Hock Choon Me

Textures @ Fukuharu
Swiped from williamnyk.

JL's birthday was around the corner. Alex waited until the last minute to get things finalized! Many, many suggestions were thrown around. Knowing the BFF, half of the suggestions would be sampat de. But anyway, DanielH gave a very good suggestion-- Terrace at Hock Choon, Jalan Ampang. A nice cozy bungalow housing 9 restaurants. Definitely a snooty place, but the staff were not snooty at all! JL chose Japanese cuisine, so it was Fukuharu. The moment we stopped the car, we were greeted by a grinning Bangladeshi parking attendant who even opened the car door for us. In the background, one hears Pop Gemalan being piped out from IR1968, their Indonesian restaurant. Cool. KH, SK, LifeBook, Leggie and I were the first to arrive. We were shown into our room-- a glass room that housed their bar. A good choice on their part cause we are quite a boisterous group. We have had our fair share of complaints. :P.



The early bird gets the worm-- our kind waiter fed us edamame and mentai sushi (torched salmon + cheese) while we were waiting for the other fashionably late guests. Feeling bored, we left the room for some camwhoring. Hehe. Quite a lot of interesting nooks and crannies. By 8:00pm, everyone had arrived. The power couple were the last to make their entrance. Was quite shocked that the birthday boy did not show any skin! A long-sleeved shirt on JL is like a burqa! When they arrived, the manager personally came over to greet them and they got shots of tequila, on the house. We weren't on the losing end, as the power couple sponsored a bottle a sake. YES! We kampai-ed to their health.



KH and I ordered the Chef Omakase 8-course dinner and a sashimi moriawase (with salmon belly and chutoro-- as SK told the waiter, "We like it fatty!"). In the course, we were served appetizers consisting of oysters, mentai sushi, beancurd, spring roll and a deep-fried prawn. Next came a clear broth with shimeji mushrooms wrapped in beancurd skin. Then came a platter of sashimi followed by the main course (since the group ordered three Omakase sets, the chef prepared three different varieties to share-- fish, crayfish and soft-shelled crab). Another complimentary dish was the grilled erinnggi mushrooms. Great taste and texture!



As the dinner went on, it was quite natural for the camwhoring and mingling to begin. At one point, Bunny began to yawn and he was found later asleep at one corner of the room. The lights were switched off, and the singing commenced. The birthday cake was called Velvet Rouge as the main ingredient was beetroot. Very red! It tastes better than it sounds. When the lights came on, EarlyGrey's friend suddenly appeared. I thought I was seeing things. That's not the only dessert I had. The bundled dessert in the course dinner was ice cream with red bean, tangerines and a cherry. I had fun camwhoring with that cherry. The rest were busy fiddling with an elephant postcard that you can wiggle your finger through. :S.



Post-dinner, DanielH asked for coffee with Bailey's (he had a bottle stashed in his car, for emergency use in case the engine oil runs low). The restaurant waived the corkage and whipped up a whole bunch of spiked lattes. For the heck of it, they were kind enough to let us try six shooters of rum and Bailey's for free. Hehe. Next, the gifts were opened. SK, KH, Bunny, Froggy and I got JL a Sigg bottle. Most of us left for home after that, but some went for KTV! Hebat. Can be described as one of the best parties of 2010 so far. Food was great, the company was great and everybody had fun. Cheers!