If there is any Japanese reading this, apologies if you are offended. We Malaysians would absolutely bristle if anyone said that nasi lemak sucks. So I get it.
My first experience with Japanese cuisine was when I was in secondary school. My auntie took my family to dinner where her family were hosting my uncle's Japanese colleague.
The table was filled with sashimi (raw fish), which freaked us out. We were very unsophisticated. My parents of course, gamely ate while me and YB1 (younger brother #1) abstained.
We kept downing Seven Ups to fill our stomachs and ended up having to visit the loo (twice). My YB2 who was very young then, was not so judgmental and happily ate the raw stuff. Luckily for us, they served a soup which we happily slurped because we were so hungry. LOL!
So dad's impression of Japanese food was raw fish, a very narrow view. He never had Japanese food again. Well, mum, who has had Japanese a few times, still does not favor this cuisine.
As for me, who (at the time) would rather starve than put raw fish into my mouth, I am now a fan of sashimi and Japanese food in general. I rarely find Japanese food disagreeable except for this one time at Menya Appare.
I had the Spicy Teppan Garlic Pork (with) Cabbage Set. I figured teppan pork should be tasty (as in teppanyaki).
You are given options to customize. Rice volume I chose small (good girl!).
I can't remember what spicy level I chose. It was that unmemorable.
I was very pleased when my meal was served.
It looked good, I love food served in a tray, but .....
This was pretty much boiled (yes boiled) cabbage and boiled pork embellished with a spicy sauce and half an egg, sliced black fungus and a sprinkle of what, peanuts? (yup, can't remember).
The sides - long beans with sesame dressing.
A scoop of mashed (tinted pink) potatoes.
Soy sauce, cili padi and grated garlic. I needed more of this.
Miso soup.
Well, my conclusion is, when at Menya Appare stick to the ramen. It's very good and you can't go wrong with any of the ramen on the menu.
Dear friend, your food here looks interesting...the only reason I say this is because I am not familiar with everything. I love rice!!! I cannot fathom raw fish! I have never had sushi and it doesn't look at all appealing to me!
ReplyDeleteThe closest thing I have ever had would be smoked salmon, which I love. However, eel, and who knows whatever else they eat in sushi looks and sounds gross to me! LOL!
I have had Japanese steak, when I was in my early 20's, so this was over 40 years ago, and it was good! It was properly cooked and tasted very nice and was tender. I like medium rare, not well done and not rare. Kind of in between. It was quite good!
Mashed potatoes I am very familiar with and love! Sometimes when I make mashed potatoes at home, I will add a finely grated clove or two of garlic, or sometimes finely chopped onion. It is very tasty! The pink...not sure what that is in your potatoes.
I love green beans and asparagus, so I would most likely enjoy the long beans...but by themselves, without anything added to them expect a sprinkle of salt and white pepper.
When I was a little girl, my mother always used white pepper and this is what I grew up with. It is hard to find these days. But it is very good, and milder than the black pepper, also finer, kind of like a powder, but it is gentler and not as spicy as its black cousin. I love the white pepper.
I guess most elderly people don't know how to appreciate Japanese food so they just stick to Chinese food.
ReplyDeleteHaha, that post title is very misleading! :D Ya, unfortunately the generation before us, almost all of them don't like Japanese food (even my husband unless it's grilled meat). It's really surprising for a restaurant to turn out such good ramen but can't make any other Japanese food well. I think it's so wrong for Japanese food to be served with cili api (I think the Japs would cringe). As for the pinkish mashed potatoes, they probably added mentai to it. On the bright side, at least what was served looked exactly like the photo in the menu...lol!
ReplyDeleteHahahaha, you are so right when you say
ReplyDelete"That is not a fair statement. It really depends what you choose from the menu, right?"
😂 I couldn't agree more
I would be angry if I was served with that dish. The crushed peanut was totally didn't belong to this dish. >_<
ReplyDelete