tanuki raw, kapok.

i've heard so much about tanuki raw and their truffle yakiniku bowl. finally got to try it, but i don't get the hype. at all.

it was a saturday night when we went over for dinner. the queue system was confusing to start with- i thought that we could just go in a grab any available table, but apparently we had to queue up. the queue was right at the entrance, which we'd missed because we came in from another entrance. thankfully the wait for a table wasn't that long.

we all got a foie gras truffle yakiniku bowl ($23) each and added one of their rolls, the confit de canard roll ($13) to share. my sister went up to the counter to order and pay, and the food was served to our table moments later.



we all eat with our eyes first, and the plating of the bowl itself seemed rushed and messy. there was sauce splashed all around the sides of the bowl, and i found myself trying to pick out the least messy looking one for a photo. it was good that the bowls were served quickly, but taking an extra few seconds to just present it properly would've made all the difference.



my favourite part of the bowl was actually the foie gras- it was buttery, creamy and delicious; everything foie gras should be. the US black angus short rib pieces were a shocking letdown, though. it was basically bland and didn't taste like much at all. i suppose the truffle soy sauce did help to add some flavour, but let's face it- beef doesn't need much seasoning to be yummy. the rice was just average, though the onsen egg did help.



the confit de canard roll didn't do much better. i get that it's a fusion dish, but there are good fusion dishes, and there are those that fall into the other end of the spectrum, and this, unfortunately, was the latter. the shredded duck confit sounded good on the menu, but in reality it was more like a canned-tuna-ish paste. the dot of spicy brown butter miso on top made me do a double take; i didn't know what it was until i went back to look at the menu again. but perhaps the thing that annoyed me the most was the filling of the roll. it was something fried, which again, i couldn't taste because it was overpowered by the miso on top; but the fried element was limp and cold, which really defeats the purpose of it being fried. they'd probably fried it a while back and left it there. after going back to look at the menu i realised that it was actually fried mozzarella. nope, couldn't tell at all.

service was pretty much nonexistent as well- i don't quite get why they charge for service, to be honest. ordering and payment was done at the counter, water was already placed on the table (and we had to go up to the counter to get extra cups) and every time we needed something we found ourselves going back to the counter.

i can't see myself going back. they need to take more pride in their food. the foie gras was good, but i could have that elsewhere, really. not sure if it was a bad night for them, but sorry tanuki raw, i'm striking you off my list for good.


tanuki raw
111 middle road
#01-05
http://tanukibar.com