jin loves to eat: Inagiku ♥ ♥ ♥

Monday, December 27, 2010

Inagiku ♥ ♥ ♥

I love the smell of Shangri-La Hotels.

Do you know that you can actually buy the fragrance at the hotel gift shop?

Essence of Shangri-La. That’s the name of the scent.

I love the smell of Shangri-La Hotel even more when there are pretty Christmas trees lining the lobby and a choir singing beautifully on the staircase, serenading hotel guests with sweet, angelic voices. Such joyful Christmas spirit in the air.

We celebrate the birth of baby Jesus with a delicious and big Japanese meal. The food is so heavenly I am sure Papa Joseph and Mama Mary will forgive our gluttony.

Hello there, yummy creatures of the sea!

See you later at the dining table!

4 Legs of Hokkaido Crab
Unfortunately, our first dish is a disaster. The crabmeat is so mushy it disintegrates as soon as it touches the dipping sauce. We are not paying a fortune to eat mashed up crab here (and it’s really no way to celebrate Jesus’ birthday) so we call the manager’s attention and soon the Japanese chef is at our table, apologizing sincerely for the crab boo-boo and promising not to bill us for the legs. He comes back in a bit to announce that he just cut up a new crab with better meat and asks if we’re interested to order some.

1 Leg of Hokkaido Crab Leg
“Okay, we’ll try one,” I say, not really too excited about crab legs anymore after having had 2 pieces of the quaggy ones. It is like what the Chef has promised, the meat from this leg is firm and sweet, like how Hokkaido crabs are supposed to be. Although still a far cry from the best I’ve had, I guess this will do for now.

Ama Ebi and Hamachi – the freshest and the sweetest

Deep Fried Ama Ebi Heads – I don’t know why other people just throw away the heads. Hello?? Have them fried and munch on them (yup, the whole thing!) for the ultimate shrimp chicharon experience.

Uni – fresh, sweet and buttery. I notice, however, that the wasabi they use for the sea urchin is not fresh like the wasabi that comes with the hamachi and ama ebi. Our waiter explains that this is because the sea urchin is sourced locally and is relatively much cheaper than other sashimi so they use a cheaper wasabi with it. Ngek.

Soft Shell Crab – amazing how light the batter is. Crunchy and sinful.

Suzuki Miso Yaki – the grilled sea bass with miso paste tastes wonderful even if it is slightly overcooked and dry at the edges.

Foie Gras Steak Teppanyaki – OH. MY. GAAWWWD. Can I just say, next to Antonio’s,
this is the best goose liver in all the world. So good it’s deadly.

Wagyu Sirloin Steak Teppyaki – now I know why they serve this in tiny 200g portions.
No, not just because the meager size already costs a whopping five-something grand, but because this beef is so rich and fatty you can only eat a few cubes before your arteries clog up and you die happily in heaven. Japanese Wagyu. This is what I live for.