ENAK XTRA AT TORIDEN - MONDAY, 14 JANUARY 2019
You may wonder why a vegetarian is doing the write up for a Japanese Chicken Hot Pot Restaurant. Well, this vegetarian was delighted to be presented with a leafy salad, with a tasty dressing, then soft soy bean chunks with tasty soya sauce and rice and deep-fried vegetables. The finishing touch was an ice cream. Why? Because if you recommend the restaurant on Facebook (as you surely will), you get a free dessert!
What is this place you ask? Well, it is the Toriden Restaurant on the Table 4th Floor, Isetan The Japan Store at Lot 10, 50 Jalan Bukit Bintang. Our hostess was none other than the acclaimed cookbook author Kyoko Rabbetts who was able to guide us through this new food experience. She told us that this Chicken Hot Pot kept everyone warm and brings back fond memories of family and home in the cold winter months.
Nineteen Enak ladies sat at tables of four or six with a clay pot on a small gas fired stove before us. The chef had poured dashi which, to the uninitiated, is a fish, chicken and vegetable broth in which one simmers all kinds of things. To one side of the stove were five small pots containing a variety of pastes. One was chili-based, another was sweet and sour, another spicy and sour, another was the Japanese citrus Yuzu based and the last two contained different flavoured salt. With the condiments to dig into (or spread out) was a glass flask of Dashi to be poured over almost anything you liked. It seems Dashi comes in many different flavours and strengths and if you like Japanese food you will surely like Dashi.
The several waitresses were kept busy as this was a Japanese Chicken Hot Pot experience (HAKATA MIZUTAKI). Every few minutes they were providing different vegetables and many chunks of chicken for the ladies to cook for themselves. Judging from the ‘oohs and aahs’ from the ladies and the fact that most said they would not want to eat dinner, I believe we can say that the Enak Xtra at the Toriden was a huge success. During the lunch, we learned that January is the Japanese New Year Month and the 14th happened to be Kyoko’s birthday which made it even more special. Thank you, Kyoko for introducing us to this special Japanese meal. It was a fun Enak Xtra.
Review by Judyth Gregory Smith
***The Enak Xtra event which may happen once or twice a year is for Enak members who want to contribute by hosting an event in their homes or other venues. These may be from a wider regional area than the scope of Enak objectives, enabling members to share and experience cuisine from other areas beyond Malaysia or the region.
This is an extra event and not the monthly Enaks which follow the Enak guidelines of promoting the appreciation of Malaysian food, which is interwoven with the diverse cultures of Malaysia /or may have a historical significance”