be indulged...: Sanga Japanese Restaurant, Kuching

From the Kingdom of Thailand to the Land of the Rising Sun, Japan...I greet you Yoi ichi-nichi! I don't normally go for Japanese food for it is not my cup of tea. But Sanga, a Japanese Restaurant at Jalan Chan Chin Ann, Kuching was where my friends and I ended up at last Christmas.

Maneki Neko beckoning us to enter the restaurant

What we ordered:

Shisamo Furai (Deep Fried Pregnant Fish)

What can I say? The Shisamo Furai was so crispy and had no distinctive fishy smell even without being bathed with lemon juice.

As for the main dish, we ordered Unagi Don set and Chicken Teriyaki set. Each set came with a bowl of miso soup and two slices of watermelon. The unagi and chicken were well-marinated; the herbs used were not too overpowering so as to overtake the original flavours of the unagi and chicken.

Unagi Don set

Chicken Teriyaki set

Japanese Kimchi

Kimchi is a well-known pickled dish in Korea. Why did it end up in a Japanese restaurant? Could this be the Japanese version? But I couldn't tell the difference. To me, it tasted like...well, the Korean kimchi!

Yakitori

Skewers of chicken dipped in barbeque sauce and grilled to perfection. That's Yakitori for you. The chicken used for the yakitori was incredibly succulent that juices oozed out with each bite.

Ebi (Prawn) Tempura

Kraaaakkk krraaakk...This sound filled the air as we sank our teeth into these deep fried prawns. I believe skills are required in order to make a good tempura batter. This crisp treat is great for nibbles. Oishi!

Edamame (Steamed soybean)

Having edamame is just like having groundnuts with beer. One healthy dish that we ordered.

Lidako

Lidako is my favourite dish. I like this steamed and well-marinated little octopus. It was just sooo...chewy. Every bite was just so delightful. A must-try!

Hey, what is having Japanese food without ordering sushi and sashimi, right? We ordered a random selection of sushi and sashimi. The most important part of sushi is the rice. Here, the rice is sticky enough just to hold all the ingredients together and not too dry. Then the ingredients, must be fresh. Very fresh.