Shio Sushi @ Pandan Indah

Finally...a slightly higher end sushi restaurant (that's not like Sushi Mentai or Sakura Sushi) has opened up in my neighbourhood, Shio Sushi @ Pandan Indah...and I'm pretty ecstatic after my maiden visit.

Although I can't help but worry for them as I found the restaurant almost empty (there was just another table occupied) on a weekday (Friday) lunch (and I was there at peak lunch time at 1pm...and we even managed to park at their reserved lot).  I would have thought there'd be a bit more crowd from office workers during lunch time...but I guess the (higher) prices are not that affordable for the majority type of working crowd here (who aren't typically white-collar workers).

Notwithstanding that, we started with the Salmon Ikura Don @ RM28 as our first dish and when it arrived, my first impression was that the portion looked rather small (luckily, we ordered an extra dish for sharing).

The bowl was filled with slices of thick, fresh salmon sashimi as well as fairly juicy ikura though I would have liked if the salmon roe was slightly bigger in size but, at the price of the don, there's really no cause for complaint.  Besides salmon sashimi and ikura, there were also two small slices of tamago which was tastily done.

The dish for sharing is chef recommended from their signature series, the Shio Signature Roll @ RM12.  I could see finely shredded cucumber inside and crispy batter over sushi rice and nori sheet (it was a pretty basic sushi).

Nothing too spectacular with the taste of the roll (can't expect much also at that price) but the one thing I did notice was that the rice has slight tinge of (very light) brown.  On checking their FB, it seems they season their sushi rice with akazu which is a traditional Japanese red vinegar...rumoured to offer a naturally sweet with a much smoother, less harsh taste than regular rice vinegar.  Certainly decent in taste and the fine crumbs of batter were very crispy.

I zeroed in on the beef straight away and got myself the Saikoro Steak with Mini Tempura Set @ RM45 and was bowled over by the magnitude of it (it even had more dishes that the photo in the menu!).

Let's start with the mini dishes...it had a small plate each of potato salad, spicy tuna, including a miso soup and cawanmushi, with watermelon as dessert to end the meal.

There was also a mini salad of crunchy shredded cabbage, cucumber slices and wedges of cherry tomatoes tossed in a refreshingly light mayo dressing.

The side dish was the mini tempura with two batter-coated shrimps, one shiitake mushroom and one brinjal that were light tasting and super crispy.  A rather successful tempura, if you ask me, in terms of taste and crunchiness, accompanied by a traditional dipping sauce typically served with tempura.

Now, onto the main of saikoro steak featuring bite-sized beef that has been cut into cubes.  I was not asked my preferred doneness but when the dish landed on our table, I breathed a sigh of relief as I could see that the centre of the diced beef was still very much pink.

Cooked to medium rare (perhaps that's their default doneness) and tender with a good sear on the outside, they were extremely delightful for beef that price.  They were cooked in a savoury, delicious sauce with stir-fried vegetables of cabbage, red and green capsicum, onions and mushrooms.

My Personal Opinion

I'm so glad that a higher end (slightly only!) Japanese restaurant has finally landed in my taman compared to the usual lower priced Japanese outlets we have here that are highly popular.  Some may even consider this not affordable for a typical family meal but that's because they're probably not used to the even higher end Japanese restaurants elsewhere.  I actually think they're not high end or high priced at all.

Based on what I tried on my maiden visit, I'm 110% sure that I'll be back...very soon (to try other dishes)!  But as I'm writing this, I'm already thinking of having the saikoro steak again coz @ RM45 not only is it value-for-money, the portion is very generous and filling too (I needed help to finish, so the portion is certainly good enough even for a guy or one with a big appetite)! ^_~

Shio Sushi

48 Jalan Pandan Indah 4/6B

Pandan Indah 

55100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 012-693 6136

Poppy's Great Escapes

What has my Pretty Poppy been up to lately?  Well, for one, she made a great escape recently (well, not once...but a few times).....and had the adventure of her life for 3 hours! O_o

When was this?  On a Sunday morning when we went to church and returned after breakfast.  I'm not sure if I was the one who didn't latch the lock properly in her cage or she accidentally pawed it open.  That was a scare.....even though she came running back to the house the moment our car arrived (clever girl to be able to recognise the sound of our car engine or the opening of our gate...Cookie was the same!).

It was even scarier when we learned about the appearance of a black snake from our resident chatgroup.  A resident said it may be a cobra and that they enlisted JPAM to catch the snake but it escaped through the sewer.  Even more frightening was when a neighbour shared that there seems to be less stray cats loitering around our neighbourhood! O_o

The picture of my sweet Poppy being swallowed by a snake sounds really frightening (of course, my husband purposely wanted to scare me more by saying that if the snake crawled into the cage and swallowed Poppy, you know the snake would not be able to crawl back out, right?  Omg, the vision of a bloated snake (think Anaconda or like those we see on Animal Planet) is such a graphic vision that it gives me the goosebumps!)...that I've since added a failproof mechanism onto the latch (an S hook) that'll act as a safety latch to ensure it'll not be opened accidentally however hard she pushes or paws at the latch.

Of course, I can also be the cause of it if I forget to put that safety latch back on...but since that's the second lock (and the S hook is very visible if it's left hanging on the side of the cage and not put on), I hope that'll reduce the chances of it not being locked properly (after all, surely I can't be that unfortunate to not lock both latches).

Actually, this was not the first time that she made a great escape.  She has done it before as there was a previous incident when I didn't put the latch properly.  The next I knew (and heard) was the loud fighting sound of two cats at it.  I rushed out to find both cats under a neighbour's car and tried to break up the fight.  Poppy was cowing in fear in a corner (well, so you know who's the loser here).  Once I managed to chase the all-black female cat away (that's how I know female cats fight one another too), she took the opportunity to run around and enjoy her freedom.  It took me (with the help of my neighbour) like 45 mins before I managed to catch her...adoi!

Her other great escape was when she was in the house and somehow I must have not closed the door properly.  It slide open by itself (probably due to the wind) and opened a small gap in which she escaped.  When I saw the door slightly ajar, I called out her name immediately and when she didn't answer, I knew she must have run out again.

I ran out immediately after her and found her trying to get into the house opposite.  No wonder lah, she chased a female cat into the compound of the house (she didn't know how to get in through the gap at the side of the gate).  She was pawing the gate frantically trying to get in (very clear who was the winner this time!) and I managed to grab her instantly coz she was so focussed on trying to get at the cat.  She meowed so loudly (and tried to make a break from my grasp) all the way home.  She was obviously not happy being taken away when she was having the winning hand (or paw, in this case).  Naughty, naughty Poppy.....lol!  

Well.....and that was that to her few little adventures to the outside world (or were they misadventures).....and her brief taste of freedom.  Glad to report that there have been no more such escape incidents since! ;D

Poppy: Hey, by the way, did you notice my new collar.....cantik tak? ;D

It's custom-made you know (from my mommy's sister-in-law).

Have a great weekend, everyone!