Genji

ZestPJ dot com and theQguides dot com.. ever heard of these two names?
Well, up to a couple of months back, neither had I.

ZestPJ is in fact thePJ Hilton's blog for its restaurants and bars, and theQguides is a beverage and food website portal.

The Qguides.com
How it Works.
1. Book online with its QuickBook system. It’s fast, it’s free and they have got loads of great eateries joining their lineup of bookable outlets.
2. Receive a confirmation via email and SMS within four hours, by 11am the next day, or 30 minutes before your dining time, whichever is applicable
3. You earn free points towards your next free meal.



Anyway, this time, Cumi&Ciki were called to review Genji, PJ Hilton's Japanese restaurant.

The other celebs present that night include, Qwazymonkey, LL, Craving Joe, the babes from RedFM and last but not least, the handsome Adly from Fried Chillies!

Look at Craving Joe, sniffing the lot he drew.
Uh, no Joe .., sniffing it will not miraculously change Paya Serai into Lafite.. (oops! I mean Toh Yuen:P)



Before we even start the food tasting, we were ushered into Toh Yuen for Mooncake Tasting.. how divine!
So what so great about the mooncakes at Toh Yuen? Well, for starters,
Chef Lee’s new "Four Seasons" mini snow skin mooncakes where each is creatively infused with the season’s freshest bloom!

They not only look delightful, they taste amazing due to the premium ingredients used that are less sweet, yet full of flavour. So far, they have 4 gorgeous flavours:

Lotus Spring - white lotus paste mixed with sunflower seeds.
Fiery Summer - numbing pepper flower, chicken floss, mixed nuts and a dash of dried chilli (my favourite!)
Autumn Fragrance - silky smooth, custard-like texture infused with aromatic fragrance of Osmanthus flowers (got for this if you like herbals)
Frosty Winter - essentially tasting like vanilla beans and orchids - it will take all your self control not to pop the entire mooncake in your mouth in one go.

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On to Genji!



Genji’s Head Chef Richard Teoh is an interesting man. Apparently he gets his divine inspiration through his yearly culinary trips to Japan and this time we were going to sample his Osaka inspired creations!

First up Osaka inspired sushi.
As you can see, they are distinctly different in shape from conventional sushi.
They are rectangle. The taste is no less exquisite. The fresh, sweetness of the fish cannot be disputed.
A lovely start to the dining experience.


Next up, the sashimi.

The fish is so amazingly succulent that just eating it with simple sauces such as shoyu soy sauce and wasabi are sufficient. Purists denounce the practice of mixing wasabi into soy sauce, saying that this dilutes the sharp hot flavor of wasabi. The last time I ate a dollop of wasabi in somebody's soba by accident, I nearly died. Shoyu soy sauce + wasabi for me, thanks!


Japanese style sautéed mushrooms, julienne tempura, and special salmon rolls - all Osaka inspired preparations were no less than perfect in presentation as well as taste.


As the night progressed, the girls got eating!
You can see the progression from cutlery to eating with hands.

Of course sucking the marrow/brains and life out of the lobster head is the best.. you agree?

The Head Chef, then wow-ed us some more, with his exciting tales of food and travel. What an interesting, talented man.


Enter Fratmustard!
Where did HE come from..?

I think he must have snuck in, inside the hair-bun of that babe from RedFM!
What a cunning lil fellow;)

Finally, the chef's Pièce de résistance.. the amazing deep fried battered oyster and the Kobe Beef.
Both equally unique in taste, both equally good.

Thank God we reached the grand finale of the night.. just at the same moment the battery in my Sony decided to go kaput..

Anyways, all in all a great night.
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The next day, I checked my email and saw that theQguides had sent out an email thanking me for my participation the night before, at Genji and asked me for my feedback on the restaurant I had visited. This counts for the free points I can earn towards my next free meal.

So guys and gals, don't forget to log on to theQguides the next time you want to book dinner for two or three or four.. etc.. the more the merrier!

Bon Munch.

Footnote:
* a big thank you to the girls from PJ Hilton/ZestPJ and FratMustard for hosting this wonderful dining experience
** also a big thank you to the Manager Amos for the way he arranged our meal so splendidly. Cumi has a big belly to show for it now. Cheers!

Add:
Genji,
No 2, Jalan Barat,
Petaling Jaya,
Malaysia 46200
Tel: 60-3-7955-9122
Fax: 60-3-7955-3909

theQguides and ZestPJ

ZestPJ dot com and theQguides dot com just recently organized a bloggers food review at Pj Hilton.
Incase your wondering, ZestPJ is the hotel's blog for its restaurants and bars, and theQguides is a beverage and food website portal.

The Qguides.com
How it Works.
1. Book online with this NEW! COOL! LATEST! QuickBook system. It’s fast, it’s free and they have got loads of great eateries joining our lineup of bookable
2. Receive a confirmation via email and SMS within four hours, by 11am the next day, or 30 minutes before your dining time, whichever is applicable
3. You earn free points towards your next free meal.


This is what you will see on the homepage of theQguides. Just Type in the name of the restaurant.. and you are on your way.



Anyway, the restaurants reviewed that night were,
1. Genji
2. Toh Yuen
3. Paya Serai



The people involved were: babe in the city kl, bangsar babe, places and foods, The Nomad Gourmand and cumi & ciki (us!)

As we drew lots for our dinner venue, Cumi & Ciki and Places and foods, got Toh Yuen.

So, off we went with 'Places and foods' to Toh Yuen.

Fred, the Sous Chef with his magnificent smile. He tells us that the latest promotion/novelty for that month is the 'claypot'. Claypot what you say? Basically claypot everything.. any meat you can think of , was up for the eating, in claypot style. Being typical red meat eaters, we could not resist the claypot beef.


Wobbly, cartiligous and meaty, like an ample Botero model before liposuction, the beef was divine. I ate this is silent reverence, just happy to be shoving each succulent piece into my grateful, gaping, maw.

The signature Toufu. Fantastic texture and taste. Slightly crispy deep-fried outer, with soft toufu center tempered with some crunchy bits, of well.. crunchy bits of tiny things you put in toufu. (They cannot tell you what's in the signature toufu. They COULD tell you.. but then, they'd have to kill you).


The soups. Not a fan of the sharks fin, we had the scallop alternative instead. All good and I especially liked the fact that the soups were not too salty or laden with MSG.

The night was progressing really rather well. Amidst stories from the lovely couple of 'Places and Foods' of skydiving and hot air balloons, we felt a warm glow of pleasure, blanket us, insidiously.. not unlike how dusk gives way to complete nightfall. Maybe it was the wine, but the company was excellent too.



Century egg with slices of abalone. My two most favourite food items teamed into one spectacular dish. Fred, the sous chef, is a genius. The only other coupled food that could top this would be sea urchin + foie gras.. TRULY!

One last look at this beauty before this goes into my, erm.. yea you guessed it.. gaping maw.

Halfway through the night we take a break to play with Frat (Frat Mustard), and chitchat with our hosts.

The rest of the dishes eventually became a blur. All I can say is that each subsequent dish, topped the one that preceded it.
The Broccoli, abalone, Sea-cucumber. Healthy yet tasty.

The cold water Cod fish makes its appearance. Also a hit at our table.

Snow peas from snowy twin peaks.. no? Well, I am assuming so, otherwise why call them snow peas right? But seriously they name them snow pea, because of their tendency to grow at the end of winter, just before the last spring freeze. These voluptuous, crunchy, little beauties can be covered with snow during the time, but still keep right on growing. (hence the name.. got it?)


Finally, the moment I had been waiting for since sitting down at the table.
Dessert.
Double boiled YIN WOR! Bird's nest! .. Fantastic.

If I had gone home and died that night, I would have died a happy person.


Other delicious desserts (Tong Yuen), but paled in comparison with the Bird's saliva .. for sure.

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After dinner, the chill out session and post mortem begins at Uncle Chilies.


Superwilson, working the floor. A real lady's man la, this one... :P

Also the lovely babes from PJ hilton and our host from theQguides.
Click here, ZestPJ dot com and theQguides dot com , for more information.


The Nomad Gourmand and Bangsar Babe, all bring out their dancing shoes.

"Dance, little lady dance.. "

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At the end of the night, we go home.. back to the places we came from. What a great night out.

The next day, as if to tell you that they take their job seriously, I found that theQguides had sent out an email thanking me for my participation the night before, and asking me for my feedback on the restaurant I had visited. This counts for the free points I can earn towards my next free meal.

Life is good!


Add:
Toh Yuen Chinese Restaurant,
No 2, Jalan Barat,
Petaling Jaya,
Malaysia 46200
Tel: 60-3-7955-9122
Fax: 60-3-7955-3909