1.

Turning on my computer at home is like being in a new relationship. “Will I get lucky tonight?” sums it all up. And right now, it looks like my hymen is going to stay intact for a while longer.

The recent elections has taught us one thing – more power to the people. With flexed muscles, bulging biceps and a boost of foolhardy egocentric power, I now propose a vote against my broadband service provider.

I apologize for the lack of updates. Blame it on them. I’ll be glad to give you their number. I hope you like elevator music.

2.

When I travel, I rarely buy souvenirs for myself. But wherever I go, I can’t resist one thing – hats. I am not talking about the kind of hats those high society women wear to Ascot. No, no, absolutely not. My hats are far more eyecatching, I assure you and I’ve learnt to wear them with more finesse than an elephant can muster (which isn’t saying a lot, but I never did claim to be graceful).

Naturally, my green hat which I bought at the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin came in useful on St. Patrick’s Day. I need to find more “green” events to parade this hat, but for that day, we maximised the 10 Euros worth by rotating it among ourselves.

Anyway, there were a lot of Irish folk at Mont Kiara last Saturday as Malaysians renounced their nationality for the sake of a free beer. The St. Patrick’s Day celebration, hosted by Guinness, saw lots of food, drinks and leprechauns with chinese accents.

For more stories, check out Boolicious’ take on the event.

Just hours before the partying, we were having a more subdued affair at the newly opened Fukuya at One Bangsar. I must say that I went there with some apprehension. When it comes to Japanese food, my first criteria is always freshness, and a close second is creativity, like in the pairing of foods and their presentation. How can I not have high expectations of Japanese food, especially taking into account the extravagant prices we pay? My first time at Fukuya (at Jalan Delima KL) was when we celebrated Paprika’s 23rd birthday. A sweep of the billowing black curtains at the main entrance revealed a restaurant akin to a rich man’s home complete with courtyards and secret rooms. But the food was so ordinary that we felt a little shortchanged.

However, I do believe that everyone deserves a second chance. Boo had tried the lunch kaiseki and had given it a glowing review. Affected by her enthusiasm, I agreed to have lunch with her and Splashie Boy at the Bangsar outlet. I ordered the Mini Kaiseki which seemed quite a steal at a little over RM50. The appetiser came beautifully presented. A delicately flavoured sea-urchin tofu that literally melted in the mouth, a grilled clam, a couple of rather chewy pieces of squid and plum-simmered ice fish made up the first course. The soup was a very clear, subtly flavoured clam soup with a hint of flavour derived from the thinly sliced leeks. My sashimi platter was a generous serving of thickly cut pieces of fish, and I thought the most outstanding one was what appeared to be white tuna which had a nice creamy taste. The next serving was a beautifully paired combination of grilled salmon with pickled young papaya which resulted in a combination of sweet and savoury with a bit of crunch. I loved the simmered dish – beef that literally melted in my mouth as I took every bite. The tempura was crunchy and a delight to eat. And the shokuji dish of noodles made for a simple ending to a meal that got me gasping with delight at every bite. The dessert that day was fresh fruits and a lime sorbet that was very refreshing.

Fukuya is now a firm favourite for me as far as kaiseki lunches go.

Fukuya
One Bangsar, 63B Jalan Ara,
Bangsar Baru 59100 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel : 603 2282 1111
Fax : 603 2282 5959

Operation Hours
[ Lunch ] Noon – 2.30pm
[ Dinner ] 6.30pm – 10.30pm

Also see SC’s review here.