Friday, June 4, 2010

Rokumeiken, Bukit Damansara

Rokumeiken reminds me of one of the mom & pop neighbourhood joints in suburban Japan where everyday dining is the name of the game. These diners are almost always a little worn, a little dated, a little grubby but the domestic warmth within is easily slipped into like the embrace of a loved one.

And while we're getting the game on, Hanshin Tigers Rules OK!
Or more aptly, Ō-ō-ō-ō Hanshin Tigers! Fure-fure-fure-fure!


Only Anchor beer is available. At RM11 a pop, we should’ve just wised up and gone straight for the sake.


The Specials board touted the Daikon Sarada. Fresh and tart enough with the routine wafu dressing – not exceptional, but we gladly polished it off anyway.



The lady also recommends Oden as a house special so off we go. So glad we ordered this. The winter quotidian saps in us rejoice in the warmth and nourishment of this stew.



Hotate & Kinoko mushroom pizza with gyoza skin as base, topped with cheese and roe. I am not a major cheese proponent but even I would have appreciated the use of a better cut of cheese rather than the processed Kraft singles.


At this point, it dawned on us to peruse the sake menu and settled for the Namagyozo. This was light and rejuvenating. If we can't have Tokyo summers, we can have chilled sake!


At this point too, we were comfortable enough in our own skin to want to pile the grease on and so ordered the Tori Age Oreshi (deep fried chicken with sour dressing). Fair enough. I particularly liked the vinegared dashi dressing.

Komochi Shisamo was the last to arrive and went the fastest. I like this one description I read about it here: "Shisamo is a type of horny actively reproductive fish." What's not to like?!

We were a tad surprised at the tab of about RM142 for two but put it down to our shameless neglect of price checking. They also do hefty and reasonably-priced dinner sets.

Rokumeiken
67 Medan Setia 1
Plaza Damansara
50490 KL

11 comments:

Sean said...

ahhh, baseball. despite leaving EVERYTHING to the imagination, baseball uniforms are still alarmingly sexy when outfitted on the right guys. and those guys on that calendar look so right, i know how the shishamo must feel! :D
that oden looks like the perfect meal at the end of a long week at work. i guess the other good thing about this kind of place is that their cooks have probably spent years, if not decades, churning out such dishes, so you know you're in the safest of hands!

Anonymous said...

rather small portions for such a hefty sum!

Ciki said...

oh.. great find.. how come u didn't suggest here for drinking and food..?! chis :P

meishean said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
meishean said...

I'll tell ya where you can get heaps of shishamo for a fraction of what you paid. Any Tesco in Thailand! They'll even deep fry it for you on the spot. Eat your heart out Rokumeiken!

Kenny Mah said...

Oh oden! Reminds me of a cold, rainy night in Ginza being warmed up by its hot steam and clear broth and delicious ingredients... :)

UnkaLeong said...

Ooo....nice. Should have popped by here instead of Decanter (small potions!!) :)

minchow said...

Sean, I want one of them calendars. Actually three of them -one in the bathroom, one at the work cubicle and the other one in the car! :-D

Yogahui, I know, shocker right?! Appearances can be deceiving!

Ciki, plenty more of drink & nosh sesh to come dear! We'll eventually make our way here :-D

MS, that is a great tip, esp w Bangkok coming up next month! Thanks!!

minchow said...

LFB, our Japan love is never going to stray too far off from the blog is it? Rombongan Cinta Jepun!

Unka, but Decanter's got its charm too! It ain't Japanese by any means but cheap, big, beery... Malaysian hospitality at its best!

Big Boys Oven said...

hahahha I always fascinated with all this small size fish, taste awesome! :)

Bangsar-bAbE said...

If I'm not mistaken, they do pretty affordable lunch sets, right?

But RM142 for what you had is quite pricey, as there wasn't much food.