It’s my birthday today! I turn 35, and it’s been an awesome day so far. My better half surprised me with dinner reservations at Nobu KL. I didn’t know she had already planned this and was about to tell her I was feeling like Japanese food. She sounded a bit reluctant (which was strange) and I found out that she had *already* booked a table for us.
Dinner was great! I had the Special Omakase (RM 455 per pax) which is the most expensive item on the menu. I felt a little bad about how costly dinner was (the bill came up to almost RM 1,000) but my dear asked me to go for the most premium omakase since I didn’t want a smartphone. Yup, she originally planned to buy me a smartphone.
I’m more of an experience person than a material goods person. I’ll rather have awesome trips and meals than phones, clothes, etc. It just makes me happier and I value the experiences more…and recent research suggests that I’m right! The happiness you feel from experiences lasts longer and is more fulfilling than material goods.
The kids made me something for my birthday too! I got a hand-painted picture and a card! π
My better half also got me a birthday present, despite me telling her not to. She packed a big box full of Japanese candy. It’s the perfect gift for me coz I love Japanese stuff. It contains:
Baskin-Robbins Popping Shower + Very Berry Chocolate
This is a nod to one of the first times we met. Baskin-Robbins is very popular in Japan and these two flavors are awesome. I like the Very Berry Chocolate which also has bits of real strawberry inside, as well as a thin layer of crunchy cone. However, the Popping Shower one took the cake – it’s an intense popping candy that’s so energetic, I thought it was going to come out of my mouth.
Explosive stuff! These are only supposed to be sold in Japan (due to licensing issues) but she managed to get one for me.
Pocky midi x Gudetama
Haha! I love Gudetama. He’s a humanized lazy egg with bacon for a blanket. The theme song keeps repeating in my brain when I see it. This is Pocky’s collaboration with Sanrio (who created Gudetama). Pocky midi Caramel Latte Gudetama is the result and it’s too cute to eat.
Pocky midi Strawberry Latte
This is another one in the Coffee series that’s exclusive to Japan. The Gudetama one is Caramel Latte and this version is Strawberry Latte. I haven’t opened it yet, I’ll eat this with my dear.
Winter Melty Cocoa Pocky
This is a rare seasonal limited edition Pocky that comes out only in winter. It’s thicker than a regular Pocky and has rich chocolate dust that melts in your mouth into a beautiful creamy goo. Unfortunately, the low melting temperature means that there’s a reason this is a winter-only special – the chocolate dissolves in our temperature.
AEON Japan’s CalorieMate
Yup, this is AEON Japan’s attempt to create a Calorie Mate like energy bar. I had the original in Japan (was looking specifically for it) and I quite liked it. This tastes different from the original Calorie Mate (Cheese) though. AEON’s store brand is a lot sweeter while CalorieMate is a lot more savory. They’re both good, in different ways. This is more of a meal replacement than an energy bar, they’re the pioneers in Japan.
Rum Raisin Chocolate Oreo (0.4% alcohol)
These are made with 70% cocoa! Just like Kit Kats, Oreo has a lot of different flavors and types in Japan. And just like the recently released Sake Kit Kats, the Oreos also contain alcohol inside. They put powdered alcohol (yes, it’s a thing) that boosts the adult treats to a 0.4% alcohol content. These are definitely not halal Oreos (would be funny if people couldn’t read or if there wasn’t a “Contains Alcohol” sticker on them).
Gudetama chocolates
I also got a few Gudetama chocolate treats (shaped like an egg) and a Japanese amulet she got for me at a Shinto temple in Hokkaido.
My dear bought me a birthday cake at Moonlight Cake House. She had ordered this way in advance and it was a beautiful durian cake.
It was in the freezer waiting for us and we picked it up to eat together with the kids. The wonderful smell of durian wafted out as soon as I took off the Saran wrap.
Holy shit, this looks like a real durian!
The durian cake is made up of a wonderfully fluffy and light Angel food cake and has bits of real durian flesh inside. The outside is made with whipped cream spikes so it looks like a real durian. I think they added gelatin or another stabilizer so it can stand but it’s just cream so it’s not sweet. The best part is that the two sides of the durian are not symmetrical (like real life) so one side is bigger than the other. The hand piping is beautiful too – it’s not just one shade of green, there are brown accents so it looks authentic. There’s even a stem made of chewy marzipan to complete the look.
I ate the durian birthday cake with my dear and the kids. It was a wonderful birthday! Thanks for all the treats, dinner and gifts dear. I appreciate all that you’ve done for me and for being with me. <3 I'll write about the Nobu KL dinner tomorrow! (ββ Ν‘ Ν‘Β° Ν Κ Ν‘ Ν‘Β°)ββο»Ώ
Happy birthday HB! What a wonderful treat! Your better half has outdone herself!
Thanks Kim! π
Yup, it’s been an awesome birthday. I was pleased that the kids took the time to make me something too, it’s so funny what they write in cards. I think I wrote the same thing when I was about their age to my mom too. Haha!
Hi, do you have a picture of it cut.. Just wanted to see what it looked like. Thanks
I don’t think we took a photo after it was cut. I’m looking back at the photos and there were photos up to the point I cut it but none afterwards.
It looks like a layered Angel food cake – slightly off-white, layered, with cream in the middle and yellow flesh. I can’t describe it better than that or take another photo coz we finished the entire cake. π
Happy Birthday Young Man!
May your days be filled with all the happiness and love with your darling till eternity! She truly pampered you so much.
That durian really looked the most realistic I ever seen.. Add some dry leaves outside better still. Lol
I know you are never a materialistic spender. Even CNY you would burn all the fireworks for thrills, memories and experience. Thanks for sharing your life in this blog.
Thanks mate! π
Yup, it’s a beautiful durian cake. Tastes good too. It has real durian flesh and I like that it’s not very sweet – no icing or stuff like that. The “spikes” are made of whipped cream. Downside is that it’s not sweet so kids don’t like it that much and people who don’t like durians won’t like it. It’s really nice though, light and rich at the same time.
The way this bakery does it is very visual – they even made an edible black base so it contrasts against the color of the durian cake. Cheers!
That durian cake looks really real.
Happy birthday to you!
Thanks Yuni! π
Yup, it looks remarkably realistic, thanks to the way the “seams” are done. Real durians have those too and the shading and spikes are spot on.
when I see that durian cake, I immediately thought of Moonlight! I almost wanted to buy this for my sis b’day, but after a long thought, a cake may not taste as good as the real durian, unless it is a home-baked with lotsa durian flesh…I’m quite curious on how it looks inside. Does it taste good?
They seem to be quite famous in Johor! π
I saw that they made a cake for the Sultan of Johor in their bakery. It’s really good, the durian cake – it has a lot of real durian flesh inside so durian lovers like myself would love it. The Angel food cake that comprises of the base is super light and fluffy too, it’s a very easy to eat sponge-like creation. We all finished the cake within the day itself and there’s only 4 of us with 2 kids.
I don’t have any photos of the inside though, but they put white cream which contrasts well and preserves the illusion – the yellow Angel food cake is the “walls” an the cream are the “seeds”. I highly recommend it if you’re a durian lover.
Happy birthday to you bro!
Thanks for the birthday wishes mate! π
Happy Birthday to you! The durian cake looks so real! Am curious to know what it looks like when cut.
You must be very happy with all the gifts and surprises your equal half got you. She knows you so well!
Thanks Mun! π
We didn’t take any photos after it was cut, only realized it now when so many people asked to see the insides. My dear went to get the plates as soon as I cut it and I divided it among everyone. The kids wanted the “Happy Birthday” sugar plate so I gave it to them and we all forgot about photos of the inside. It looks great though and it tastes even better. I really like this durian cake.
Yup, I am really lucky to have her in my life.
That first pic of you in Nobu. I thought the waitress is telling you ‘NO PICTURE ALLOWED’ coz it looks like you kena marah. Haha.
That durian cake. I’ve seen it on FB but nothing beats seeing it real in front of you eh? So sweet of Ling for all the effort.
I remember BR event. Hmm… so it all started from there eh? π
I actually didn’t even realize my dear took that photo. π
Haha! It was taken while I was recording a video – the special omakase menu is changed every day so the waitress explained every single component of the dish to me and I made sure to record everything so I could write about it later. I was pointing to each item as she spoke.
No lah, the waitress at Nobu was really friendly! She really served our table well, was impressed by the professionalism and training they had. I later got her to write everything down for me. Service was excellent and food was good, it’s just quite expensive.
Yup, the durian cake is really good! I thought it was just a regular cake, never seen it before, and was amazed to see how lifelike it was. It tasted good too, perfect for a durian lover like me.
Happy birthday HB! Is that a real durian, haha! Wonder how it looks when cut.
Thanks Libby! π
Yup, it really looks like a real durian. Haha! Tastes really good too but we both forgot to take a photo.
Happy birthday again, you two! Wowwwww!!! That sure looks like a real durian! Does it have the pungent durian smell? They do not mind you bringing it into their restaurant? Oh! Just saw the background – you had that at home. Bet you had a wonderful celebration with Ling & the girls.
Yup, you can smell it as soon as it’s unwrapped π
That’s probably why they wrapped it up so tightly in Saran wrap. We ate it at home with the kids…it was after we had come back from the Nobu dinner. The kids also ate a bit of it, they really liked the sugar plaque that says “Happy Birthday”. We had a lot of fun just eating and celebrating together.
Thanks for the birthday wishes mate!
Happy birthday and many happy returns π
I love that box of birthday goodies.. Where does she get all those stuff? I only know Shojikoya (always always next door to Pasta Zanmai in shopping malls).. That durian cake looks so creamy and delicious, yup, looks like the real thing too, haha..
Thanks for the birthday wishes! π
I think it’s from a Japanese import speciality shop. I’ve bought yakisoba from there for her too. There’s a brand of Japanese yakisoba that we like, it’s sold for around RM 12 per packet/serve here but it’s only 100 yen in Japan. Haha. The durian cake was really delicious!
Happy Birthday to you! Glad you had enjoy the food,cake and snacks. Ohh…you don’t need to keep the snacks for me. Please finish it because I will be making another trip there on my birthday. I will get 50% off the bill on my birthday. Heheh
Thanks for the wonderful birthday dear! <3
I really appreciate that you took the time to plan everything for me and to buy me a nice and expensive dinner. I really like the card and the picture that the kids drew for me. Thanks for the snacks that you got for me too, I know they must be very costly! Oh, I didn't know they have 50% off on their birthday, I should have just gone myself then. Haha! Or at least go with you to get the discount.
Love you always dear.
HB = Happy Birthday (everyday). May everyday be a memorable day. Stay healthy, happy and wealthy..but not too notty :p
Thanks bro! π
It was a wonderful birthday indeed, spend with loved ones. Cheers for the well wishes!
Happy belated Birthday man!! Oh..durian season is back…muahahahaha!!
Yeah, stay fit and strong!!
Thanks mate! π
Yup, durian season is back! I’m planning to go to on a trip to Penang to eat the wonderful durians there. Cheers for the well wishes!
Happy belated birthday HB! For some reason, I thought the 2nd photo looks hilarious… like the waitress caught you doing something wrong. Haha. The durian cake looks amazingly realistic!
Belated Happy Birthday Huai Bin! I think I’ll try to get that durian cake for my mom coming birthday!
Happy Belated Birthday Huai Bin. Kinda agree with your saying ‘The happiness you feel from experiences lasts longer and is more fulfilling than material goods.’ How come you didn’t show us a cross section photo of d durian cake?