I was not in best of shape and had to be in a hospital. But I did not want to miss out on the dinner. So I asked my doc for leave. With a catheter attached to my hand and amidst curious looks from other diners, I joined my siblings, cousin and spouses for a sumptuous Japanese dinner at the Gin Shui Tei.
The place seemed a bit old but by no means run down. The decor was somewhat outdated. I guess they had been around for quite awhile. And perhaps it was time for a little make-over.
Our party of 7 came well prepared with the booze. We had Japanese sake and red wines.
This Japanese bottle even had gold flakes in it.
In my condition, I did not touch a drop. Docilely, I stuck to green tea.
The meal as normal, started with a couple of salads. Both were basically the same. One had a mixture of nuts...
While the other came with crispy ikan bilis and a dash of red roe. The dressing was a sweet sourish Japanese. They were very good.
We also had some edamame for starters.
Two large servings of sashimi then appeared on our table. They were glorious. There were salmon, tuna, mackerel, yellow fin and a large clam. Every bit was superbly fresh. Including the wasabi that sensationally cleared my nose. I had never had so much sashimi in a single meal.
What do you call a Gyudon without the rice? This was our next dish. It was dish of sliced beef cooked in a sweet soy sauce with onion. The meat was deliciously tender.
Cousin Chew ordered 2 servings of sukiyaki - beef for everybody, and considerately chicken for my non-beef eating wife. Sukiyaki has never been my favourite Japanese fare. Like in all Japanese places, I found the soup somewhat sweet and too ajinomoto.
The salmon heads were heavenly. They were salt baked and amazingly fresh. The meat flaked out was we picked on them. I worked on the soft tissue and fish fat - with no sense of guilt as it was Omega-3. A real joy.
Tempuras appear to be a must in any Japanese meal. And the assortment that was served did not disappoint. The batter maintained its crispiness even after a long time on the table. The prawn particularly was tastefully succulent.
To top it all up, each of us was served a bowl of this delicious garlic fried rice. I marvel at the manner the Japanese do their fried rice. Each grain was by itself. They did not stick to each other. The flavour of the garlic was subtle. Somehow their fried rice is delightfully different.
Dessert was green tea ice cream with red bean paste. This ender is very typically Japanese. Yet I enjoy it each time.
It was a heavy meal of quality Japanese delicacies. In my condition, I probably shouldn't had eaten so much. And it must had costed our cousin Chew a small fortune. In all, it was a most satisfying evening for me, even though at the end of it, I had to return to my crummy hospital room.
No comments:
Post a Comment