28 Aug
Happy Anniversary – Simple Dinner & Lavish Buffet @ Rakuzen
That special day is here again, 26 August. On our anniversary I’d like to remind you how very special you are to me. You will never know how it thrills my heart every time I see you.
Over the pass three years, we’ve had our troubles and woes, but our love for each other had no attached strings. I am so very grateful for your unconditional love and support in a world full of conditions. I would like to dedicate ‘Everything’ by Michael Buble to you as the chorus matches the rhythm inside my heart so much.
And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It’s you, it’s you, You make me sing.
You’re every line, you’re every word, you’re everything.
You’re a carousel, you’re a wishing well,
And you light me up, when you ring my bell.
You’re a mystery, you’re from outer space,
You’re every minute of my everyday.
And I can’t believe, uh that I’m your man,
And I get to kiss you baby just because I can.
Whatever comes our way, ah we’ll see it through,
And you know that’s what our love can do.
Happy anniversary. Looking forward to many more years with you!
I thought that we won’t be having any celebration this year as Kampungboy needs to work on both Saturday and Sunday. I made him a simple, hearty and filling dinner on Saturday night.
I was a lousy cook back then, my cooking skill is still pathetic till now but I guess when you love food, you should know what good food should taste and you pick things up along the way. Fortunately I have that cooking card up my sleeve for when I decide to come out with something decent. Black pepper pork blade steak with a side of mashed potato, fresh poached broccoli and angel hair pasta with fresh tomato sauce was served in a jiffy once he came back. Kampungboy has always appreciated my cooking, especially the love infused dinner on our anniversary eve. LOL
The minimalist design of the interior reflects a traditional Japanese architecture. The dining space and wooden interiors appeal to those with a penchant for coziness and intimacy. It has an open concept kitchen that allows the chef to take the limelight away with all the slicing, tossing and flipping actions going on.
As starter, we order the spider maki, the crispy rendition of soft shell crab in the Spider Maki complement the rice and seaweed very well.
The miniature and reddish brown coloured octopus (chuka lidako) took some courage to eat but I found it quite delicious and not at all chewy. The thinly sliced seasoned scallop (chuka kurage) is crunchy and I love the welcoming hint of spiciness.
Our choice of taro sashimi is impeccably fresh and properly presented. The silky, custardy piping hot tofu squares in a clear soy sauce based sauce is absolutely delicious. How could I missed out my favourite, the yummy and healthy snack – Boiled green soy bean (Edamame)?
However, our assorted tempura was served lukewarm instead of pipping hot. We suspected that they made it in advance and piled them up because of the big dining crowd. It is soggy and greasy, a sign of old oil. The batter was not diaphanous but thick.
The assorted skewered grill (kushiyaki moriawase) was disappointing, they over grill the chicken, as it result in a hard and tasteless meat. I love to have my grilled chicken (yakitori) with some tare sauce (mixture of mirin, sweet sake and soy sauce) but it is not served in Rakuzen. The smelt (Shishamo) with huge egg sacs inside is utterly tasteless too. The grilled Shiitake Mushrooms is a total rip off too, dry and tasteless.
The unagi combines a rich flavor with an appetizing texture, crisp on the outside but tender on the inside. The flavour is too rich in fact, they must have splurge on the kabayaki sauce.
With a limited dessert selection, we settled for scoops of aromatic and macha ice cream and fruit platter.
The service was slow; we were informed by the serving staff that it takes longer time for the food to reach you after the first order was taken. Is it some kind of policy? Ambiance wise, Rakuzen has one of the most pleasant settings. The starter selection, sashimi selection and sushi selection was good but the same does not go to the skewered grilled item and tempura item. The quality of all you can eat buffet is not as good as ala carte. They adopt a more personal approach through their ala carte menu but it usually costs you a bomb. It actually varies across individuals, value for money or quality in food?
Finally, an obligatory picture of us. Find out more on our celebration last year here.
Rakuzen Japanese Restaurant
Address
Block B, Lot 2A, Chulan Square, 92 Jalan Raja Chulan
50200 Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Telephone
+603-2145 6200
Posted by Precious Pea on August 29, 2007 at 9:01 am
Happy Anniversary and wishing you both many many many many, ok la…ENDLESS more to come.
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Posted by Blur Angel on August 29, 2007 at 9:18 am
Happy Anniversary !! do u mind can i please know where did u get your dress from ? it is awesome! it looks gorgeous on u !
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Posted by Lynn on August 29, 2007 at 9:31 am
Happy Anniversary!!
CityGal I think you look really good in short hair.
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Posted by x# on August 29, 2007 at 10:20 am
ohh..happy Anniversary to u two sweethearts! Yar, agree that the service in rakuzen is darn slow due to the crowd. Hope u enjoy ur big day!
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Posted by xiu long bao on August 29, 2007 at 10:21 am
dat msg is from me, accidentally key in a wrong name.
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Posted by "Joe" who is constantly craving on August 29, 2007 at 11:46 am
happy anniversary guys! i feel rakuzen quality drop has dropped..buffet or not buffet..
and u remind me..i also got roughly less then a mth pls till its my turn..headache..dunno where to go…
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Posted by iva on August 29, 2007 at 3:13 pm
Awww…that was sweet…
Happy Anni and keep it up!
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Posted by sc on August 29, 2007 at 3:17 pm
happy anniversary! and many more to come!!:)
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Posted by KampungboyCitygal on August 29, 2007 at 3:24 pm
pea: haha thx a lot..i hope so
blur angel: haha ur eyes are so sharp..i din post a full body shot also..its from a boutique in Ipoh, a great deal too, less than singapore dollar 30
lynn: thanks a lot..it was my good hair day..but normally i had bad hair day n i dun even bother to tame it
xlb: yeah..the service was bad..wont let it spoil my mood
joe: yeah..such a waste..haha fellow foodies are more than willing to help up with some suggestions
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Posted by wmw on August 29, 2007 at 6:29 pm
Happy Anniversary to the cutest couple I know!
)
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Posted by tankiasu on August 30, 2007 at 1:44 am
Oh now bf back oredi then totally forgotten about your “spare tyre” lah! Grrrr…
Kekeke…but anyway, awwwww…congrats to both of u!
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Posted by Big Boys Oven on August 30, 2007 at 2:29 am
Happy Anniversary to you two…. don’t be naughty….behave…lol. Anyway it happens once a year…lol. Great to have know both of you!!!
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Posted by daphne on August 30, 2007 at 3:19 am
well done!! Happy Anniversary!
It must be a pleasant surprise to know he didnt have to work on Sunday! the Jap place looks great! =)
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Posted by MeiyeN on August 30, 2007 at 3:58 am
happy 3rd year being together!!!!!
so soooo happy for you and kgboy! when ya tying da knot? can’t wait for that…. hehehehe… oh by da way, sorry to hear that you didn’t really enjoy much of da rakuzen buffet.. during da time we were there, everything was in order and it wasn’t slow too.. maybe we reached there pretty late that afternoon and most people already left 
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Posted by ~Christine~Leng on August 31, 2007 at 3:25 am
Happy anniversary to da both of U! such sweeeet couple! Wishing u both eternal happiness and “sweetness”! Great celebration in Rakuzen with ur man! I can’t wait to go there soon!!!
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Posted by teckiee on August 31, 2007 at 7:39 am
sobb soobbb feel so lonely now. happy anniversary you two =)
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Posted by boo_licious on August 31, 2007 at 8:49 am
Happy Anniversary!!! So sweet of u to cook for Kampungboy.
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Posted by DailyPatNews on August 31, 2007 at 3:14 pm
Is next year gonna be first wedding anniversary instead?
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Posted by ai wei on August 31, 2007 at 4:26 pm
happy sweet anniversary to u both~ love is the power! sweet sweet! can’t wait to get myself in rakuzen, me n my bunch of frens have reserved our place on 9sept, cant wait!
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Posted by Jackson on September 1, 2007 at 2:56 am
Happy Anniversary!! Look forward for the wedding dinner ok??
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Posted by KampungboyCitygal on September 1, 2007 at 9:24 am
wmw: thxx..we r too old for the description of CUTE
tankiasu: mana ada? i everyday msn with u ok? haha
BBO: aaikkkz..sid is dirty minded haha
daphne: yeah i was so glad..i tot tat i’ll stay home and sober..
meiyen: hahah we still have a looooong way to go..not even working yet..yeah the service is horrible..:(
christine: haha thx a lot..i hope tat u’ll have a pleasant experience there
teckiee: awwwww..single or attached u can be happie with gd food rite?
boo: thx a lot..hahaha
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