A Whiff of Lemongrass

How sweet it is to be loved by you
How sweet it is to be loved by you

I needed to be pampered with chocolate cake and there you were
I needed you to understand my butt and pounds and there you were
A big cake, bold and bitter
Sweet and salty, what a treasure
I want to stop and taste you baby
I just wish that you were boozy…

How sweet it is to be loved by you
How sweet it is to be loved by you

Song adapted from Marvin Gaye’s How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You

How sweet it is to be loved by you
How sweet it is to be loved by you

I needed the shelter of someone’s arms and there you were
I needed someone to understand my ups and downs and there you were and there you were
With sweet love and devotion
deeply touching my emotion
I want to stop and thank you baby
I just want to stop and thank you baby

How sweet it is to be loved by you
How sweet it is to be loved by you

A moist chocolate cake with layers of salty caramel and chocolate ganache resulting in a complex combination of sweet, salty and bitter.

Cake can be ordered from Fatboybakes HERE.

(Thank you, bff Alilfatmonkey, for allowing the use of the final picture above and several pictures in the collage below.)

Cake lovingly baked by Fatboybakes for a session of board games on an idyllic Thaipusam holiday.

Shijimi Clam shells

I was miserable.  I had been working through Chinese New Year and the weekend after that, and all I wanted to do was spend some time with the husband over a nice meal.  We had several choices at Doubletree and the Intermark, but in the end, as we made our decision, it didn’t feel like much of a gamble to visit Hanare, a reincarnation of the popular and highly rated (and now defunct) Tykoh Inagiku.  Quality and freshness is a priority at Hanare where seafood is brought in from the Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo three times a week.  Shipment had just arrived the day we visited.  Joy.

As we pored over the menu, my initial reaction was that of shock.  The prices were probably some of the highest I’d seen, but as we talked through it, we told ourselves that we would not be cost-conscious and deprive ourselves of a potentially good experience.  As we rattled off our order to the Manager, I casually asked if they served an omakase menu, to which he replied in the affirmative.  An omakase is a great way to acquaint one’s self with the Chef’s specialties, and at RM250 per head, it seemed very reasonably priced.  Like most omakase experiences, a menu wasn’t provided and we left our fate in the Chef’s hands, merely giving him a couple of our special requests.

Perhaps it was the wine, perhaps it was the sake, perhaps it was the food, perhaps it was the company, perhaps it was the release of tension and stress, but it was one of my most pleasurable meals in Kuala Lumpur in a very long time.  The cacophony of laughter from the table beside us merely added to the enjoyment, and not surprisingly, as the night went on, I found myself smiling more and more as I submitted myself to the flair and mastery of Chef Sudo San.

Hanare
Ground Floor, The Intermark
182 Jalan Tun Razak, KL

Tel: 03-2164 2133/2164 2633

Note: In addition to the ala carte and omakase menu, Hanare also offers a champagne brunch every Sunday priced at RM298+ with champagne and RM150+ for food alone.

Yuba Tofu and Yuba To Okura – two starters using tofu skin as its base, one resembling the typical beancurd sheets we are familiar with, and the other a denser, mushier texture with a more intense flavour.

Shirako – cod milt – sacs containing seminal fluid that taste like pig’s brains. A rare and pleasurable treat. Nothing to get repulsed about.

Sashimi – Toro, Buri, Hirame, Akagai – delightfully fresh.  Served with freshly grated wasabi.

One cannot deny the pleasures of sake….

Wakasagi Saikyo And Aka Miso – Ice fish with two types of miso – eat it whole.

Mozuku (Seaweed) Chawan Mushi with a hidden surprise – cod milt again! The egg custard had a smooth consistency.

The tomato was firm with a very thin skin and smelled like it had just been plucked. Juicy and incredibly sweet with a dense texture.

Amberjack fish and seaweed in mini steamboat – swish for a bit in the boiling hot soup to sufficiently cook it. The soup, once infused with all the flavours, can be subsequently drunk.

Tomorokoshi, Imo & Soramame (corn, sweet potato and Japanese broad bean). The Japanese take pride in every ingredient and item that is served at the dinner table. Even the humble vegetable is given pride of place on the omakase menu.

Sushi – Toro, Hotate, Ikura and Uni.

Shijimi Clam Soup – aromatic and flavourful.

Homemade green tea ice cream.

I love the decor at Hanare. The custom made tables of granite and wood (some made of a single piece of wood, proudly displaying its uniqueness and imperfections) are simply beautiful.

Remember this name.

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Bald Eagle was featured in a Valentine’s Day article in the NST where he gave his two cents worth on what Valentine’s Day means to him. I agree wholeheartedly with him that it is more fun to surprise each other throughout the year, and that one should be spontaneous and unpredictable.  Which is why we’re celebrating Valentine’s Day apart this year – he in Sydney, while I remain in KL – and we’re none the lonelier.

Happy Valentine’s Day to all. May your lives be filled with love and happiness.

The concept of paying it forward is nothing new.  It could be as simple as someone buying dinner and not allowing you to pay.  Pay it forward.  Buy someone else dinner and see his face light up.  I once had a flat tyre and was feeling helpless because my AAM card had expired and I didn’t know how to change the tyre myself.  Thanks to the kindness of a stranger, the flat tyre was replaced.  The process left him sweaty and his hands dirty, but he didn’t complain.  Neither did he take the money which I offered.  “What’s your name,” I asked him.  “Frankie,” he replied.  I looked at him in his face, humbled, and said, “Thank you, Frankie.”  One of my favourite hymns is a song entitled “Pass it On”.  It’s an old song, and it starts with – “It only takes a spark to get a fire going….”.  I used to be a lot more idealistic in my younger days, and age and experience does harden the heart, but the single act of kindness of one stranger is an apt reminder that there are good people in this world.

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Yee sang with Norwegian salmon – the tangy, sweet sauce is made from peach, apricot and strawberry. Salmon skin adds a nice crunchy touch to the ensemble, but it costs an additional RM15.

Christine demonstrating how to use extra long chopsticks

Thick broth with sea treasure. A delightful melange of mushroom, abalone, sea cucumber, fish lips, dried scallops and shredded chicken. Like in the other Standard Chartered Extravagant 8 sets, no sharksfin is served.

Steamed live fresh “cod” with soy sauce. Although this is called cod on the menu, it is actually freshwater sea perch. The number of fish served depends on its size, so either 2 pieces or 3 pieces will be served with the set.

Poached marinated farm chicken with Chinese wine. The free range chicken has slightly tougher meat, and is served with the most fragrant minced ginger. Love it.

Braised Chinese cabbage with sea moss and dried scallops sauce. Quite a mouthful but delicious.

Seafood fried rice

Chilled mango puree with pan fried nian gao. While the nian gao may not look like the most appetising thing in the world, it was probably the best I had tasted as I am partial to pan fried nian gao in egg.

Chef Leong Weng Heng

A private room in Zing

Zing
Grand Millenium Kuala Lumpur
Jalan Bukit Bintang
KL

Tel: 03-2177 4180

Non-halal

In conjunction with the Chinese New Year celebration this year, the best chefs from 8 top Chinese restaurants in the Klang Valley have customised special Extravagant 8 menus, priced at RM888++ for a table of 8, exclusively for Standard Chartered credit card holders. The menus are available from January 20 to February 17, 2011. More details on the restaurants, their offerings and T&Cs are available at the Standard Chartered website.

Thank you, Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia and Grand Millenium Kuala Lumpur for kindly hosting this dinner.

Note: This is the last of five reviews under the Standard Chartered Extravagant 8 campaign. Earlier reviews:

Chynna, Hilton Kuala Lumpur

Shanghai, JW Marriott

Li Yen, Ritz-Carlton, Kuala Lumpur

Gu Yue Tien, Chulan Square