Salsa-Teriyaki-Som Tam-Wonton

First published in Options, The Edge Malaysia, 17 July 2017

Quirky and creative food choices housed in a whimsical, colourful setting in the heart of KL

The duplex penthouse at the top of WOLO, in the midst of sleepless Bukit Bintang, hosts Mr Chew’s Chino-Latino Bar.  Be prepared to be bedazzled by the swirl of colour, textures and shapes. Floor to ceiling windows look out onto the cityscape below, a larger-than-life video of evolving light and motion.

Japanese Nook

First published in Options, The Edge Malaysia, August 22, 2016

A few original twists and good Japanese food in a cozy corner

Ensconced on the second floor of a corner shoplot, Uroko imparts a feeling of discovery, of a getaway above the hubbub and noise of humdrum daily activity. The cozy décor is of a layer of illumination between the dark floor and black ceiling. Spot lighting catches the brassy highlights from the metal fish-scale pattern (“Uroko” means “scales” in Japanese) on the metal dividers, gleaming wooden tables, and details such as the irregular stone bowls and smooth pebbles for chopstick rests.

An extensive selection awaits the diner, with an omakase for the undecided. We picked out mainly restaurant recommendations from the menu.

Inspired Western-Japanese

First published in Options, The Edge, 22 May 2016

Western-Japanese cuisine, rediscovered.

In a neighbourhood of coffee shops and car workshops, we walked upstairs into the unexpectedly sophisticated setting of Sion Dining.  A wine cellar and a long bar usher the way into the small darkened dining area, with ceiling to floor shimmering curtains, spotlights falling on tables with high-backed seating, and pictures of sultry Marilyn Monroe on the walls.  The mood is one of relaxed confidence.

The restaurant specializes in yoshoku cuisine, Japanese food inspired by Western cuisine. It arose in the mid-19^th century during the Meiji period in Japan.  While Japanese pasta and Hamburg steak are obviously Western inspired, what we often consider Japanese, such as tonkatsu and Japanese curry, are also part of yoshoku.

A glass window looks into the brightly-lit kitchen from the restaurant.  The chef, Masamichi Shiomi, is remarkably youthful-looking for someone who was the personal cook for the Japanese ambassadors to Papua New Guinea, Australia and Indonesia.  The menu is thick, with pictures and pithy quotes, but the affable restaurant manager, Seal, helped with recommendations.

Spanish Yakitori?

First published in Options, The Edge, April 6, 2016

Initiating the uninitiated into the cult of Spanish Yakitori

The entrance, tucked in a corner, is not obvious. When you climb the steps, you encounter a symbol emblazoned in red on a wooden door. Stepping in, the place is narrow, long and dim, with brick walls, plenty of wood and at the far wall, that strange symbol again, lighted in red against a black background. You might have stumbled into a secret Japanese cult, except that the symbol is a stylized yakitori stick, and this is a restaurant, Palillos, which means “Chopsticks” in Spanish.

With Artistic Flair

First published in Options, The Edge Weekly, March 5, 2016

Japanese fusion, rebooted to provide a feast for the eyes and taste buds.

Manmaru Robatayaki isn’t your typical Japanese restaurant, not with its dark coloured, semi-industrial setting, with black tables and chairs, comfortable sofa-like seating and industrial lighting, right down to stage lights.  Instead of pastel coloured panels or bamboo, giant pictures of swimming koi, flying fish and the Japanese rising sun reinforce the impression of a work in progress on a stage set of sorts. The edgy background sets the stage for Japanese fusion food, an immersion into the personal vision of its chef Danny Leow. 

The menu has all the traditional items – sushi, sashimi, robatayaki, Omakase sets, noodles, rice and more, but subject to the fierce interpretations of the chef.

Japanese Slow-Grill

First Published in The Edge Malaysia, Options, 19 January 2015

It’s back to basics with fresh food and charcoal grilling, elevated to a culinary style

Sometimes, it’s refreshing to get back to basics: fresh food simply cooked to highight natural flavours and textures, undisguised by sophisticated sauces and food enhancers. A basic style of cooking using fresh ingredients allows the food to speak for itself – after all, what can beat the pleasure of freshly-caught fish, grilled over a fire on the beach?

This is the idea encapsulated and formalised by the Japanese robatayaki, a traditional style of cooking over a charcoal hearth fire.  The emphasis on stark simplicity and freshness of ingredients make this a popular choice in Japan, with many robotayaki outlets scattered throughout the country.

In Petaling Jaya, Robata Monkey specialises in robatayaki cooking.  Ensconed within the recently-renovated Jaya One complex, the restaurant exudes a warm, welcoming ambience, with pale wood, bamboo and bare cement surfaces.  An inner dining area with raised wooden flooring and cut outs for the legs, Japanese style, complements bench-type seating in the main dining area and outside the restaurant.  Whole Bamboo-poles, informal bench-style seating and warm spotlit lighting all contribute to a rustic air.  The kitchen is exposed, pride of place belonging to a vertical charcoal fired grill, sunken into a raised sand pit, an approximation of the traditonal Japanese irori.