Tabletop grilled octopus and pregnant smelt

If you select the right restaurant , currently you still get to enjoy the scrumptiously divine fatty parts of fishes that had to make it through winter .

However , since I like to vary my diet thus today , apart from our regular serving of Salmon , we're adding on a plate of grilled pregnant smelt .

From the texture alone , you'll know that it has been deep frozen .

But here's the best part of the fish itself .

The roe . In comparison to the body , my goodness , that's a heck of a lot of roe for a tiny fish like this .

Lightly 'lemak' , with fine bones , if you see this on the menu , you should at least try it once . Just make sure you pick a place that has a reputation for freshness ok ? Or the experience and taste will be lost on you. 

Now we come to the octopus.

Charcoal salted tentacles to be exact .

Because it is so supremely fresh , fresh enough to be turned into sashimi , grilling it will not see a resulting hard plastic texture .

Instead , it will be slightly chewy and  quite tender .

Curious about the tabletop grill ?

This is what it looks like .

Gas canister operated no doubt but because the restaurant cleverly used a charcoal salt marinade , the octopus will taste as if you cooked it on a bed of hot coals .

That's the waiter's hand . He's quite the leng chai . The nehru collar fits him to a tee . This fellow actually resembles a Kelantanese actor , Danny X factor ( I think he's cute ) which could be the reason why there are so many single ladies in the house lately lol .

Anyway , he's firing up the grill for us .

Cooking process is DIY .

Do it yourself . 

I tell you if he sits next to you and helps you turn those morsels , you might faint girls , so best you do it yourself ok ?

While the lemon goes nicely with it , if you're gonna attempt this at home , a swig of Asahi with the tentacle slices placed on top of used scallop shells , would lift you to another plain . Try that and don't forget to sprinkle some scallions and a dash of black pepper . Yums !

Location : Sushi Tei ,

Penang