It is that time of the year again. There is traffic jam everywhere, the restaurants are fully booked and everyone is out to have fun. When the clock strikes midnight, cheers will be heard echoing from all directions and the night is celebrated with 20 minutes of fireworks magnificence. What else could it be if it is not the eve of a new year? This time, instead of an eventful night with the guys, it was going to be a family affair. Mom, dad and I and a good restaurant as our host. We picked Rakuzen without much hesitation as my mom patronises this restaurant often. Unfortunately, we were at a different outlet and not the one in KL which my mom frequents. The good news came with the sight of Japanese men expertly handling an array of fresh seafood with their razor sharp sashimi knives. A great sight it was. I had the same vibe like I had when I sat at the sushi bar in Kanta while watching Akira-san fix up the perfect chicken roll. Whether this restaurant is good or not, that will be at the end of the page :D!
Daddy and Mommy. Thanks for the dinner ::)!
On the dining table, we had:
Some artsy wares which contained the soya sauce, Japanese spicy condiment, and toothpicks.
Too much publicity for a wasabi but I liked how Rakuzen has put enough care to ensure everything is done up nicely. Attention to detail!!
Leaf shaped wasabi paste!
Mom gave us rabbit food to start our meal. Surprisingly yummy! Edamame (Rm8)
Tasted somewhat buttery with a fresh after taste.
To fill our tummies, we ordered a California Roll (Rm18) and a Soft Shell Crab Sushi a.k.a Spider Maki.
Lovely. Avocado and prawns with well seasoned sushi rice. And Rakuzen is generous on what they give for their rolls.
This photo was taken from a bad perspective but the sushi itself was good. The soft shell crab was really crispy. Now that I think of it, the soft shell crab pasta from Plan B did not turn out this crispy at all :(! However, this soft shell crab roll comes in second place when compared to the one served at Zen Sushi @ Subiaco!
What was to come next turned out horrible! The Chicken Katsu-don set. Oh and the picture turned out horrible as well. :(! But no worries, the set came with silky smooth Chawan Mushi which costed only a fraction of the set meal price =.=!!
Om nom nom! The Chawan Mushi had shiitake mushrooms, fish cakes and minced meat. Pretty good for an side dish!
Oh and there was a Hokkaido seafood festival going on at the moment so my dad thought, “Why not try something else,” And so he chose an oyster dish after carefully inspecting the menu . Fried oysters serve on a lettuce leaf and drizzled with Tonkatsu flavoured mayonnaise (Rm18)!
I was a bit intimidated at the start. Despite being fried, it was still oyster by nature and its juicy as always. Luckily, mayonnaise + soy sauce = FTW. :)!
The last dish to come was the assorted Kushiyaki and Yakitori (Rm35).
Looks good aye? BUT IT SUCKED. Dry salmon :( Tasteless Meatballs :’( Where do I stop ranting? The only thing which I thought was nice was the skewered chicken meat (Yakitori). Lesson learned!! No skewered meat unless you are at Jun @ Perth!
Last of all was the dessert. The frozen strawberries stuffed with ice cream!
Picturesque, good to bite, fair to taste, bad to tooth. Something I would try once, but not recommended for seconds. Hell yeah it ached when I bit into it. Tried to raise the temperature with hot tea. And the chemistry was wrong. Tasted horrible @.@!
Ok peeps, sorry that this post have to end abruptly, but I’m in a bit of rush because I have to wake up early tomorrow. 5.40am to be exact =.=! I’ll be spending the weekend over at Taiping and soon after, hohohohoho!! I’ll be meeting the little darling. Oh yes!! Finally ;)!!!
To conclude this, the meal at Rakuzen was pretty good. But if I could change the evening, I would have taken the Katsu-don and skewered meats of the menu. Instead, I would have opted for a few other dishes found on the Hokkaido Festival specials! I would have preferred freshly baked salmon, more scallops, and why not some Teppanyaki style diced steak served with garlicky fried rice. All in all, this place was worth the price and definitely worth vising for a second time. Lots more to try on the menu!!
Happy New Year to all my dear friends, readers, family and humans. May our resolutions for the new year, heal us and the ailing nature.
Over and out!
WenY
