Ichiban Boshi - Sunway Giza

When you have a craving for sushi around Kota Damansara, and you'd fancy a quick lunch, pop down to Sunway Giza. There are a couple of food offerings around the area, and Ichiban Boshi is probably one of your better options.

The staff are surprisingly attentive and once you get pass their enthusiastic but less than authentic welcome, you shall be ushered to your table. As with many sushi restaurants, there is the ubiquitious sushi conveyor belt running around the centre of the restaurant, with your usual offering of nigiri and sushi.


The sushi is decent, with the fish quite fresh. The tempura's batter was a little thick but still crispy and not overly oily. I had the Double Niku Udon. When the udon came, it was pipping hot but a little salty. The noodles were firm and made good slurping. The beef balls and beef were well marinated, but again a bit on the salty side. With unlimited refills of green tea, and about RM30 a person, it's a good place to come for a decent meal when you are sick of hawker food.

Original Nasi Kandar Kayu - Dataran Sunway

I think it's about time I write about a good local food spot, rather than just high end steak restaurants in Chicago. Honestly, when we get back home, we want to eat rice. Original Kayu has now become an institution, starting out in Penang and spreading it's wings out to KL as well as other regions such as far flung Kota Damansara.



Just round the corner from the office, if you have the craving for Malay Mamak food, honestly this place is pretty darn good. However, because it is better than your average Nasi Kandar, it comes at a price too. Briyani is RM4.50 and the fried sotong can set you back another RM6.00. All in all, a plate with briyani, sotong, mutton curry and veggie can be as dear as RM18.00. Nevertheless, despite the heavy price tag, it gets 4 out of 5 stars for taste. It is Malaysian comfort food in it's truest sense, just like pasta to the Italians and fried chicken to the Americans.

Drinks are reasonable on the other hand, and in full honestly, it is a decent place. It's actually very clean, with no real smell to the restaurant.

I am inclined to think that you're allowed to indulge once in a while.

Kawatoyo Restaurant - Narita, Japan

A clean break away from steak and right into another country, Narita is a quaint little town which largest feature is the airport right smack in the middle. Otherwise, it is famous for one regional speciality, and that is unagi, or eel. It is perhaps unsurprising that his city in itself like so many other Japanese cities would have it's own unique characteristics as well as local specialities.

A walk down the alleyway lined with shops and restaurants would take you to the temple, and past the temple is what I would like to call the "Unagi" district. There is this one shop in which no visit to Narita would be complete without. The decor is simple and traditional enough: wooden panels with bamboo mats and highly polished wooden tables. There is no English name to this restaurant though. The name of the restaurant comprises of two Japanese Kanji characters proudly displayed above the shop front.



Right in front, you can see their chefs preparing live eel. This is not for the squeamish but obviously in Japan where quality and freshness are of paramount importance, this is certainly a display to reassure their regulars and the tourist that they are serving up nothing but the freshest produce.

The crowd is a lot smaller in weekdays so that would be your best bet to go for a meal. If you happen to be there on a weekend it would certainly be far more crowded, with snaking lines both for lunch and dinner, with the dinner rush starting as early as 4pm. The crowd is predominantly Japanese with the odd foreigner lucky enough to know the existence of the place. After being sat down by a beaming hostess, you'd be asked to order. At this place, there is one option and a couple of variations in what is a speciality restaurant. There is simply no other reason to order anything else though.



Served in it's lacquered box on a bed of the most fragrant Japanese rice available, the eel was grilled to perfection. WARNING: After you taste this, Unagi Don would never taste the same. It is simply brilliant. Accompanied by the free flow of hot ocha or Japanese Green Tea, it is a true Japanese dining experience. The service is ever smiling, ever polite and ever accommodating despite the language barrier. After you're done, in the true tradition of Japanese efficiency, there is no hanging about when there is a crowd waiting to be seated. You're up, shuffled out, and profusely thanked upon your exit. Smile and bow. You don't want to be the odd gai-jin out.

Chicago Cut Steakhouse

Perhaps I have an obsession with steak, or the appeal of the Windy City steakhouses are just too much to resist. Coming back for more it seems as I made my way down on a surprisingly warm January evening to one of the new kids on the block, the Chicago Cut Steakhouse. Located along the banks of the Chicago river nestled within 300 North Lasalle which is a large office block.

Entering in jeans and a casual jacket, I was initially intimidated by the suited crowd at 8:30 in the evening. However, the host was extremely accommodating and they ensured that I would have an enjoyable evening. My server for the evening was Dave, and he really took the time to ensure I wasn't too lonely on my 2 and a half hour long solitary gastronomic journey.

One thing that immediately struck me was their iPad wine list. You could view the wine, the description, the reviews and even the location of the vineyard came up on Google maps. An ultra-modern twist to their extensive and expensive wine list. Very impressive. I opted for a glass of an absolute winner, the Orin Swift "The Prisioner", the red wine that won my heart at David Burke's Primehouse.


The first course was unorthodox, and I had it at Dave's recommendation. It's not actually on the appetizer menu and more commonly served as a seafood main. It was what was called a "Tristan" Tail. A Tristan is a smaller species of lobster found off the coast of South Africa, and air flown daily to the restaurant. It was unlike any other lobster I had tasted. Simple enough, served with liquid butter and lemon, it has a sweetness as well as a beautiful rounded taste that cannot adequately be put into words, but rather experienced. That was a fine start.


For the main event, the first time round was a non-starter. Despite it's young age, this restaurant is already famous for their USDA Prime Aged-On-Site steaks. Unfortunately the first of my Bone-in Filet Mignon was overcooked, coming out a good medium, rather than medium rare. That was swiftly replaced with my new steak coming out piping hot and perfectly done. The favour was unbelievable, and certainly one of the top two steaks I had in Chicago, the best probably being Gibson's. The mushrooms were equally wonderful.

The downpoint unfortunately was the dessert. The Apple Cobbler came out piping hot, but had way too much flour for my liking. Though it wasn't overly sweet, it was a large portion and possibly not up to the standard of the other two courses I had.



After dinner, Dave gave me a personal tour of the kitchen and the ageing room, which was a great little touch to end a very unique dining experience. This is a special little steakhouse, and if they could just work a little more on their pastry menu, then I believe that it would have a great and rosy future on the Chicago dining scene.

Chicago Cut Steakhouse
300 North Lasalle
Chicago, IL 60654, United States
(312) 329-1800