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
It comes to my surprise that he doesn’t have to work on Sunday and I get to hung with him the whole day. Feel like stuffing ourselves up, we headed to Rakuzen at Chulan Square for a little taste of Japanese elegance. The exquisite taste of Japanese food often comes at a price but not for the buffet lunch priced at only RM 55++ per head.
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
