Yakiniku, Taman Desa, Kuala Lumpur

Have you ever been to a road side hawker stall looking Japanese place in Kuala Lumpur? Reckon no. Well, hidden in Taman Desa (Kuala Lumpur) lies a gem of a place which is the Japanese Yakiniku den, hidden between the old row of shops. Owned by a Japanese fella by the name of Fujimoto. (Note: the girls dig this guy, talks in the funny Japanese accent and muscular.)
Anyway, this place has become my regular hang out joint due to it being extremely convenient and the casual street side dining which I love. This is a place for carnivores. 
Yakiniku is basically Japanese BBQ. You cook the meat and vegetables yourself, and it's free form. Cook it anyhow you like. Medium, cooked even burnt! Then dip the meat into the Yakiniku dipping sauce and enjoy.
Have some cold beers and Heaven!
Mainly there is an assortment of different types of meat you can choose from. Beef - rib eye, steak, brisket, tongue. Pork - shoulder loin, belly etc. and Lamb.
The beef is the only ones marinated (except for tongue). 
It is highly recommended to try their Japanese risotto. Cooked a little like porridge in a small clay pot, it tastes a little like bovril to me but it's has it's unique flavor of pork and the beefy taste. Order one and share it around before you start. I am pretty sure if you try it, you will love it. (Note: Occasionally the risotto can be a little salty.)

Japanese risotto. Bubbly hot. Delicious especially the Bovril taste.

Fresh cow tongue

Pork loin. BBQ it a little longer to have that burnt taste. 

Pork Belly.

Steak

Bloody cow's tongue. Yummy! Fresh. Do not over cook this, just bbq it 1 minute on each side and indulge. 

Perfectly cooked cow tongue

Price wise for this place is pretty reasonable. My yakiniku connoisseur friend made a superb observation the other night. He somehow observed the plates of meat and reckoned that it is served by weight. (I snooped around in the kitchen area and confirmed it.) Most of the meat costs about RM10 per plate. Typically if you eat and drink a lot like us, then the bill will probably come up to RM150.


Do come early as the place gets packed pretty early with Japanese expatriates and locals. Come in your shorts and slippers, sit, relax and enjoy the atmosphere of being in a Yakiniku stall like in the back streets of Shinjuku.


Points - 2 Sometimes the dipping sauce and the beef marinade can be pretty salty. 

Not for the Faint Hearted

I reckon most of you would have tried most of the inner parts of a pig. But this, I bet you've never tried. Ordered it a week in advance and Fuji san (proprietor of the Yaki Niku place in Tmn Desa) was kind enough to book it and prepare it for us. Actually I was quite surprised that he remembered it cos when we talked about it last week, we were pretty drunk after rounds of sake bombs.


First look of it and it just looks like any other part of the pig. It actually looks like the intestines. It smelled really good with a dash of sesame oil and some ponzu sauce. Ponzu is literally citrus juice. Mix some lemon juice and shoyu, that's simplified ponzu for you.

Check this out. Small dish that tastes absolutely delicious. Pair it with beers or sake. Perfect combination. (Photo: Courtesy of Moby Low)

This dish is one of the most refreshing and tantalizing dishes of the night. The "parts" were crunchy paired with the ponzu sauce, it had this citrusy twang to it that makes your taste buds go wild. Fuji san did a fantastic job with this. There was no overkill of too much lemon juice and it was not too salty at all. Just perfect. Down a little beer after it. Perfect combination. (this dish goes well with any alcohol. Hot night down the beers with it and cool night have some sake.)

By now, you must be still wondering what in the world is this dish? I have been thinking high and low on how do I call this dish and yet sound cultured.

Seriously I can't. It's a simple dish of "Buta Omanko" which is literally translated as Pork Vagina! Reckon that it should be called Pig's Uterus (thanks to Linda for the correction)

Now you have it and yes I tried it. It was superb!

Points: 4