Since I haven’t been able to spend much time back home in Malaysia, having the opportunity to meet fellow Malaysians in Tokyo always comes as a treat for me. *grin* Today, it was an honour for be to be able to spend time with a very special member of our Online Family, Thong Kai, aka TK. *smile*

He, together with Adli, Marv, GW and a one or two others used to be the few who would make an effort to comment on my blog posts almost every day on the old site, not to mention attend most of my public performances back in Malaysia. I couldn’t have asked for more, and it was such a breath of fresh air to be able to enjoy a good Japanese dinner with the wonderful company of TK’s sister, aunt, uncle and cousins. *smile*

We had one of the best shabu-shabu in town, and I can’t NOT say that I left the restaurant a very happy camper indeed! Haha.

For beginners, shabu-shabu, a Japanese hot-pot dish, is actually quite similar to sukiyaki, except that it is said to be less sweet. It was originally a winter dish but is popularly eaten all-year-round today.

There couldn’t have been a better description of the dish than this, thanks to Wikipedia:

“The dish is prepared by submerging a very thin slice of meat or a piece of vegetable in a pot of boiling water or dashi (broth) made with kombu (kelp) and swishing it back and forth several times. The familiar swishing sound is where the dish gets its name. Shabu-shabu directly translates to “swish-swish”. Cooked meat and vegetables are usually dipped in ponzu or “goma” (sesame seed) sauce before eating, and served with a bowl of steamed white rice. Once the meat and vegetables have been eaten, leftover broth from the pot is customarily combined with the remaining rice, and the resulting soup is usually eaten last.”

Unfortunately we didn’t get to the rice bit since we were pretty much stuffed from an OD of meat, veg and mushrooms!!!! Hahaha. Nevertheless, a fantabulous meal it was and I am definitely going to bed a happy panda tonight. *grin*

Oh and as a bonus, I received a rather thoughtful souvenir all the way from Hokkaido, courtesy of TK. One of the yummiest milk biscuits I’ve ever tasted. Hehe.

We’re shooting the music video for the song I recorded last week so it’s gonna be a long day but I’m totally looking forward to it. Will share pics with you soon!!!! Meantime thanks for all your prayers, love and support guys. You make all the difference! God bless and BIG BIG BIG hugs from chilly Tokyo. Mwah!!!!