustard is so delightful. Dip it into the given tonkutsu sauce. The batter allows the pork belly to remain juicy.

And if you like rice and specifically claypot rice, then the Ishiyaki Garlic Rice is a must have. A special sauce called the Stamina Sauce is added into the hot rice and stirred quickly. The results? Yummy flavorful rice of mince pork, egg, stamina sauce and garlic. This is also another possible rice dish that I will choose when I choose to carbo load before a run.

How can one visit Goku Raku Ramen and not have any ramen?

Since it was a group of 9 hungry stomachs, we were able to test 5 different ramen. And the 5 flavours were matched to the correct type of ramen. The basic principal would be to match the thinner ramen to a plainer soup while the thicker ramen goes better with full flavoured broths. There is also 2 types of oil that you can choose. Opt for the leek oil which is a little mild but nevertheless flavourful. The garlic oil is also known as mayu is a wee too strong for my liking.

Before we started on our ramen, we were given water with lemon. All our green tea was taken away, Chef Kanai San explained that the lemon infused water would clear our palettes better than green tea.

Tonkutsu Ramen is also known as the original ramen. The broth is made of only pork and boiled over a process of 17 hours to bring out the best of the pork. Being a lighter broth, we had this with the thinner ramen. I first tasted the noodle as is then tried it with leek oil followed with garlic oil. I opted to finish the rest if my Tonkutsu Ramen with the leek oil. It was milder but nevertheless flavourful with the pork based broth.

Miso Tonkutsu Ramen is a tad heavier than the original ramen. The added miso is a good choice for those who love miso for its salty "nutty taste". This particular ramen goes better with the garlic oil.

Gokuraku Ramen is served in a thicker broth made of pork, chicken and fish. All the 3 ingredients are cooked for approximately 30 hours. The result is a very full bodied and slightly smokey flavoured soup. Being a thicker broth, this is best served with the thick ramen. When our noodles arrived, the ramen was still el dente and it cooked gradually as we ate it.

If you like miso and full flavoured broths, then the Gokuraku Miso Ramen would be the perfect ramen for you. Thick ramen soaked in a broth of miso, chicken, pork and vegetables, there is something comforting ramen dish. Take a mouthful of the ramen with the broth and the mince pork. Awesome!

And just when I thought that the Gokuraku Miso Ramen was the ultimate ramen, Chef Kanai San announces that there is indeed one more ramen seriously called the Ultimate Tonkutsu Ramen! Thick ramen in pork broth with char siew, bamboo, egg, black fungus, leek, garlic oil and seaweed, this is a seriously huge bowl of ramen. The egg is cooked just right. *Burp*

Good food must end with desserts. Our palettes were treated to 3 desserts Annin Tofu, Rare Cheese Cake and Banana Fritter with Vanilla Ice Cream.

Each uniquely different and delicious in its own right, I loved the Annin Tofu the most. This cold creamy almond jelly is not overly sweet either. Perfect after our full meal above. So good that one of our pals needed a second helping:D

Yummy Yummy?

Goku Raku Ramen

S25-S26 Level 2,

North Court,

Mid Valley Megamall.

• Its the same side as JUSCO, FOS and Thai Odyssey

• Check out their Facebook page www.facebook.com/GokurakuRamen to get more updates on their promotions:D

Hurry over to Gokuraku Ramen real soon. They are having a 50% off ramen dishes on Mondays and Tuesdays until September 2011

I love my neighbourhood Taman Desa for its yummy food. And when Gerai Makan Japanese BBQ opened, it was yet another reason why I will continue staying in Taman Desa.

Hidden in the back lanes of the shoplots its a nice airy wide space. Perfect for Yakiniku 焼き肉 (grilled meat) time! And be prepared that you will hear quite a bit of Japanese mutterings from the clients who are largely Japanese.

Choose from a wide range of pork and beef including spare parts such as tongue, liver, stomach, intestine and more...But I've always just stayed off the spare parts (unless we have friends with us) since hubby isn't into it:P Over the many sessions we have had there our faves were the pork belly, pork shoulder and inside leg. The beef is also a must have. And needless to say order a plate of vegetables to BBQ too. BBQ onions and carrots are very yummy and sweet.

You can either opt to BBQ the food yourself or the friendly and attentive staff will gladly do it for you. In my case, hubby is always playing chef at BBQ unless car pals like Brandon or Lawrence were around coz then his focus is car talk rather than cooking.

2 must try here are the Japanese Risotto. It also acts well as a filler if you crave carbohydrates. It arrives boiling hot. Quickly mix the egg mixture with the fluffy rice well. I like this Risotto before I have my BBQ. Its really appetising!

Another must have is Genghis Khan. A dish of its own with vegetables and lamb, you can eat this on its own or order a bowl of rice with it. This is also a good dish to have while waiting for your BBQ to cook especially when you have a big group of friends around.

Your BBQ session looks like this:

And your cooked meats look like this. The meats are good on it own. Or is you wish, then dip into their magic sauces as well:D

And when you're done eating and would like to chill, enjoy the free flow of green tea and chat on over some edamame. Alternatively have some beer, Guinness or even sake!

I have to admit that the whole experience of eating here is really fun. Love the grill and the whole works. Its quite a nice sight to see them preparing the fire for the BBW session.