Shabu Dinner with Shabuya

Jive Kitchen was invited.

Between packed schedule and unfriendly traffic, couple weeks ago finally we were able to visit and enjoyed Shabuya, restaurant specialized in shabu style with “premium angus beef” tagline. Thanks to goorme.com who gave such invitation for ‘tukang makan’ like us.


Once you step through reception desk, you’ll find white bricks walls dominate the interior while iron décor and hanging lamp accentuate warmth ambience. Most of the tables are spacey, enough for a family of 6 or more to sit comfortably. In fact, eating shabu always become communal ritual in fun way. We were hosted politely to a reserved table near window. Our table can accommodate up to 4 person, and equipped with electric infra red ceramic cook top. I like this kind of cook top due to its capability to provide stable warm temperature for longer cooking period.

Three kinds of Korean style appetizer served nicely in small array. Home made fresh kimchi, today chef selection of golden ball (meaty potato balls), and sweet potato glazed with caramelized sugar and sesame. I like their kimchi because of its fresh taste balance and crunchy bites between watery cabbage, spicy and sour fermented chili. The golden ball, rolled on bread crumb before frying, combine the crunchy texture, softness of potato and crumbly meat at the core.

Before cooking ritual begin, they served us several kind of dipping sauce, vegetables, plate of seafood, and appealing thinly sliced shiny red angus beef. Ponzu shoyu (citrus based sauce) come in larger bowl than usual, while gomatare (sesame dipping sauce) only served when you asked. Table default were chili powder and salt. Pak Kevin, the restaurant manager, hand us plate of triple yakume : crushed garlic, radish, and chopped scallion. He assists us to blend the ponzu with triple yakume to acquired better taste for dipping. The ponzu gets thicker with the mixing and gave bold taste while gomatare taste less nutty than usual. This ponzu sauce was tasty enough, once you realize in next session you tend to dip the beef and vegetables over and over.



At first, we wanted to try the broth without any dipping sauce to acknowledge its original flavor. The broth surprisingly taste good with slightly natural sweet meaty taste come from good quality beef and katsuoboshi broth. Electric stove worked excellent for those who want food texture and broth temperature stays on their peak. Vegetables still crunchy to bite, and meats still lean. In that way, you can enjoy your shabu for longer period without worrying for overcooked meals.

Later, with few drips from ponzu dip we try to continue the exploration for richer taste to come. It works, with the result we tried to dip most things into ponzu sauce. Some of vegetables went well with gomatare dip. Those who wanted hotter splash sensation, there are chopped chili and chili powder to fulfill your needs. We decided to keep eating with lesser dipping and enjoyed meat and vegetables original flavor. Seems nice to have relaxing family dinner here next time.

Shabuya
Central Park Mall 1st floor 113A
Jl. Let. Jend. S. Parman Kav.28
West Jakarta, Indonesia
Phone: +62 (21) 56985585
Opens: 09:00 - 21:30 (Last Order)

Website: http://www.facebook.com/shabuyaindonesia

Twitter: Shabuya_Indo

Nigiri Sushi Mold

Each time I went for sushi dishes, I'm always full of amazement with how the food presented. It is more than beauty, it is an art of a skillful sushi chef. And it took years to master. It shows dedication towards profession, which me as amateur chef will never have.

Fortunately for me, there are nigiri sushi mold sold in local grocery store. There are various shapes, from standard box shape, heart, round and many more. Sure that this mold won't match the work of a professional chef, but would definitely makes our sushi looks better.

We bought the box-shaped, and made 3 kind of nigiri sushi afterward

Instruction is provided clearly in the packaging. Whatever you want to put at the top should come first into the mold. Then fill in enough rice to cover up to the rim of the mold. The Kani Stick shown in bottom right is a little bit tricky, since the rice need to be pushed to fill in the space between the stick and the mold.

After the mold has been filled, press the lid gently to shape the bottom part. Remove the lid and flip the mold on clean plate, pressing gently to push out the sticky rice. Arrange it on the plate with dash of Wasabi, and you're good to go

We didn't forget our favorite traditional Maki Sushi. Unfortunately, there are no mold yet for this type of sushi, which leave us to satisfy ourself with slightly broken roll. Well... at least the taste does matter

Caterpillar Roll

If I worked at Japanese restaurant, I would be fired immediately for making this dishes. This thing was never been a favorite dish, even in form of Sushi. Well, my intention is to make another attempt for Dragon Roll, but I can't argue when my friend came up with the name: Ulet Roll, or in English: Caterpillar Roll


Learning from previous experience, I bought a relatively large Udang Pancet (Black Tiger Butterfly Prawn) for the tempura fillings. Cutting the tail of the first one, I arrange 2 of them in one roll, so that the head of the first prawn, and the tail of the second prawn will extrude from sushi roll.

It would be easier to use Tobiko, but inspired from Sushi Cooking Book I read few days ago, I decided to experiement with Ainori, crushed form of Nori sheet. We bought a ready-to-use one, which is not crushed, but shreded. Rolling the sticky sushi roll on top of the Shredded Nori.... there we got the Caterpillar Roll.

Well, at least we are successfull in making the head and tail of the Dragon, and it was a good experiment as well.....

(Suppose to be) Dragon Roll

We're not really in the mood for sushi actually. I strolled through old photos, among them are the Sushi Photo Session several years back. Then it came, a very inviting dragon roll. Tempted, I propose to make one to Kiko, which she agreed.

Rice were prepared as usual, but the Prawn was not. The recipe books make it easy to straighten a prawn for Tempura: using a toothpick. We only find out latter that toothpick was too short. Nevertheless, out of 10 prawn, we manage to fry 3-4 prawn, straight enough to be rolled in sushi. The rest of it goes with a traditional chili sauce :D.

Kiko laugh when I told my idea of using half tobiko, half sesame to cover the reversed sushi. "Martabak?", she said, referring to traditional food, where we can order different fillings for each half. I wasn't moved, and goes through with the plan....


OK, it wasn't look like a proper Dragon Roll. The prawn wasn't long enough for its tail and head to pops beyond the sushi. But as we chew it in, the taste made us happy enough. The white sesame is not a perfect match, black sesame might do better. The prawn, fried with a ready-made tempura flour, was great.

We still have another plate of Gyoza after that, plus some tempura prawn....

Scarcity of Nori

It might not makes the headline on the news, but the scarcity of Nori sheet last January has made us a little bit panic on one evening. We have Salmon and Chu Toro Sashimi freshly cut from our favorite sushi shop, and fresh Tobiko in hand, all might be wasted without Nori.

But this Japanese food are proven to be the most versatile food. Using a small leftover sushi, we made a small hand-rolled, topped with mix of Tobiko and Mayonnaise. When all Nori has been used, we made Nigiri Sushi - not the best Nigiri, but well, practice make perfect.


Kiko even make a hearted-shape Nigiri sushi, from the rice leftover :D. At the end of the day, we happily finish the plate.

Umaku Japanese Restaurant, Cibubur

The opening of Umaku Japanese Restaurant at Citra Gran Cibubur definitely adds some variation of taste in southern suburb of Jakarta - Finally a Sushi Restaurant worth mentioned. I myself never prefer a big restaurant to enjoy plates of sushi or sashimi, and Umaku fits my preference. It is small and homey.

That night we were seated at the sushi bar, where we can see the dexterity of the chef preparing our dishes. His friendly nature makes the whole dining experience more personal, as if we were served by friends at home.

My first order was Sake Sashimi. I believe that a good Sushi Restaurant should have fresh raw material to start with. And my first bite of the sashimi confirms that Umaku worth a second visit. "The fish just came this morning", Chef Uki said, while preparing our 2nd dish.

He then served the 2nd dishes, Grilled Tobiko Scallops. The scallops and tobiko is mixed with Mayonnaise, then grilled in round brass foil. If any competition for favorite dish, we would vote this as the most favorite food. The chewy nature of the scallops mix perfectly with Tobiko, and the Mayonnaise add the richness of taste to the dish.

Next came the Saba Sashimi. I'm not big fans of Mackerel, due to its look. But this one is definitely worth to try.

Our first sushi came in form of Vulcano. It is made from Kani stick rolled with sushi rice. On top of it is a slice of fresh salmon, then a mix of Mayonnaise and Tobiko. The roll is then torched, giving black notch from the burnt tobiko. Although it taste great, we feel that the sushi rice is a little bit soft.


A small plate was served before we can finish our food. Baby Octopus, dressed with red sauce and served cold, fresh up our appetite, which is pretty much used to the sushi and sashimi. Our next order then served: Inari Sushi and Tako Sushi.

Closing our dining that night is Spider Roll. We were slightly disappointed when ordering Matcha Ice Cream, which is unavailable, and we have to be satisfied with complimentary watermelon. But after such great food in a great atmosphere, who can be disappointed for long?

Umaku - Restoran Jepang
Citi Walk Blok CW 1 No.26
Citra Grand Cibubur
Phone: +62 21 84303732, +62 21 84303733

Photo of the menu mentioned here can be seen at http://www.pbase.com/bennyc/umaku

For The Love of Gyoza

Try serving a full plate of moist- neat pleated-oily-good smell of gyoza in front of us. Believe me, for less than 10 minutes you’ll find clean plate without any favor to wash. In Chinese dishes, we recognize similar dishes called Guo Tie, another long time favourites. My friend told me once, the difference between gyoza and guo tie was the filling. If guo tie consists more meat, then gyoza should reserved more vegetables. You can find another guo tie recipes from here.

I still remember my gyoza served with jigoku ramen at Ramen 38, a specialty ramen restaurant in Jakarta. Dipped in vinegar, ginger, and soy sauce, the smell and taste successfully hit me off . Later on, another free flyer gyoza recipes hanging on supermarket rack. I was mumbling to myself, why not? Fortunately when browsing through my finger food book, the recipes was also there so I tried to compare both and practice the combination. Here they are :

Prep Time : 30 min
Cooking Time : 15 min
Makes 35 - 45

250 gr pork mince
250 gr finely shredded and lightly blanched Chinese cabbage with the excess water squeeze out
60 gr fresh leek (or japanese chives: daun bawang wakegi)
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh ginger
¼ cup (60 ml) soy sauce (i used konbu-tsuyu --> see next pic)
1 tbsp rice wine
1 tsp sugar
35 – 45 gow gee wrappers (here you can find the gyoza wrappers in large hypermarket or japanese supermarket)
2 tsp ra-yu (japanese chilli & sesame oil)

Dipping Sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp black chinese vinegar
1 tsp ra-yu

1. Place the pork mince, chinese cabbage, leek/chives, and ginger in larger bowl and mix together. Add the soy sauce, rice wine, sugar, ra-yu, and salt (if necessary-remember: soy sauce is salty enough) to the mixture and mix together very well.
2. Place a gow gee wrapper flat in the palm of your hand, then using your other hand place 2 tsp of the filling mixture into the centre of the wrapper. With wet fingers, bring the sides together to form a half moon shape and pinch the seam firmly to seal it in a pleat. Press one side of the dumplings onto a flat surface to create a flat bottom. This will make the dumplings easier to pan-fry.
3. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the gyoza to the pan in batches and cook for 1-2 minutes on the flat side without moving, so that the gyoza become brown and crisp on that side. Gradually add 100 ml water to the pan and put the lid on. Steam for 3-5 minutes. Empty the pan and wipe it dry between batches.
4. To make the dipping sauce, combine all the ingredients in a small bowl. Serve with gyoza.

Our Tips :

1. Meat vs vegetables at least 1 : 1. You may add more vegetables if you wish (1 : 1,5)
2. You can make the filling a day before assembling the dumplings. Keep it on the freezer and it will lasts up to 3 months.
3. Blanching the cabbage also make it very watery. My mom suggest to chopped without blanch to minimize the excess water.
4. Be careful on timing to avoid overcook wrappers.

Good luck and have a nice practice!

Experimental Maki Sushi

Following our success at Nigiri sushi, and a small practice rolling sausage and bread, we finally decide to make sushi roll, or known as Maki Sushi. We have no time to buy the fish from our favorite supplier, so we use Kani Stick, Zuchini, Lettuce and some Tobiko. The bamboo mat (Makisu) rolled, the sushi cut, and we have our first Maki Sushi, topped with Tobiko.

We still have lots of cooked sushi rice left, so we decided to make another roll with slight variation – nori rolled in rice.

And we have a nicer look of Maki Sushi, although taste more or less equal to our first plate.

Gochisou-sama Deshita

"It was a feast!", the direct translation of the Japanese expression in the title of this post. It is usually said as appreciation when someone has a very good dining experience. When we taste our homemade sushi, we definitely have to say Gochisou-sama deshita to each other.

Sushi is one of the most complex food to really feast on. A good fresh sashimi is not enough when enjoying a plate of sushi. The term sushi means vinegared rice, which state the importance of rice for sushi. Finding a restaurant which is able to served the best sushi rice and sashimi is one in a zillion. So we decided to give it a try to make a proper sushi rice.

We trust our sashimi source to Sakura Restaurant, where we ate few months ago and happy with the salmon & maguro sashimi. Also thanks to a friend, we know which rice are good, a good vinegar, and the correct way to make sushi rice. The whole process took around 3 hours, from soaking the rice for 2 hours, cooking it in rice cooker, mixing with rice vinegar, then shape it to form nigiri sushi, topped with fresh sashimi.

The result is sushi feast enough for the day. The sushi rice is sticky enough without losing its texture when formed into nigiri. The rice vinegar need some tweaking by adding pinch of salt and ordinary vinegar to neutralize its sweetness. The thin layer of wasabi and slice of maguro/salmon give a real feast to your taste.

We are even more happier when we see the bill. The whole experience cost less than 1/4 of a decent meal at sushi restaurant. Plus that we have 2 meals instead of one.

Our Sushi Rice (Su-Meshi) Recipe
makes +/- 20 pcs

• 1,5 cup Japanese Rice (Kokuho)
• 3 tbsp Sushi Su (Japanese Sushi Mixture)
• 1 tbsp Vinegar (we used distilled white vinegar)
• Pinch of salt
• 75 gr chu toro (maguro)
• 75 gr sake (salmon)

Direction

• Soak the rice 2 hours in advance, then bring to cook using rice cooker. Water vs rice should be 1 cup rice : 1,2 cup water.
• When cooking was done, plug off the cable and start mixing the rice with sushi su, vinegar, and salt evenly to fold all mixture into the rice. Close the cooker lid and wait for 10 minutes.
• Spread the rice strictly over flat wooden base (we used “tampah” anyway) and let cool off. Start forming the rice with your hand comparing to fish size.
• Rub a small dab of wasabi over the rice, and press the fish firmly onto the rice. Served.

Tips

• If the rice sticks to your hand, wet your hand with mixture of water and white vinegar.
• Don’t worry if your su-meshi don’t look very neat. It takes at least 2 years practice in sushi kitchen restaurant.
• Trust yourself, and enjoy your try out.
• Wasabi should be assumed to have a very strong flavor unless otherwise proven (Translation: don't put too much wasabi between the rice and sashimi)
  

~~~~ Gochisou-sama Deshita ~~~~

Don't Judge A Sashimi by It's Look

A plate of salmon sashimi in the picture on the left probably the most unattractive salmon cut I have seen (Save for sashimi over the counter of Japanese supermarket). The color is blunt, the cut is not that fancy, and one can spot the skin of the fish on top of the cut.

But if one shouldn't judge a book by its cover, this sashimi cuts also deserve the same. The sashimi just melts in your mouth once you taste it, leaving a sweet sensation in the front of your tongue. It does not require additional soyu sauce to enjoy... in fact the soyu will ruin the whole experience. A pinch of wasabi is perfect match for this fresh sashimi.

The restaurant, Sakura is well known for its fresh sashimi. Aside from salmon sashimi, the maguro (Tuna) sashimi also a must-eat food in here. They also serve sushi, but nothing special about it. No worries if one does not like the raw food, the Zaru Soba will certainly a joy for your stomach. The history of Soba noodle dated back to Edo period in 17-19th century. We ordered Zaru Soba, Cold Soba topped with shredded nori and served with the dipping sauce (soba tsuyu). The preserved texture of Soba when served cold combines perfectly with the sweet-salty taste of the soba tsuyu.

Happy with the sushi and the soba, Sakura still serve a complimentary dessert of chocolate pudding. Before you leave, consider to buy some slice of the sashimi for enjoyment at home. Or get their name card, in case you want to have a sushi party at home. Don't forget to invite us :D

Sakura
Your personalized Japanese Restaurant
Jl. R.A. Kartini (T.B. Simatupang) no. 9
Lebak Bulus, Jakarta 12440
Phone: +62 (21) 7511193
Open Daily, 11:00 - 22:30