Sushi Zanmai @ The Gardens

This is my second time dining in Sushi Zanmai at The Gardens. We arrived a little earlier (12.30pm) to avoid the long queues. The last time I was here, we had to wait about 20 minutes to be seated as the place was really busy with customers.

We were seated at a table for 4, but asked for a table change 5 mins later because the woman next to us kept coughing (and never bothered to cover her mouth!). So inconsiderate! Please keep your germs to yourself woman. Luckily, the staff was able to seat us elsewhere.

We ordered the chuka idako (baby octopus-RM6.00), my favorite! It was really nice (and tasted really fresh) and it was quite a big portion. Sashimi was also very fresh, 3 slices for RM6.00. The waiter recommended the soft shell crab okonomi-yaki (RM12.80) -it's a Japanese savoury pancake with egg, onions, topped with "soft shell crab" and shrimp roe. We didnt like it; firstly, it didnt taste very nice and secondly, the soft shell crab was almost non-existent, it was more like flossy skin. So disappointing. I was going to order a soft shell crab temaki but since we ordered the okonomi-yaki, I had the unagi temaki (RM3.80) instead. I also had the chawanmushi (Japanese egg custard - RM4.80); it had a really silky texture and one of the best I've had in a while. To complete our meal, we had ebiko sushi (shrimp roe - RM3.80). Sushi is good for filling one up!

From top-bottom(sashimi, chuka idako, okonomiyaki and ebiko sushi)

All in all, it was a good meal. Food was fresh and presented well. Service was prompt and good service for green tea refills. Good place for a quick lunch.


Location: Sushi Zanmai, T-217 3rd Floor, The Gardens, Mid Valley City, Lingkaran Syed Putra, 59200 Kuala Lumpur. (next to Borders / Robinson's side)

I cooked : Oriental oxtail soup with root vegetables

When thinking about soups, one of the first to spring to mind is oxtail soup. There are various versions of oxtail soup that exist. But the common property of the various types of oxtail soup is the fact that it is the perfect comfort food to reenergise the body and provide some much needed warmth. I did some research on various types of oxtail soup and decided to invent my own version of oxtail soup which has strong oriental influences mainly from chinese and korean cuisine. It is a relatively simple dish to prepare and is really flavoursome.

Oxtail soup
Preparation time: approx 2 hours
Serves: up to 4 persons

Ingredients
600g oxtail
2 carrots
1 whole radish/daikon
2-3 large onions
2 tomatoes
2 large stalks of spring onions
salt
pepper
2 tbs korean bean paste (doenjang) or miso
1 tbs korean red pepper paste (gochujang)

1. Firstly boil some hot water in a pot. Place the oxtail in the water and boil for 2-3 minutes. Remove foam that forms on the surface of the water.
2. Clean, peel and chop the carrots, radish, onions, tomatoes and spring onions roughly.
3. Fill water in the pot until it covers the oxtails and bring to a boil.
4. Put in the radish and cover pot. Boil for about 10 minutes
5. Put in the carrots and onions. Cover the pot and boil for about an hour.
6. Next, put in the bean paste and pepper paste. Ensure that the paste is dissolved in the soup properly. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Optional : If you do not want to use the bean paste/red pepper paste you can substitute it with beef stock for a milder, 'beefier' taste.
7. Put in the tomatoes for the last half hour of boiling and the spring onions for the last 5-10 mins. You can start preparing the rice at this point.8. Serve the soup with rice or any other side dishes of your choice.