Shuraku

Clockwise from top left: pork and chicken skewers with raw egg; yummy tamago roll topped with seared salmon and chilli oil; aromatic pork belly skewers; pork and kimchi salad with lettuce; bacon wrapped cherry tomatoes

I am counting down the days to childbirth. It seems like only yesterday that I discovered I was pregnant and yet here I am, with only 7 weeks to go. Am I having anxiety attacks? Hell yea! Its not so much that I'm not ready (too late now isn't it?!) to be a mum, right now the main focus is getting through the labour. Paaaaiiinnnnnn! I'm just very chicken when it comes to pain. I need a jab when I visit the dentist, needless to say, I will need a big jab when the time comes. Gulp. To get my mind off things, I think about all the things I will be able to eat! Blue cheese, coffee and sashimi! Oh sashimi, how I have missed thee. Eating Japanese food just isn't the same. Having said that, I didn't feel like I was missing out when we dined at Shuraku last night. It was my first time at Shuraku and let me just start off by saying that the food was intensely satisfying! The restaurant is located on the second floor above Maybank. Despite the vague frontage and it being a Sunday night, the restaurant was pretty happening with families around the neighbourhood. We were told the restaurant recently expanded into two lots and with that, a whole new menu. We had many different yakitoris all of which had an amazing charcoal aroma. More often than not, I find yakitori in Malaysia reeks of oil or they are just over seasoned. Which is why I've never been a big fan, until now that is. Love the pork belly! Love the bacon wrapped cherry tomatoes! Love the pork and chicken skewer with raw egg sauce! (Unfortunately I couldn't eat the egg but the skewer was lurvelee!)

Bari really spoilt us and the dishes just kept on coming. I liked the tamago roll with lightly seared salmon and chilli oil on top. Sweet, salty and spicy! All of us really liked the tofu with unagi on top. We all agreed that it didn't quite taste like tofu and there really was something about it that reminded us of foie gras! Minus the guilt, what a good substitute. What I was especially happy about was when we were presented with hiyashi chuuka. I love this dish. I used to eat it all the time at Dontaku. Its done a little differently here but it tastes just as good. Very light, clean flavours. Just the thing after all that grilled meats. To end the meal, homemade goma ice cream. I don't know much about Izakaya food but I do know that I haven't quite had a meal like that in Malaysia before. I can't wait to go back to try more dishes! Thank you Bari for being such a lovely host.

Clockwise from top left: token vegetable - asparagus skewers; crispy unagi and cream cheese maki; the simple and cosy interior; pretty butterfly plates; my favourite - hiyashi chuuka!; and the wonderful faux gras dish.

Shuraku is located at 13-2 Jalan Solaris 1, Solaris Mont Kiara off Jalan Duta Kiara, 50480 Kuala Lumpur. For reservations, call +603-6203 0561. Only open for dinner from 6:30pm. Closed on Mondays.