Gym gyminy

Okay:

Classic snatch: 75 kgs
Power snatch: 70kgs
Classic C&J: 85 kgs
Power C&J: 80kgs

Snatch Pull: 110kgs
Clean Pull: 130kgs

Front Squat: 120kgs
Back Squat: 140kgs

Press: 20kgs
Push Press: 50kgs

My denials are hopeless

Over the course of this CNY,
My brother commented that I look fat at the reunion dinner (I was wearing a white shirt).
My friends commented that I look fat at the open houses (and I thought my pants made my legs looked slim).

Now, one of my gymmate said that I look fat on Thursday when I went back to resume training (I finally retorted that I had been binging during CNY).

Reality is such a cruel blow.

2nd Time Around (Another Omakase)

Starters: Salmon Roe (on White Radish Shaving) and Vegetables in Bonito Sauce (please discount the magazine photo. I had to wait for my Omakase)

Love the Salmon Roe. If you can get the portions right, 1 part roe to 1 part carrot shaving if the perfect balance to this dish. Just wish that they had more roe to mellow out the spiciness of the carrot shaving.

Bonito in a type of sea creature? (I forgot if it was fish, seaweed or something else). So the sauce was made from its stock and the vegetables was really fresh since it didn't soak up too much of the Bonito sauce. Perfectly Bitey, not crunchy.


Sashimi: Fugu, Toro, Sweet Prawn and Cuttlefish sashimi
Sorry, forgot to snap a photo of the dish, but it was a combination of what I had last month, all plated on a dish.

Still love the fugu as usual. This time, I think I have got the knack of it by clipping some of the red radish shavings and shallots with the fugu sashimi before dipping it in the sauce. The magic potion here seems to be 1 part fugu, 1/4 part shaving & shallots dipped in ponzu sauce for the best effect. (Disclaimer: results may differ based on your preference or if you know the correct eating style).

The other sashimi was up to par and the cuttlefish sashimi was scored on one side and sliced to about 1mm thickness, which makes for an interesting texture in one's mouth.







Soup: Clear Soup (Bonito Soup Stock) with Prawn Dumpling and Vegetables
Much better soup than the one I had at MIGF. The prawn dumpling was meaty (no fillings, just prawn meat all the way).
The vegetables have also soaked up the soup, making them juicy (or should I say soupy?) when eaten. And the deep flavour of the bonito stock is much more pronounced here.



Steamed dishes: Vegetables and Cod Fish in Sweet Sauce, and Cod Milt (That should be read as sperm for those not in the know)
As one can see from the photo, the two slices of Cod were steamed and then boiled in the sweet sauce. Vegetable were plated on the side and a generous heap of Cod Milt on top.

The vegetable here were very crunchy, and if they soaked up enough sauce, you would think you are eating edible sugarcane chips! (buzz me if you have never chew on a sugarcane before).

The Milt looked like a mass of soft coral and taste almost in the same way as the fugu roe. The outer sac is bitey and yielding; once you burst through that and the milt spills out onto your tongue, you taste a sudden rush of coconut gelato before it melts quickly down your gullet. (For an interesting result, trying breaking one of the milt sac and coating the gooey goodness with and vegetable and sweet sauce)

Having been double cooked, the cod meat here soaked up all the heartiness of the sweet sauce, complimenting the tenderness of the meat itself, which breaks up even on the slightest pressure from your chopstick. I love this dish.

Grilled Dish: Grilled Cod, Prawn, Lotus Tuberoot, Chestnut, Sweetcakes, Smoked Salmon Sushi and Black Beans.
Okay, this may sound like a lot to digest, but you can just go around the world with this dish.
The Cod had a stronger bite in it's meat this time. The sweetness provided by the chestnut, sweetcakes and black bean was good to balance the savoriness of the Cod, prawn and smoked salmon sushi (note the pale pink of the salmon, the chef pointed out that it has been smoked the japanese way, which produces the unique colour that it has)

Oily dish: Deep Fried Pufferfish
We did the anglerfish last month, so this month it is the pufferfish's turn in the hot oil.

Using the same part of the fish they employed for thier chabu-chabu-porridge dish last month, the chef managed to get more meat out of the bony pieces with this dish. The meat itself was much lighter than the anglerfish (hence, no need for any japanese lime to lighten the fish at all). Some of the bone was fried to a crisp and crunchy enought to bite and digest.

A good dish (now if only I could turn my mouth into a specialized fugu eating machine to get some of the hard-to-get-pieces. Must learn how to eat fish head from my father).


Main course: Salmon Claypot Rice and homemade Miso soup
Claypot chicken rice has got nothing on this dish. (still with the magazine, I see)

If the flakes of Salmon look really small to you, that's because they are. The meat that they used was so rich that the flavour permeated the rice, even with such small portions. The only drawback to this dish was the dryness of the rice since I am used to much more wetter, gooier rice from most hawker stalls (with the accompanying burnt to a crisp rice at the bottom of the claypot, which was practically missing in this claypot; so there is somesort of trade-off between the two).

Interestingly, the reference to homemade miso soup was the blend of three different miso paste that was used as the base for this soup. Believe me, it tasted different from the miso soup you make at home with the supermarket miso paste.


Dessert: Strawberries and Melon (Notice that the magazine has turned up for the 3rd time?)
Not the sweetest strawberries I have tasted so far but tangy nonetheless. The mellowness of the Melon is just the right thing to help you end this meal on the right note.





Chef Ricky Kamiishi was not in house (he took the day off to relax, so I will let him go, just this once). I had the pleasure of talking to Tsuchi, the sous chef on duty and Nobu, the manager regarding the dishes. I was very interested in the preparation of the sweet sauce and the bonito stock, which they did in a traditional manner.

PS: Anyone want to join me on their next omakase?