Taste Of Authentic Japan - Summer Specialties

Taste Of Authentic Japan - Summer Specialties

• 9.16.2016

Pregnancy cravings? Yep, pretty much gotten it satisfied at Yakitori Dining Fukuda & Shitamachi Tendon at Evolve Concept Mall, Ara Damansara recently as they have just introduced their new summer menu that's available for a limited time period. Right now Japan must be experiencing the near ending of summer as they prepare to welcome Autumn in October but it's alright for us Malaysians to enjoy Japanese summer dishes anytime of the year because we are summer almost all year round lol.
Our afternoons have been blazing hot lately that i couldn't even survive one day without switching on the air conditioner but night time seems abit more bearable at least if not my electricity bill would have been over the roof. Thank goodness for office and shopping mall airconds lol :-P

 Belly full of delicious Japanese Food = happy baby

We know that Japanese wear traditional cotton robes called Yukata as it's more cooling but what do they eat during this excruciating summer period? Their typical hot dishes? Nope, no one in a sane mind would even want to go near that stove lol that's why most of the Japanese summer dishes are served cold like Somen (Rice Vermicelli)!

This is my first time trying soumen out too, there's just so many Japanese foods i have yet to try but slowly getting there and right now at least in my "to try" noodle list i can cross out Udon/  Ramen/ Soba & Somen, wonder if there is anymore that i've missed out on lol.

Somen noodles isn't a very common dish in our local Japanese restaurants as they are considered seasonal dishes but for those of you who are keen to give it a try you can now do so by heading to Yakitori Dining Fukuda & Shitamachi Tendon  but it's only for a limited time period so do take this opportunity to treat your taste buds to something cooling and tangy!

Would like to thank Oro team for the invitation to witness the Taste Of Authentic Japan first hand, but my sincerest apologies for arriving late due to unforeseen circumstances and i know in Japanese culture tardiness (& excuses) isn't acceptable :( 

Through this short demo and tasting session alone, i've managed to learn a couple of useful things like how you can make your own "pressed sushi" by using a recycled milk carton.
Sushi is sushi, just that presentation wise instead of your typical sushi rolls you can make them look like layer cakes instead lol.
I know the Japanese are very economical and environmental friendly people, but having to use a milk carton to make sushi is pure genius! Cost efficient sushi making tool you can get at home after finishing off your milk and yet presentation looks like it's been made by a professional, it's a good way to "cheat your (guests) feelings" if you are planning to make sushi for potluck gathering next time haha!

Taste of Authethic Japan has taught me the various ways on how to cook and enjoy soumen, followed by Yam as their 2nd main fresh produce highlight of the day, and last but not least meals are never completed without dessert of the day for this summer menu they have come up with a kyoto style parfait Matcha jelly made from real matcha (green tea) powder allowing diners to enjoy the rich taste of matcha with every scoop.
So if you are a matcha lover like me who can drink hot green tea everyday and eat any kind of desserts that has the word "matcha" on it, yes i am that hardcore lol then you might enjoy this mini parfait very much!
We need more hands on demos like this in order to properly appreciate these fine works of art! :)

Highlight product of the day- Somen 

It's tradition to enjoy somen during the hot Japanese summer, it's easy to prepare as it's quickly boiled and rinsed in cold water to cool down before serving. Think of this as your Japanese version of our local "bihun" except these are much more smoother and softer making it easy to slide through your lips as you suck it in. That reminds me of a crazy funny article i recently came across on RocketNews (my fav website for random Japan lifestyle updates) on how to "properly" enjoy somen lol under Sato-san's standards.

The first somen dish we had was served with steam chicken, shrimp, eel and vegetables followed by the next somen dish which was slightly different from your usual savory noodle broths as this contains lime in it garnished with steam chicken on top. Pretty tangy combo too, not something everyone can handle as it requires an acquired taste-bud to enjoy, for me i preferred the first one and a little note that the broth can be somewhat salty, so go easy on drinking it.

Followed by servings of assorted Japanese Yam dishes deep fried in light batter that resembles your typical tempura (fried batter covered vegetables/ seafood) except it's crunchy from the Yam's natural texture. By grating it, you are also able to obtain a slimy like thick broth called "Tororo" (not totoro lol) which is usually eaten as a side dish but also enjoyed as food toppings like how it was served to us with cold homemade chicken meatballs.

Japanese yams are high with various vitamins and minerals such as vitamin B1, vitamin C, calcium, potassium and many more!

Cool and refreshing fine noodles with steam chicken, shrimp and vegetables

Grilled Conger Unagi (eels) are considered as one of Japan's summer food too despite it being enjoyed all year round by locals with it's tantalizing sweet savory sauce dripping all over the unagi as its being grilled to perfection over the stove and watching our chef of the day turning his grilled conger unagi into pressed sushi along side with a sashimi version of it.

Made into press sushi topped with shreds of omelette 

Sashimi pressed sushi

 Kyoto style parfait Matcha jelly made from real matcha (green tea) powder 

All dishes were served chilled but surprisingly enjoyable at that state though some of us are used to the idea of certain savory dishes are usually served warm or pipping hot like example noodles or the meatballs. Nonetheless it was a great experience getting to try these summer dishes like a true Japanese without having to leave Malaysia lol, who knows that our country might soon be Japan's next home too as there's been tons of brands making their mark here and dropping hints on expanding to our shores like Family Mart, Atre and even Tokyu Hands!

So if you are curious about Japanese summer dishes, don't miss out this opportunity to try them out at Yakitori Dining Fukuda & Shitamachi Tendon, Evolve concept Mall, Ara Damansara.

There's ample parking in this new mall, so no excuse to say that this place is crowded lol but really, it's worth giving a chance and who knows that some of you might actually like them more than me (no way pfftt). Wouldn't mind dropping by for round 2, anyone wants to join me on a 'makan' date?

Taste Of Authethic Japan

Yakitori Dining Fukuda & Shitamachi Tendon 

G9, EVOLVE CONCEPT MALL,
Pacific Place@Ara Damansara,
Jalan PJU 1A/4, Ara Damansara,
47301, Petaling Jaya,Selangor.

Duration:  9th September to 8th October 2016


Also here's a Tsukemen recipe that you guys can try out if you do get your hands on a packet of somen at your nearest Japanese food market like Isetan/ Aeon/etc. But if you can't find any, bihun would be a good substitute as well since both textures are similar.

It closely resembles our local "Laksa" in terms of looks as the broth contains coconut milk, but rest assured that this dish is more Chinese than Japanese so won't have a problem enjoying and cooking something familiar lol.

Remaking Tsukemen (Cold Chinese Noodles with dipping sauce)

Ingredients:

• 50g Minced Chicken
• 1 (100g) egg plant
• 1/2 teaspoon each of grated ginger, garlic & Chinese chili bean sauce
• 200ml coconut milk
• 1 table spoon Thai Fish Sauce
• 1 table spoon Oyster sauce
• 1 table spoon oil
• Some coriander leaves

1. Cut the eggplant into bite size. Heat half of the oil in a frying pan and sautee the eggplants till its soft. Remove from heat and set aside.

2. Add the rest of the oil in a pot, sautee the ginger, garlic and Chinese chili bean sauce. Once the aroma begins to waft out, add in the minced chicken and continue to sautee until cooked.

3. Add the eggplants from step 1 and pour in the coconut milk, allow it to simmer for about 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it cool, garnish with chopped coriander leaves before serving.

Somen/ bihun
1. Boil a large pot of water, adjust the heat to make sure the pot does not boil over. Add in the somen (or bihun) stir around for roughly 1-2 minutes.
2. Once soft, immediately drain the hot water and rinse it under cold running water.
3. Best to consume as soon as possible as the noodles tend to stick to each other as time passes.

If you are in town don't forget to check out Kansai fair happening in KLCC concourse till next week! There's quite a number of foods from Kansai region (southern part of Japan) that you can try there. Of course expect to see tons of matcha blends, traditional sweets and of course there's even tour agencies there, where you can inquire more about kansai and the tour packages available according to our budget and interests.

Brought to you by Itadakimasu Fine Foods Co.

Bought some healthy rice flour cakes from the fair, might be a slightly pricey for a small roll but it's worth it! Not so sweet at all, unlike their average Japanese cakes this is so soft and fluffy too :)

Best kept in the chiller but can also be frozen if you are not eating them too soon, RM45 per 5 inch roll. Got my sweet tooth satisfied without overdosing myself with sugar lol. 

Missing Japan Dearly,