Part-time Food Critic - Miyako Sheraton Subang

Last night my parents and I went to try the Japanese buffet dinner at Miyako Sheraton Subang because it is apparently better than Nagisa, Sunway Resort Hotel's Japanese buffet. The most notable difference between the 2 buffets is that Miyako's buffet is an ala carte buffet whereby you order direct from the menu and they'll serve the food to you while Nagisa's is your free for fall buffet table style.

The ambience in Miyako is alright. However, there are hot spots in the restaurant. I was really sweating it out in there until I moved a little to my left to be closer to the air-cond. The food there is not too bad. Certain things are quite good while others aren't. We started off with some salmon sashimi and sushi. I can say that the salmon there is definitely very fresh and the sushi is quite nice coz they really compact the rice. The wasabi is also fresh and good. But I only had the salmon because my parents aren't really interested in the rest so its unfair for me to judge the rest.

The tempura they served was quite good to be honest. However, we only tried the ebi (prawn) and soft shell crab tempura. I have to say that I CLEARLY enjoyed their tempura. We had 2 plates of ebi tempura and 3 plates of soft shell crabs. *drools* Gosh... I really love the soft shell crabs. The best thing is the tempura is freshly fried when you order so it comes warm. The tempura is DEFINITELY one of the things to look out for.

Their teppanyaki is quite alright as well. Their beef teppanyaki tastes fine but its just that I found it WAY too well done for my liking. I prefer my beef to be medium to medium well at best. We also had salmon, squid, clams, sea bass and mixed vegie teppanyaki. The salmon teppanyaki is quite good because they make it the way I like it best which is cooked on the outside but partially raw in the middle. The sea bass was VERY poor because it wasn't really cooked and hence the meat was a bit tough. Our first round of teppanyaki clams was EXCELLENT because the clams were HUGE but our second round had normal small clams instead. The mixed vegie is pretty normal lah... nothing to shout about. All in all, the taste of the teppanyaki in general is quite good.

We had 2 helpings of baked cod fish which we quite good as well. Nicely done and baked. However, the unagi we had kind SUCKED! My fave jap food of all time is beef sukiyaki. But I have to say that their sukiyaki there was a huge letdown. The soup was super sweet and the only had 2 measly slices of beef and it was like lacking in ingredients. Sukiyaki was a total disappointment. On the other hand, their garlic fried rice is not too bad while their chawanmushi wasn't good. The cup was SUPER small and it had so little egg custard in it. They did not have many options for their desserts and we tried their green tea ice cream which i found too sweet and the texture was a bit different than what I'm used to.

In conclusion....

Pros
Tempura
Garlic fried rice
Sushi & sashimi
Teppanyaki

Cons
Sukiyaki
Dessert
Unagi
Chawanmushi

I'd give the whole experience a 7 out of 10 because I really super enjoyed their tempura and teppanyaki. I also think that if you're a big sushi/sashimi fan, it definitely is worth your time and money.

Wish for the best.....

Recently I've made many decisions that I really don't know what the outcome will be. I don't even know if I've made the right decisions. Maybe I did or maybe I didn't. Only time will tell. I've been given a lot of slack for some decisions that I've made and I plan to live with it. If I live to see the consequences of it then so let it be. I'll put myself out there for my friends to tell me in my face that "I did this to myself" or "I told you so". I really doesn't matter anymore if it reaches that stage.

I've lost someone who was once a very close friend, I've gained a new good friend, met many new friends/acquaintances and felt my friendship with another grow stronger. I wonder how will these things turn out? Shall we all just wish for the best and wait and see? :)

Valentines Part 2

Tomorrow will mark my 4th year in a row that I'll be spending Valentine's Day as a single man. But I'm not complaining. I've never been one to celebrate Valentine's Day. Honestly, not to be sour grapes or whatever but Valentine's Day has been so commercialised these days that it is now power struggle between retail outlets more than anything else. Even restaurants have jumped on the band wagon to only serve "Valentine's Day Set Dinner" with an increment of 100% in pricing. Probably the 100% increase in the price JUST cause its Valentine's Day is because the restaurants had to think of the best way to cheat their customers money on that day. So the extra money you're paying is to congratulate them for a job well done. :)

Anyway, I really believe that Valentine's Day is not about the flowers you send, the gifts you buy or even the dinners you have. The only important thing about Valentine's Day is the person you spend it with. It doesn't matter if I get a toothpick as a Valentine's present, it definitely won't matter if dinner is by the road side eating Char Kuey Teow and I definitely won't mind if all these are done 1 week before or even 1 week after as long as the company is there. You can send me to Italy to have the BEST italian food and give me the best gift money can buy; it doesn't account for a thing if the company is not right. The best things in the world just can't compete with a hand written card from the 1 you really care about.

At this point of time, the best Valentine's I can wish for is just a simpler dinner and some time alone with someone special to me. Doesn't have to be something fancy pancy or expensive. Its the company that matters and that's the truth. :)

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is just round the corner. I for one do not see the importance of Valentine's Day because I feel that it's silly to especially celebrate your love for one another on only 1 day. If you ask me, I feel that everyday that I spend with a loved one is more special than a Valentine's Day. Why the extra significant 1 day? I believe that valentines can be "celebrated" at any time/place. It doesn't have to be the 14th February every year.

Numb

I once loved you....
I once hated you......
I was more than once, hurt by you.....
But I always came back; because I still loved you....
You always knew I'd always be there....
You knew that I'd never leave......
You knew I would always come back.......
You've always taken me for granted.....
Yet I was stupid enough to say I didn't mind....
As time went on; your actions wore me down......
Even the Great Wall would crumble; if you rammed it continuously....
My love which was always there faded....
My hatred surpressed.....
My hurt forgotten......
And I began to feel numb.......
I began to feel nothing for you......
As though you no longer existed.......
No more hurt, no more hatred, no more resentment.....
And definitely no more love..... no more friendship.....
Just a void...... a black hole........
My heart is numb......

Out with the old; in with the new

At some point in life, we just have to totally let go of the past and seek the future. Sometimes there is just no point in holding on anymore. We just have to reach out our hand to grasp the future. All these while I feel that I've done all I can to make sure that my past will always be part of me, but I guess it just isn't possible. Under current circumstances, I had to release my past into the abyss. Although letting go something that was part of me for so long did hurt a lot, but it just had to be done and what more can I do but to look into the future now.

With that being said, I do like what I see in the future and I hope things will work out the way I want it to. I can see that the road ahead will lead me to somewhere great but I'm not too sure if I can get onto that road. As much as I want to be on that road, but I might have enough money to pay the toll. We'll just have to see how things go. One thing I'll have to admit is that I doubt I'll be successful but I won't go down without a fight. We'll see. :)