nanbantei, far east plaza.

just about managed to make it for lunch- i reached at 1.50, and they close at 2.30, with last orders at 2.15. i was there for the yakitori bento, but still browsed through the lunch menu and was briefly tempted by the gomoku soba set. in the end i still got the yakitori bento ($13.80)- too much carbs in the soba set (soba + sushi roll... really??!!).

service was quick, but that might be because they were closing. i was one of the three customers in the restaurant by the time my food arrived.

for $13.80, this was extremely good value. five skewers- quail eggs, tsukune, negima, bacon wrapped asparagus, and shiso maki (pork with shiso leaf). buried underneath the skewers were vegetables with an accompanying miso dip, and pickles. also came with japanese rice topped with mushrooms, seaweed and minced meat. miso soup was served as well. tea wasn't included though; didn't realize until i paid the bill, but it was just 70 cents.




i've been thinking about kushiyaki for two days, so this totally hit the spot. some of the skewers didn't come piping hot, so perhaps it has been there for a while, but for the price, not complaining since it still tasted good. perhaps my least favourite was the shiso maki as it was on the dry side, but the rest, especially the bacon wrapped asparagus, more than made up for it. even the minced meat, mushrooms and rice were good. i liked the miso dip for the vegetables as well.

the yakitori set also came with a dessert of red bean with mochi. i was expecting it to be cloyingly sweet and to be served hot; it surprised me by being neither. i was intending to probably just taste it (desserts included in lunch sets have a bad rep), but it was actually quite a pleasant eat and i finished it in the end.




#05-132 far east plaza
http://www.nanbantei.com.sg