Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Feel-Good Jap at Akane, Hartamas

How great was the long Raya weekend? Hands up all those who think we should have a four-day weekend every month??!

After three days of reckless indulgence, we decided to revisit our inspiration from moderation and hit for similar contemporary Western cuisine turned Japanese at Akane in Desa Sri Hartamas for a meeting that wouldn't involve alcohol.

Over thirst-quenching iced Mugi-cha, we discussed this rare, exceptional influx of positive vibes clouding what was affirmatively one of the best times of our little lives. Despite some broad concerns about the danger of slipping back into our excessive tendencies, we were delightfully smothered by the energy, possibilities and conviction that this interval offered.

Akane was peopled by Japanese patrons and staff, their delicate brand of service a gust of fresh air from lame Malaysian standards. We started with the Akane Salad, because we were being good girls. The slices of grilled unagi provided the punch to an otherwise scanty salad made up of mostly iceberg lettuce.

I had some trouble deciphering the rather perplexing menu (which included modular options of sets) but settled for Katsu Pork spicy curry rice, on account of my very long journey to trip to Japan end of the year.

I had pooh-poohed the spice level when the Jap wait staff warned, "It's very spicy" but upon first taste, understood. The spice from Japanese curry hit only a few seconds after settling on the tongue and once it did, out poured the sweat and the tissues! Halfway through meal, nose was dripping, sweat was pouring, I was a mess!!

Omu Raisu (Omelette Rice) with Tomato Sauce. Akane offered a choice of either Tomato, Curry or Demi Glace (Beef stock sauce).

The rice had been fried liberally in butter and a wealth of various types of mushrooms, scallops, shrimps and squid. This plate was cleaned!

And to part, before we embarked on a walking tour of Hartamas commerce, Akane had these table standees of messages which baffled and bettered us at the same time. I have control of neither my thoughts or actions so if someone can show me the way, that would be great!!

16 comments:

Sean said...

after that uber-healthy salad, the battered pork and fried rice are the perfect illustration of how good girls go bad! :P
gotta say, i read that weak-strong-thoughts-actions blurb three times, and i don't understand it. maybe it was mistranscribed? or maybe i'm one of those weak ones! arghhh.

Kenny Mah said...

Hehe, I love the usual Japanese food we get anyway - even their fried stuff feels refreshing somehow - and this is one step better cos it's... waitforit... Feel-Good Japanese! :D

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

no alcohol? rare indeed

beetrice said...

dang....I want me that omelette rice!! :D

err...isn't katsu mean pork in japanese already?

ck lam said...

An very different & interesting Japanese food outing.

Paranoid Android said...

Lovely. Should have tweetpixed your sweaty face as a testament to the spiciness of the katsu! Ha ha... Glad you enjoyed your Raya break!

Christine said...

I was hoping for posts on your alcoholic indulgences during the raya hols! hahaha!

Anonymous said...

hands up. feet up. heads up. and whatever else. 3 days also sufficient, for the time being. to imagine 4 working days per week!!!!

HairyBerry said...

weak is he who permits his food to control his actions...that's me alright...

looking at your pics, i cant help but feel that the curries and fried rice have been localised. in a good way of course, cos it's more flavourful that way. and yes, spicier!

sc said...

woah, spicy japanese curry thats really spicy? now that's a first (and a must try!)

Bangsar-bAbE said...

Funny...I never knew Jap curries were spicy at all.

Rebecca Saw said...

Me too! Me thinks Jap curries shouldnt be called curry at all!
But to hv ya sweating buckets..haha..
now that calls for an entry into my "must-try" list!

minchow said...

Sean, I think blurb means something about how thoughts control action or summat... NOT the kinda thing to be deciphering while faced with a bowl of overflowing curry and battered pork HAHAHA!

LFB, so glad to have met you finally in person! I think I could die quite happily if I was restricted to a purely Jap diet for the rest of my life!

Joe, yarrrr tell me about it! Gotta control sikit!

Beetrice, I think katsu refers to the deep-fried panko crust patty part, coz they also had chicken katsu etc. But pork's the only way to go for me!!

CK Lam, yeahh! You prob can't fit this into your already packed itinerary this trip round... next trip then!

Paranoid Android, nooooo... not a pretty picture, that! Always considered my spice tolerance as generally above average but this humbled me considerably!

minchow said...

Christine, ya know what happens when the vino starts pouring? The camera starts to sh-sh-shake and the next morning, all I find are blurry out of focus, random images!! Not blog-worthy!

J2Kfm, agree... baby steps right? 4 day work week was supposed to hv materialized a decade ago! Think about how many days we've lost!

Nic, I benchmark Jap curry to the very fabbo Cocoichibanya chain... I'd say as far as authentic goes, this one is as close as it gets in KL. Not quite Cocoichi though, admittedly

SC, yes they actually have 2 versions at Akane - one regular Jap curry and one spicy one. Go for the spicy one!

Bangsar Babe, neither did I... but you have to try Cocoichibanya if you're ever in Japan... gosh I can't stop plugging them! You can pick spice level from 1 to 10. I've only gone as far as 4... it is THAT potent!

TNG, it doesn't hit you right away! I was pretty smug when I had the first taste and said to my friend, bah this is not spicy at all! Then 2 seconds later, I was a proven wrong!

ai wei said...

@_@ jap curry is spicy? i never know that. those i had before were overpowering with curry spice but sweet

kampungboycitygal said...

yeah we over indulged over the long weekend too! i need some feel good food