Kagen HotPot

 We always go to different restaurants for good food experience.  And since our “Papa Smurf” Alan is the owner of Hatsune Restaurant group we usually make choice towards his places.  Not that we get any special benefits or anything. It’s just that I personally trust his food quality and service. Plus two restaurants are just around the cornerJ So today I want to talk about Kagen HotPot.  It’s spring in town and by the summer time we might abandon this branch for outside places. HotPot is just too hot for warm weather.

  HotPot is traditional Chinese style fondue. The main point is the soup in the pot cooking right in front of you.  You simply choose the broth you like and raw food for farther cooking. In Kagen there are few different styles of broth: Chicken, Mushroom, Kimchi and Sukiyaki. Usually we choose either Mushroom or Sukiyaki.  Mushroom soup is more salty and less fatty and Sukiyaki is traditional Japanese souse-soup base, it’s a little bit sweet and sour at the same time and quiet buttery.  This time we took Mushroom broth.

Then after all the ingredients are chosen for cooking you make yourself some sauce for dipping. My personal choice is Madian (sesame cream sauce) with sesame seeds (love sesames), some garlic and a LOT of coriander. You can also add ouster souse, Kimchi spice souse or XO souse mix it with other cold adds such as reddish and chilies.

 Now comes the food. As you can see I just cant live without Edamame. Any Japanese restaurants I go these soya beans are my must haves. I can eat like 4 portions by myself. And all the stuff at Alan’s places know that. Then another “xiaochi” (appetizers in Chinese) are fired ginkgo nuts. Even thou it is told that it’s not recommended to eat more than 10-12 a day, it never stopped me to eat way more than that.

  For vegetables this time we took Doufu skins, greens and mushrooms. Enoki mushrooms are the must, since I alone eat at least 2 portions..  Now it’s time to put all this to the pot. It wont take much time to get it all ready so then the food fight begins. Get what you can out of the pot, dip it in the souse and enjoy.

  But don’t get that relaxed because next is meet! And hello to Strip loins, Rib-eyes and WogYu beef! If you eat with Alan and you were not exited about veggies its time to wake up and EAT! Take a piece of meat and dip it 3 time in boiling soup for medium well and 5 times for well done. Don’t hold it for long, otherwise it will be rubber as Gordon Ramsey would say. J

  Now it’s time to put some noodles in. we love Udun noodles (udun mian), Konyaki Strips (moyusi) and glass noodles (fensi).  Don’t forget to dip everything in the souse!

  It would be boring to eat everything only from hot pot so we mixed it with some other appitizers and  Yakitori – Japanese grilled food.

  On the top left its Vegetable Gyoza potstiks
(fried dumplings) and to it’s right Deep fried pork with Shiso leaf. On the bottom left – Yakitori beef with onions and to the right – Chicken-skin wrapped shrimps. The last is one of my very favorites! The wrap is so crispy and salty that you even forget that its skin!

  It wouldn’t be a La Familia dinner without our young star – Mason! He is the most adorable baby boy I ever seen! He is 2 and a half and he is extremely smart
J Just check out his bike and outfit! Little Fashionista!

  Now about meJ Since it was a 8 pm dinner I had time not just for quick change from work but also some photo shootJ But that was in the previous postJ

Hatsune Tasting

  Yesterday, 5 April, we went to my favorite Japanese Restaurant Hatsune for some Chief Tasting dinner. Before I get to the review part, want to say few words about the restaurant itself.

I consider myself very lucky in life and particularly for having so many interesting people around me who I do in fact consider my friends. And one of these extraordinary people is my close friend and owner of Hatsune restaurant group Alan Wong. I know him for a bit more then three years but we became close friends (there is actually La Familia, but I tell you later).This guy is great in everything. He is riding bikes, great photographer, has great taste in food and more importantly is amazing husband and father of almost two boys. (His wife Hannah is due in few weeks). He owns  five restaurants in Beijing (Hatsune GHL, Hatsune SLT, Karaiya Spice House, Kagen Teppanyaki and Kagen HotPot) and 3 restaurants in Shanghai (Haiku by Hatsune,  Kagen Teppanyaki and Kagen HotPot) And is about to open one new place in Shanghai. So on the eve of its opening he gave two dinners (for friends and for the La Familia) to present some new dishes he might consider adding to new menu.

   For the starters he presented a simple dish called Edamame, my personal favorite. It’s actually simply soya beans soaked in salted water. But this time with a twist! The La Familia was going crazy for awhile already for truffle salt, that one of our members Alice brought from US. We’ve been adding it to everything: Mac&Cheese, PopCorn,  French Fires. And I was on and on about using truffle salt for Edamame for long! Finally I got what I wanted! I am not saying that Alan-San made this dish on my account, I am just saying that I am happy)  (Oh and I apologies for the foto quality, my LED light did not arrive yet and the lightning was not good. Plus I had to make all shots without flash, otherwise they would’ve been very over exposed. )

  Next there was an Organic Salad with Yuzu Vinaigrette. Very refreshing. The souse was just perfect and well balanced with rucola and reddish.

  For the third course we had Akami & Shiro Maguro tartare, topped with green onions and quail egg.  It’s a  chopped raw super-lean tuna on top of chopped raw white tuna in a Yuzu Vinaigrette that you mix with the egg. I am not a fan of raw meat or fish, but being around Alan you kind of start understand and appreciate these kind of things. So even thou I personally didn’t like it the balance between tartare tunas and yolk was perfect as usual and dipping into the souse gave so many other taste sensations.

   Oh and here comes my personal favorite of the day Cod fish Saikyo-Yaki butter lettuce wrap with deep fried Gobo root.  Saiko-Yaki butter goes with everything! It’s buttery and sweet but a little bit sour at the same time. Its amazing with beef and chicken and even vegetables. And Cod fish is just another perfect combination. Then there is Gobo root! Oh I how I love it! So crunchy and tasty!  Gobo is a burdock root that is well used in Japanese culinary.

  Once cold food had all been eaten it’s time for something hot. And here comes the Oden Soup with Beefball Skewer. It’s very light yet reach in taste soup is great remedy between courses of food. The skewers are suppose to go into the bowl and add some meet flavor to the dish, though I skipped this step and drained my soup at onceJ

  Next we had Wintermelon  Nimono with Pumpkin and Citrus Essence. Again not a fan of “pickled” fruits and berries. But the souse was nice and creamy and the essence of flamed citron was filling the plate with such a nice aroma, that of course I took a bite.

  Oh the Melt-In-Your-Mouth Kobe Beef…..

  Alan-San made it at the side table close to us while telling us how great this soft and juicy meet is. Of course I had it so many times in Kagen Teppanyaki so it wasn’t a surprise, but to have The Chief flaming it in front of you was exiting.

  Next on the course we got Unagi &Negihama Hand Roll prepared by Alan-San … again tableside!

To be truth hand rolls are my favorite in all times so have it made by Alan himself just felt so specialJ

          

Then Alan disappeared to the kitchen again and we got served with Soft Shell Crab/Snapper/Shiso Inside Out Roll.  Nice and soft roll got eaten so fast that while I was sending a massage I had to fight for my piece! Well this is how it goes in our La Familia – “You snooze – You lose” …

   Oh and finally some desert! I am a huge fan of deserts! I never go to a new restaurant and leave without trying something sweet… But my lovely friend Alan doesn’t like them and therefore there is no desert menu in his restaurants, except Kagen HotPot, they have Mochi .

   So… what we have here?>>> Alan called it Desert One Two Punch. Fresh strawberries with condensed milk dip, Green tea mini Mochi (YAY!) and blueberry ice-cream in cookie spoon with black and white sesame. All my favorite..

   By the end of the dinner I couldn’t breath but was happily full with tasty food!

  Thank you very much Alan!

  Since this is my first post about food I just HAVE to mention that I am not a professional at this I simply have need to share. For ages I was taking pictures of my food feasts and I will post some of the best with time. But a friend of mine Kristen is the real foodie and blogger, she has better reviews on almost everything we ate together for the past  3 yearsJ) so go check her blog at LUMDIMSUM.COM

  And also since I started posting my looks I will do it occasionally now.  This time I wore everything very comfortable since it’s a family dinner and I was tired from wearing my GZ the other night.

  New Zara bag (still making myself to bring some color to my black wardrobe)  Hermes leather bracelets my favorite and most comfy knee boots by Stuart Weitzman and H&M leggings. Of course I had top inside.. it was off shoulder t-shirt from Forever21.