Gyukingu Japanese BBQ @ Kota Damansara

Kuala Lumpur - I went to this Japanese Yakiniku restaurant that claims to be the best in KL.   Yakiniku is the Japanese word for “grilled meat.” Yaki means grilled and niku is meat.

What is Wagyu Beef?  I hear many friends say 'Kobe' beef is better than Wagyu which is actually wrong because Wagyu means 'Japanese cow or Japanese beef'.

Wa means Japanese and gyu means cow. This includes the famous Kobe and Matsusaka beef.
So “Wagyu” refers to any cattle that is bred in Japan or the Japanese-style.

Gyukingu beef

Australian beef

Australian Wagyu Beef means it comes from the highly marbled, ultra-rich breed that made Japan famous.  I also found out the Australian Wagyu beef grading is almost identical to Japanese beef grading.

In the Japanese system, the BMS scale goes from 3 to 12, with 3 being the basic minimum of marbling a steak should have, and 12 being a steak that is almost white with marbling.

The AUS-MEAT marbling system. This scale goes from 0 (no marbling) to 9+ (extraordinary amounts of marbling), the latter one being the highest grade. The Australian Wagyu grading scores are identical to the Japanese BMS scale, meaning an Australian Wagyu BMS 5 is the same as a Japanese Wagyu BMS 5. However, the Australian scale tops out at grade 9, and everything above it (scores 10, 11, and 12), are graded 9+.

I tried for the first time Wagyu grade 5 - it was so good - it melted in my mouth.

Wagyu grade 5

Marbled grade 5 beef over coals

Ed, Donny and me having a delicious meal

Umeshu

Octopus

Chicken gizzard

Pork over Enokitake

Shishamo

Stir fried glass noodles

Lastly, must have greens for dinner.

Stir fried chye sim

It was an enjoyable and delicious dinner.   

Dancing fish restaurant - Michelin Bib Gourmand

Kuala Lumpur - Dancing fish is considered one of Malaysia top 20 restaurants as recognised by CNN Food awards.  Dancing fish has also won numerous awards and accolades by Malaysia tourism award, etc.  So, I had to go to taste what so special about their food and especially their signature 'Dancing fish'.

Address:  Lot T120, T121 & T122, 3F, Bangsar Shopping Centre, 285 Jalan Maarof, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur, 59000, Malaysia

Only in 2023, the inaugural Michelin guide - Dancing fish restaurant was awarded the Bib Gourmand. 

Donny and me

Apetitizer dish

Seafood satay, Chicken satay, 4 pieces of taufu and a small salad dish.

Gulai Pucuk Paku

Pucuk Paku is Malay for edible Jungle fern sprouts.  It was a delicious dish with rich coconut milk.

Signature Dancing fish

This is a common Sundanese dish in Indonesia - called Ikan goreng Gurame.   It is actually Tilapia type of fish - there are hundred variants of this Tilapia species.

Soup Buntut

Soup Buntut is Oxtail soup.  It taste much delicious in Indonesia - I missed the Indonesian Soup buntut.  

Rolled ice-cream @ Bangsar Shopping Centre

Kuala Lumpur - A small ice cream stall had a novelty called 'rolled ice-cream',   I had to find on the internet what was this type of ice-cream and it turned out to be called 'rolled ice-cream' or also called 'Thai rolled ice-cream'.  Created in Thailand and now a world-wide ice-cream novelty.

Dragon fruit and mango

The dragon fruit and mango was sliced and cut into tiny pieces and the milk and cream pour over to make the ice cream.   Stir and stired till it is a thin slice on top of the -50 degrees metal plate.

Then the 5 rolled up ice-cream is put into a cup.  The taste is rich and creamy unlike usual ice cream. 

Hoagies on the Go @ Nusentral Mall

Kuala Lumpur - I went to this newly opened mall next to Hilton Sentral hotel - it was a short 10 minutes walk through the KL sental station.   It was a sheltered air-conditioned walk to the Nusentral mall.

This mall has 8 floors of incredible shopping, there is no need for me to go to Mid-Valley anymore - they have everything here at this mall.  Lunch time is packed with office workers and many of the restaurants are packed - so I went up and up to the highest floor and found Hoagies-on-the-go.  The food looks interesting so I ordered their Signature Hoagies which had chicken thighs, cheese, buttermilk sauce, greens, an egg and a sandwich.

Hoagie is American term for a sandwich made of a long roll filled with meat, cheese, and salad.

I researched and found out the difference between a sub and a hoagie.
With a sub, the bread is a softer roll cut all the way through and the top is separated from the bottom of the roll. With a hoagie, a harder roll is preferred and the roll is split and the contents (generally the same) are stuffed into the roll and folded closed at the completion.

Signature Hoagie

My first time eating a hoagie and it was too big to eat in one bite and all the contents were spilling out.  Furthermore, the buttermilk sauce was too much that it was dripping and making a mess for me. I think the sauce should be thicker.

Beetroot drink

Beetroot is packed with essential nutrients, are a great source of fiber, folate (vitamin B9), manganese, potassium, iron, and vitamin C.  It has numerous health benefits, including improved blood flow, lower blood pressure, and increased exercise performance.

SS2 Durians @ PJ

Kuala Lumpur - It is durians seasons and the stalls are abundant with durians.   The prices are also realatively cheaper than in Singapore.

SS2 durian stall

Mao Shang Hwang

Tekka durian

This Tekka durian is more expensive than Mao Shang Hwang.  Tekka durian has this strange 'imprint' in the middle of the durian.  It was really creamy and sweet.  After 3 durians between Donny and myself - I was extremely full and left the place very happy.  I had my Malaysian durian fix.

Long beach Japanese restaurant and bar

Kuala Lumpur - Since one of the restaurant that I wanted to go closed on that day.  Donny and I landed up at this restaurant.

BBQ 

We had lots of different meats -

Chicken Gizzard

Beef slices

Gyoza

Salmon Sashimi

Lady's finger salad

Iketeru @ Hilton Sentral Hotel

Kuala Lumpur - Just landed and my hunger pangs brought me to Iketeru @ Hilton Sentral.   Iketeru is one of the top 10 Japanese restaurant in KL serving the freshest seafood in a a very zen environment. Recognised by Malaysia Tatler as one of their top Japanese restaurant.

At lunch time, it was quite crowded.

Sushi set

Sushi

It was so good and delicious.   Then came the wagyu beef.

Wagyu beef

The beef was so tender and simply melt in your mouth.

Soup