Gonbei, Starhill

Don't you use love this time of the year? It's the season of promotions, increments and most importantly bonuses! Ok maybe most of you got yours at the end of the year or even at frequent intervals thoughout a year but for most of my generous foodie companions, now is prime time. They get, we celebrate, I jump for joy (don't think my current bulk allows any significant height though). 3 out of 5 voted Japanese and wanted to revisit Ninja Jones. However changed venue when 1 who had good dining experience here before suggested this posh restaurant instead. Posh? That was our impression due to its location and premium prices. W-a-s is the key word here. I'll story later.Let's just whizz through a few of what we had that night. Please don't be too upset if I fumble on the names of the dishes. Orders were made without much reference to the menu and at warp speed as friends knew what they wanted. As for me, a young grasshopper in such cuisine only get to answer 'err yea, I eat', 'oh, sound icky', 'err ok I try-lor'. You will notice my pictures have kind of a brownish tinge on them. Poor lighting. As far as possible I will try not to use the camera's flash in dimly lit restaurants. It would attract too much attention and may be a nuisance to other patrons.

Carrot+Orange juice. No ice, no sugar. Mine. Other drinks ordered that night included Ocha/Green tea, another glass of Fruit Juice but I cannot recall what and a glass of their House Red.

Fish cakes

Japanese corn. Only 1 portion left so it went exclusively to our friend who claimed he craved it to death. Nah!

Wagyu Tenderloin

Salmon Sashimi

Teppanyaki Hotate (Scallops?) and prawns. These were my portion on my plate. That's a miniature size tomato with green seeds. Adorable, right?Saba Fish. Fishy smell a bit too overpowering for me.Garlic Fried Rice. My small bowl. Everyone agrees it is good especially the fried garlic! I do not know for sure what the accompanied sauce plate held. One side was some kind of a salad cream while the other although look like chopped chillies, it was not hot at all.

Teriyaki Cod Fish. Picture is not minimised. That was the size we got. = (

Soft Shell Crab

Ice Cream Tempura (Fried ice cream). The outer skin was too thick. We did expect it to be crunchy but it's more like 'lau-fong' texture.

Pumpkin Ice Cream with red beans. Dollop of ice cream was yellow in colour but turned out green in my picture. 'o.0'

Banana & Mango Fritter. I enjoyed this most. Have fallen hard for this combination ever since I was introduced to it barely a year ago.

Story time. We were greeted with the usual boisterous greeting one gets at Jap retaurants but odd part was the 'eyes' that followed us to our table where a friend was already seated and had started off with a few dishes. He was real early and gluttony got the better of him. Hey, that reminded me, we should not had splitted the bill equally! Aiyaya. Oh back to the eyes. Most of them belonged to the 5 idle staff behind the sushi/sashimi counters. Stares which either say we don't look like usuals at such classy joints or maybe they don't see that many patrons given any time of the day. Oblivious to my discomfort, the rest plonked themselves right in view of the counter. -_-"

Dishes came dishes go at quite a slow pace though we were the only 1 of the 3 tables occupied. We were busy chatting away at controlled volume due to the serene atmosphere. Our effort was most unnecessary. You know why? The chef was using our orders of Ice Cream Tempura and Banana Mango Fritters as teaching aids! The staff behind the counters were making a rukus with comments and questions while watching the ingredients being wraped, torched and plated. @_@" That pasar malam scene (as one of my friends called it) did not end there. It continued until we left. After our desserts were served which did take quite some time, the chef seemed to be dishing out lessons on the basics of sashimi, sushi or whatever cold dishes preparation. Either that or he was just showing off to a most appreciative crowd, the staff. Friend who had been there before said that nothing of such happened during his last visit early this year. Well, maybe it was a really very slow day. V e r y s l o w .

Hoo-ha, no charge.
Glimpse of class in session, no charge.
Other than the above (those items not pictured were items finished by the early bird):-

Venue:-