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Showing posts with label japanese. Show all posts

time really flies- my previous visit to ninja bowl was more than a year ago! i told myself that i was going to return, but as usual life got in the way. finally made my way back because chope was offering a diners' choice tasting menu, consisting of a starter, main and dessert. sounded like a good deal, so i made a reservation and headed over.

i was there at about one-thirty, but there were still plenty of people, to my surprise. i placed my order at the counter and took a seat at one of the high chairs.

the starter, a mini version of the ebisu, came quite quickly. pan-seared hokkaido scallops, mussels and toast in miso butter cream- really, nothing could go wrong with it. the portion was small, so it was alright, but i could imagine it getting too heavy if one were to have the regular portion alone. still, i quite enjoyed the bowl- the scallops and mussels were plump and well-cooked, and the crisp and buttery toast went well with the cream.

the letdown, however, was the main. i remembered liking the unagi bowl i had previously, and so, i was expecting to like the ushi bowl that i got. it came with grassfed flank steak with marmite butter, furikake corn, sautéed mushrooms, cherry tomatoes (changed that to pickled beets) and an onsen egg. the bowl came with a choice of base: ninja rice, quinoa or salad greens; decided on the ninja rice. the flank steak itself was cooked medium rare, but it was strangely tasteless, even with the marmite butter. the other sides were okay... but nothing to shout about (perhaps i've been spoilt by the other salad places abound in the CBD). i finished everything anyway, because i was hungry.

the dessert took a while to arrive- probably at least fifteen minutes. it was a miniature version of the fancy french- fig jam french toast drizzled in umeboshi honey, paired with grapes, plums, figs and hazelnut butter. i was slightly apprehensive about it, because it sounded like it was potentially saccharine sweet, but it turned out to be okay. i actually quite liked the umeboshi honey- it wasn't sickly sweet, had a slight tang, and really tasted of umeboshi. the toast itself was pretty good as well. there was the tiniest bit of hazelnut butter that i devoured within two bites. they really should've been more generous with it, because it was pretty good, too.

i felt slightly letdown by the meal. starter and dessert was alright, but the main was disappointing, especially since i liked the other bowl i had previously. maybe it was an off day for them, or maybe i just didn't pick the correct bowl....?

ninja bowl
15 duxton road
https://www.facebook.com/NinjaBowl/

happened to be free, so popped by for a quick lunch. i arrived at one-thirty, way after the lunch crowd had dissipated, so i didn't even have to wait for a seat.

got a counter seat, right in front of a huge glass window where they were grilling unagi on the spot. i was transfixed.

the menu was simple, made up of just different variations of unagi bowls. i was intending to order the kimodon ($24.80), which came with grilled unagi liver, unagi and tamagoyaki, but was told that they were out of unagi liver. i then settled for the hitsumabushi ($26.80) instead, even though i'm not really a fan of the hitsumabushi style- i feel it dilutes the taste, and doesn't really add anything. decided to try it anyway since it was just a dollar or so more than the regular unagi don.

my food came really quickly, and it was good. i loved the slight char of the grilled unagi, which made the exterior slightly crisp, while the interior was still tender. at my first bite i found it almost shockingly salty, but when paired with the rice, it made sense. and speaking of the rice- it was pearly and awesome and just like all japanese rice should be. i intended to ask for less rice, but i forgot, and was glad i forgot, because i wiped the entire bowl clean without even using any of the extra sauces provided on the table. the hitsumabushi broth was alright, but i wouldn't bother with it again because the star is ultimately unagi.

i really liked that they provided fresh wasabi to grate. i loved the kick of the fresh wasabi paired with the salty-sweet unagi- so so good.

service was slightly harried. they didn't realise that i hadn't been served tea until near the end of my meal. i didn't know it was provided free until the waitress came over, all apologetic, with a cup of tea. they were nice about it so i didn't mind.

bottomline: the unagi was awesome. i'll come back to try the kimodon.

man man japanese unagi restaurant

1 keong saik road

#01-01

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Man-Man-Japanese-Unagi-Restaurant/185009705272373

finally had the chance to check out japan food town at wisma atria. so many japanese food clusters have opened up as of late! the concept seems pretty similar to suntec's eat at seven, but with a couple more choices. in fact, there were so many choices that we (okay, i) was undecided about which to choose. in the end we decided on hokkaido izakaya, which was also one of the more filled restaurants (some of them looked suspiciously empty).

it being an izakaya, i was assuming that they'd be open until quite late, but when we were about to step in, the waitress told us that they had no more tables (!) even though we saw that there were bar seats available. S then asked if we could have the bar seats, and she said yes, but again attempted to dissuade us by saying that last order was 9pm (it was probably about 8.45 then) and that it'd be warm for us sitting there since it was in front of the grill. makes me wonder if she wanted us to leave just so they could close up early...

anyway, the thing that caught my eye off the menu was wagyu roast beef don ($19) off the set menu, but S distracted me with the maze niku soba ($15), which sounded exciting because goma sauce!!! i was torn between the two, but eventually got the don anyway because, as my friends said, that was the thing that caught my attention first anyway. (mental note: that's a good strategy for deciding on what to order.) we also decided to share a butter tamagoyaki ($10) off the a la carte menu.

our food came after a brief wait. glad i decided on the wagyu beef don- it was actually pretty decent for the price. happily enough, it also came with hot miso soup and appetisers- pickles and jellyfish. interestingly enough, it came with two sauces- a horseradish one (i think) drizzled on the beef, and a sweet, sticky one below on the rice. also liked the dab of grated horseradish on the side of the bowl- it added a kick to the entire bowl. the rice was also pretty good, though there was too much of it and i ended up not finishing it. it's the kind i like- each grain separate, giving it texture.

J saw that there were complimentary appetisers on the neighbouring table, but there were none on ours, so she decided to ask if we could have some. glad that she did, too, because the free eggs turned out to be really awesome! we were all expecting something like keisuke's hardboiled eggs, but they weren't. S cracked an egg (really hard) and was shocked to see splatters of egg white- they were runny, oozy and glorious. i had my egg with the don- so good with the rice! most restaurants would charge upwards of a dollar for an onsen egg, so it was a nice touch. i was so tempted to have two, especially with the rice, but decided against it, because we still had...

... the tamagoyaki, which came when we were all almost done with our food. sitting at the bar meant that we could watch them prepare our food, and we were all watching the chef making the omelette and hoping it was ours. it was worth the wait, though! it came piping hot, and the waitress buttered it just before she served it to us (so that's what they mean by butter tamagoyaki). to be honest i don't think it actually needed the final slather of butter- it was good enough without it. oddly enough it came with extra butter on the side, and some cheese curd like thing, but i didn't need it. it was a totally egg-overloaded meal, but who cares. eggs are awesome.

we were all so full after the meal! the beef don looked small, but it was actually quite a good size. J and S both got soba, which came in three sizes as stated on the menu (100g, 200g and 300g) all at the same price. however, when ordering, they weren't asked which size they wanted- we only found out it was 100g after seeing it on the meal. it was a good size, though!

the food was simple, but pretty good. plus: prices were decent. i can see myself coming back. service was a little too harried, though.

hokkaido izakaya
wisma atria
http://www.japanfoodtown.sg/stores/hokkaido-izakaya/

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

needed a quick dinner in the east side, and remembered that i've always wanted to try the burning oak's wagyu donburi. they've recently started offering it for dinner as well, not just lunch, so that suited my purposes.

they had a variety of different donburis on offer, but i already knew what i wanted- the wagyu and foie gras donburi ($18). i was given a buzzer after i paid, and i hung around for about fifteen minutes before it finally rung. as i was waiting i noticed that their business was really pretty good. every few moments people would come up to order- a feat given that there were plenty of other choices around.

i'd asked for less rice, but the guy who took my order said that the portion of rice was pretty small already. i insisted, though, and he relented, scribbling less rice on my order chit. the rice that i got was still a sizeable amount, though (for me).

the wagyu beef slices (MBS 6) were cooked perfectly medium rare, with a glorious, slightly crispy char on the outside. it had just the right amount of fat for it to be tender, but yet not overwhelmingly so. they were generous with the foie gras- it came in a fat slab, and best of all, had the same smoky char. the bowl also came with the requisite onsen egg (what's a donburi without an oozy egg, really?), pickled daikon and ginger. furikake, spring onions and sesame seeds were also sprinkled over the rice. the only thing i didn't like was the sauce, actually. there was enough sauce to give moisture to the rice, but it was just way too sweet. the rice was... well, just rice. nothing much to shout about, unlike at other japanese places, but at this price point, no complaints.

for the price, this was a really good no-frills beef donburi. i'd come back in a heartbeat to try their other donburis and skewers- there's an iberico pork one that looks promising. i love atas hawker stalls! cheaper price, with just as good food, making it really value for money. yum.

the burning oak
348 bedok road
#02-16
https://www.facebook.com/the.burning.oak.singapore/

figured that C would like to have japanese, after having so many days of western food in london during our trip, so i suggested okonomiyaki. i've never had okonomiyaki in singapore, and i was curious to see how it would measure up to what i had in japan, especially since they seem to specialise in okonomiyaki.

L was joining us for dinner, but she was running late (as usual) so we just ordered first. there was an offer with j passport- getting one okonomiyaki would give us a free monjayaki, so we got a mixed okonomiyaki ($16) and a mixed monjayaki ($14).

it was interesting how they brought all the ingredients over to the grill on our table, and started making it right in front of our eyes. i was super fascinated by how the guy did it with practised ease.

since it took quite a while to make, it was probably good that they made it in front of us (given how hungry i was). watching its cooking progress (and being entertained by it in the process) made the wait more bearable.

also liked how they left the bonito flakes and seaweed powder (?) at the table, for us to add as we wished. i was so hungry i inhaled my piece and quickly went back for seconds- really good. it's osaka style okonomiyaki, though, so quite different from what i had previously in hiroshima.

when we were done with the okonomiyaki, they started making the monjayaki. i haven't had monjayaki before, so i didn't know what to expect. i really didn't expect it to be so... flat, though! it was so flat that we were supposed to scrape it off the grill and eat it off our spoons. it was yummy when it got slightly burnt and crispy, though, so no complaints. it's not as substantial as an okonomiyaki, though, so we ordered more- a beef okonomiyaki and a beef monjayaki (both $12).

i was feeling greedy so i also asked for a tonpeiyaki ($8) off the special menu. it was good i did, too, because it was good. (then again i probably just love egg anything.) it was basically an omelette stuffed with crispy pork belly and cabbage, topped with okonomiyaki sauce. yum!

had a good time eating, and was surprised that the meal ended up being pretty cheap- perhaps because of the one-for-one deal. service was pretty good, too! the ventilation isn't great, though, so we all ended up smelling like grease. still, i'd go back.

seiwaa okonomiyaki
72 dunlop street
https://www.facebook.com/Seiwaa-Okonomiyaki-Teppanyaki-Restaurant-1680214772194234/

muji café has never really been something i wanted to try. at least until my sister told me that it was nice and that i should try it. so, based on her recommendation, i came by for a late lunch with my friend. we managed to get seats easily even though it was a weekend.

i decided on the 3 deli set ($12.90), which came with one hot and two cold deli items and rice. got the mixed spice chicken, thick omelette and prawn & edamame salad. chose to top up an extra $1 for the ten grain rice. added an onsen egg ($1) for good measure, and ended up paying $14.90. my friend, who is more money savvy, figured out that the deli set actually doesn't make sense, because one hot and two cold deli items actually only cost $10.40- which basically means one is paying $2.50 for white rice, and $3.50 for the ten grain rice. to be honest i really didn't realise until she pointed it out (i was too hungry and just wanted my food).

the food was okay, i guess, but portions are so tiny! really wonder who they're trying to feed- not me after the gym, that's for sure. i did like the ten grain rice, but not enough to pay that amount for it. also, weirdly enough, they were out of a lot of stuff, and it wasn't even close to closing yet. my friend wanted the matcha cheesecake and the roasted tea pudding, but they were out.

doubt i'll come back, given the tiny portions and the fact that prices are on the high side. (i guess it's for people with puny appetites, like X.)

café & meal muji
paragon
#04-36
http://cafemeal.muji.com/sg/

i've been to hoshino coffee at its first outlet at plaza singapura multiple times. i've loved their soufflé pancakes ever since i had it the first time, which was probably two years ago. at every single visit, i found that standards have been kept consistent. the 25 minute wait has also stayed largely the same, but i guess awesome pancakes are worth the wait.

X and i wanted a little more food after dinner at the betterfield, and were initially headed to clinton st. baking company (i was somehow craving their thick, fluffy pancakes). we called ahead to ask when was their last order timing, were told that it was nine. we made it there on the dot, but they told us the kitchen was closed, wasting our trip there. so hoshino coffee came to mind- soufflé pancakes are quite a good substitute, anyway.

headed over and quickly ordered the double pancake soufflé style ($12), with an extra $1.20 for matcha softee.

the service there was eye openingly bad, though. we were seated at a corner, and were made to feel completely invisible. i had to ask for water twice before we finally got it (after a really long wait). even then, the waitress plonked it down onto our table wordlessly and unsmilingly. that would've been the end of it, but our pancakes arrived without the softee we'd ordered. upon asking, we were told that it was unavailable (!), but we'd already been served the bill charging us for it. the waiter who served us scurried off after saying that it was unavailable, and we were left dumbstruck. X went over to the counter to ask if we could have the vanilla softee instead, and it was then that she found out that the matcha softee was, in fact, available.

thankfully, the pancakes made up for it. it was just as delicious as i remembered it to be. the melty knob of cream-lookalike perched atop the pancakes was actually whipped butter. it was salty, buttery and awesome (and i ate it all).

atrocious service like that makes me wonder why we have to pay service charge. if they don't want to serve us water, i'm perfectly fine with getting it myself- it'd be more efficient, for one. this is really one of my pet peeves- having to pay for service even when it's crap. i still love the pancakes, but i'll probably not go back to the capitol piazza outlet for it.

hoshino coffee
capitol piazza
#b2-55
http://www.hoshinocoffee.com.sg/m/index.html

i was super excited to hear about kyushu pancake opening in singapore, even though i've never tried it in japan. but because, KYUSHU + PANCAKE! plus, they use some sort of special blend flour for their pancakes- seven grains, according to their menu.

made a reservation for a sunday lunch via email (i love it when i don't have to call). the place didn't look that full when we reached, but i was glad to have reservations after seeing people without get turned away. apparently all the empty tables were reserved! they even had a waitress stationed front of house to allocate people their tables. when we were ordering at the counter, i witnessed a couple come in and take a seat at an empty table, only to be chased away by the waitress who was halfway through taking our orders. granted, the place wasn't that big, so that probably also accounted for the full house situation.

i wanted something savoury, so i immediately zeroed in on the eggs benedict ($18), which came with their famous pancakes. my sister was oscillating between the $17 great carnival hot dog ("but it comes with fries and i don't want fries!") and karaage chicken waffle ($19). eventually she decided to ask if the fries could be replaced by something else- if not, she'd go for the karaage chicken waffle. they didn't allow any replacement, so she settled for the chicken. being greedy, we ordered the sampler platter ($15) to try as well.

(the woman taking our order thought we were done when i placed the order for two items- she was already telling me the total bill. sorry, we're gluttons.) we were warned that waiting time for the food would be about 20-30 minutes, which i was okay with since it was a leisurely sunday lunch. (and at least they bothered to give us a heads up.) the food came much quicker than we expected, though!

the first to arrive was the sampler platter. being greedy and ordering it was perhaps one of the best things we ever did, because the french toast on the platter turned out to be the best thing we had that day. the platter came with pancakes, waffles and french toast (basically all the carb variations they have on their menu) along with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, chardonnay wildflower honey and jam. i ate the french toast first and was blown away- it was soft, just sweet enough, and didn't even need any accompaniments. sadly, couldn't say the same about the pancakes and waffles. i was envisioning something akin to hoshino's soufflé pancakes (thick, fluffy and fragrant) but this was nothing like it. didn't take to the dry, hollow waffles as well. they tasted better paired with the jam, but i'm not really a jam eater (give me plain pancakes, any day). maybe the reason why the pancakes and waffles tasted so... light... was because they were meant to be a vehicle for the delicious jam...?

my eggs benedict came shortly after, followed by the karaage chicken waffle. liked that everything was served at around the same time- none of that here's my food but yours is not here dilemma. i'd asked for the hollandaise sauce to be served on the side (to the confusion of the waitress), so i had a little pot of the sauce instead of it being poured over. the eggs benedict came with a single poached egg, asparagus, tomato, bacon, a stack of three pancakes, and a side salad. it tasted kind of as expected, i guess. the pancakes were the same ones as in the platter, and they did work slightly better paired with the egg, but three still proved to be too many, and i didn't finish them.

maybe it's because it's been a long while since i've had fried chicken, but i really liked the karaage chicken (not so much the waffle). it was crispy, not oily (this sounds slightly delusional) and when my sister offered me another bite, i gladly took it. portions were pretty generous, too- the chicken spanned the entire dimension of the waffle!

given that they charge for service, service was pretty much nonexistent. when we were ordering at the counter, i'd requested for water. however, it didn't come until they served water to another table, happened to glance over, notice that we didn't have water and came over to ask if we wanted water (!). granted, the place is pretty new, so hiccups like these are perhaps to be expected. i'd come back (armed with a reservation) if i have a craving for french toast, but for the waffles and pancakes? nah.

kyushu pancake café
275 thomson road, novena regency
#01-08
http://www.kyushu-pancake.sg

there was a 1-for-1 ocbc card promotion for their WAGYU beef buffet (usually $88++ per person), so of course i had to go. even though L isn't as much of beef person as i am, i still managed to cajole her into going- she is my fellow bottomless pit, after all.

annoyingly enough, they only have two timings for their buffet- either 6 or 8 pm, both of which are awkward timings. there's no way we could make it for the 6 pm one, so we just went with the 8 pm slot. we reached early though, thinking that perhaps they'd let us in if there was space, but they were rigid about it. no matter- we whiled away the time pretty quickly in marina square, wandering around. when it was getting close to 8, we slowly made our way back, and was stunned by the queue snaking out from the entrance.

turned out that there was even a queue to enter the restaurant, even with reservations. that's the first time i've ever seen something like that. plus, confusingly enough, there were two queues from either side of the entrance, and we were confused about which to join. even with our 8 pm reservation, we were only seated in the restaurant a quarter past 8. i think the restaurant caters for larger groups, so the tables were big, rectangular ones. as such, as there were only two of us, we were seated beside a group of four guys. no privacy whatsoever- we could clearly hear whatever they were saying, and i suppose, vice versa.

ordering was fuss-free. just like at tsukeru, over at the other side of emporium shokuhin, they take orders via ipad. the difference from tsukeru, though, was that orders took much longer to appear (especially for the meat), perhaps because the restaurant was running at full capacity. there was a point in time when we had nothing on the table at all, and we quickly learnt to replenish the meat whenever we were almost done. the grill was tiny, though! it was okay for the two of us, but i wondered how the four guys beside us dealt with it.

the selection available wasn't a wide one, but it was of excellent quality, and i suppose that's what counts. they only had three types of beef available- a5 miyazaki wagyu shin shin, USDA prime karubi and USDA prime sirloin, but that was enough. we basically ignored the sirloin and just ordered multiple servings of the other two- especially the thinly sliced wagyu. when L took the first bite of the wagyu, she started laughing (i'm not exaggerating here) and exclaiming about how good the beef was. and she's not even usually a beef person- given a choice of beef and other meats, 90% of the time she'd go for the other meats. and yes- she was right. the beef was awesome. my favourite was definitely the wagyu. towards the end, we stuck with just ordering the wagyu.

they did have pork, chicken, salmon and scallops, but we only ordered a bit of the scallops and pork- the pork belly shio, which came in thin slices, and the pork belly tare, which came in thicker ones. both were good, but nothing compares to the beef.

of course we had to have vegetables too, so that the meat didn't become too overwhelming. surprisingly enough, i think our favourite of the night was the sweet potato (i don't even want to think about how many servings of sweet potato we had). the sweet potato provided perfect balance to the saltiness and oiliness of the meat. it was especially good when it became slightly charred on the outside, giving it a crispness while remaining soft inside. sometimes, it's really the simplest things.

they had matcha and goma ice-cream for dessert (surprising, given that they charge extra for green tea and water), and L got the goma ice-cream. her description was that it was like super sweet sesame paste in ice-cream form, intriguing me enough to give it a try. and... her description was right on the money.

the food was really good- value for money given its quality, and i'd go back... if they're still running a promotion. the logistics, however, are a nightmare- having to queue even with a reservation was pretty ridiculous.

gyuu+ yakiniku grill
emporium shokuhin
http://www.emporiumshokuhin.com.sg/dining/Gyuu

on a whim, decided to go for lunch with my sister, who'd be in the bugis area. the plan, initially, was to eat at saveur, but since she'd been there before, i suggested platypus, which has been lounging on my to-try list for a bit. since it was a last minute decision, we had no reservations, but got a table easily.

made my decision on what to eat pretty quickly. zeroed in on the platypus brunch bowl, which had all the stuff i like. it was part of a brunch set, which included soup of the day and a drink for $22.90. my sister pondered over the á la carte menu for a while, deciding between the ribeye and truffle bowl ($26.90) and the salmon and ikura bowl ($25.90). investigating on instagram proved that the ribeye bowl was the better choice, so that was what she went with.

i was served my soup pretty quickly. the soup of the day turned out to be pumpkin, and a deliciously creamy one at that. portions were pretty generous, too! it was a good start to our meal, and i was expecting our mains to be served in quick succession.

sadly, that was not the case. we fiddled around with the things on the table, discovering some cards that are meant to be conversation starters- pretty cool. but that got old after a while, and i got restless. we probably waited for about half an hour, before i went to ask a waitress about our order, and only shortly after that, our food made an appearance. weird, given that they had a lot of chefs in the kitchen, and the place was probably just three-quarters full.

thankfully it was, on the whole, worth the wait. i could smell the truffle from the truffle and ribeye bowl once it was brought over to our table. i snuck a bite and quite liked it. my sister was pleased with her choice, and said that she liked it better than tanuki raw's. i haven't tried tanuki raw, so i'll take her word for it.

i was satisfied with my bowl, too. it is exactly the kind of thing i like, and my sister said as much. it came with ribeye, super crispy bacon bits, cheddar, sliced cherry tomatoes, alfalfa sprouts and an onsen egg on japanese rice. i was expecting the ribeye to be... well... more like steak slices, but it was more like beef strips. tried eating the bowl with its elements separate, before deciding to just mix it up together, and that worked out better. the only part of the bowl i didn't like was probably the rice- tasted more like regular rice than japanese. i'd still prefer ninja bowl for donburis, though.

i'd come back for more of their food, especially since they do set lunches!

platypus kitchen
bugis junction
#01-90
http://www.platypuskitchen.com/platypus-kitchen-bugis-junction/

bought a groupon for tsukeru shabu-shabu over at emporium shokuhin, because it seemed like a good deal for the quality of ingredients ($74 for two people). made a reservation and went for a weeknight dinner with L.

ordering was fuss-free. there was an ipad mini on the table, and to order, we just had to key in whatever we wanted, and it'd be brought to our table. there are usually glitches when it comes to technology like that, but not in this case. everything we ordered arrived promptly and in the correct portion size.

the interesting thing about this shabu-shabu place is the individual pots. theoretically each person would get their own pot to cook their own stuff in, making hygiene less of a concern, but L and i got two different soups to share for variety, so the mini pot felt a bit small. L was commenting that dining in larger groups would feel a bit awkward, because the individual pots takes away the sharing aspect of shabu-shabu. i guess it caters to a different crowd. i, for one, quite like it.

it was an easy pick for soup bases. there were six available, and we were entitled to choose two. we got the miso tonkotsu and the tsukeru kombu soup. i was briefly tempted by the tan tan sesame, but L reminded that it'd be spicy, and we didn't feel that brave, so that went out the window.

not much to choose from from the menu, but who needs variety when what was available was so delicious? the quality of the meat especially shone through. they had wagyu brisket, wagyu rump and kurobuta, all thinly sliced. we got one of each to start, but quickly figured out that what we liked was the wagyu brisket and the kurobuta. just look at the marbling on the meat! the fats were so delicious i threw all thought of calories out the window. the buffet also included seafood- salmon and scallops. didn't particularly take to the salmon, but the scallops were pretty good.

we also got plenty of vegetables to go with the meat. like the rest of the ingredients, the vegetables were fresh and delicious.

the miso tonkotsu soup was especially good with the meat. it reminded me of ramen soup, actually! the kombu soup was, in comparison, lighter, and more suited for the vegetables. both were good in their own way. even the pork dumplings were not the afterthought that i thought they'd be- thin skinned and packed with pork and vegetables.

not sure how many servings of the wagyu and kurobuta we had (and not sure i want to think too much about that, either). the meat was of such good quality that i didn't mind the lack of variety. i'd come back easily.

tsukeru shabu-shabu つけるなべ物
marina square
#01-18
emporium shokuhin
http://www.emporiumshokuhin.com.sg/dining/Tsukeru

i feel smug whenever i traipse down to try out a new place, and i end up loving it even more than i'd expected. i've wanted to try ninja bowl ever since i saw posts on it on instagram. so happily enough, i had enough time today, and they were also conveniently open on sundays (surprise, given that it's located in the cbd).

i usually like to google the menu of the place that i'm going to before i go, so my visit to ninja bowl followed the same protocol. didn't manage to dig it up, though, because they are so new their website link on facebook doesn't work. knew that they had a hokkaido scallops and mussels bowl, so i was initially eyeing that. when i got the menu, however, i changed my mind, deciding on the genki ($16) instead. topped up another $2 for some ninja rice.

ordered and paid at the counter, took a tag, and sat down. i was kind of in a hurry (and hungry) so i was happy to see my food served so swiftly. the place was also emptier than i'd expected- i remember going to department of caffeine (where ninja bowl is currently located) and having to wait for both a table and food. speaking of department of caffeine, ninja bowl seems to have retained most of the furnishing.

i firmly believe that donburis are almost an art form. there needs to be a balance- the right combination of toppings, as well as the right amount. ninja bowl nailed it on both counts. a combination of buttery roasted pumpkin, savoury marinated beansprouts, refreshingly acidic pickled beetroot, a juicy slab of just-sweet-enough yaki unagi and of course, that glorious onsen egg, over a bed of ninja rice. the ninja rice was basically a mixture of brown and japanese rice, with sesame seeds thrown in for good measure. each component of the donburi worked well together. the richness of the roasted pumpkin was offset by the sweet-sour beetroot pickles. the gooey onsen egg was such a good match with the rice, i wish i had another of that egg. i liked the diversity of each topping- each bite was a different explosion of flavours. also helped that all the toppings were delicious in their own way.

i'm plotting a return visit- this place warrants that. eyeing one of the items on the all day brunch menu next. definitely coming back!

ninja bowl
15 duxton road
https://www.facebook.com/NinjaBowl/

decided to buy the groupon for tsuiteru maido because it's opened by omotenashi dining gosso, and i liked that place. i made a reservation for saturday night, but it seemed like it wasn't necessary- we were the only ones there when we arrived at seven thirty. (also, i'd made an online reservation, but they didn't seem to have registered that...)

sadly enough, the menu was also different from the one that was on groupon. i remember being tempted by the seafood meatball with cheese that i'd seen on the online menu, but it was nowhere to be found on the actual one. oh well. it was stated nowhere on the menu, but when we were ordering, the waitress told us that for every order, we HAD to get two- which really didn't make sense. i was initially planning to try one stick of the hokkaido beef (pricey at $8.50), but since they had that nonsensical policy, i scrapped that plan. we decided to get the beef karubi ($3.50 each), chicken tsukune ($2.80 each), hanging tender ($3 each) and pork with shiso leaf ($3 each). also decided to get the aburi charsiew don ($14.80) and a tako chazuke ($6.80) for carbs.

we were served corn tea, which was delicious, and cabbage as an appetiser. it looked plain, but was crunchy, refreshing and delicious, with a light soy based dressing. our food was served surprisingly quickly after- i was expecting it to take longer.

i found the beef sticks too heavy on the sauce, which made it hard to appreciate the beef. i remember omotenashi dining gosso's skewers to be more refined- definitely prefer the skewers from there. the tsukune was alright, as was the pork. none of the skewers really stood out.

the thing that stood out was, surprisingly, the aburi charsiew don, which we were on the fence about ordering, because the grainy picture showed charsiew that looked more like the dry pieces atop most ramen- so not confidence inspiring. so glad we decided to order it despite that! it came with four fat slices of aburi-ed charsiew and a molten egg on top of pearly japanese rice. i really didn't want to eat much rice, but the rice was so good with the charsiew i couldn't stop, especially with the sticky, caramelized yakitori sauce.

the chazuke was just chazuke, though its presentation was a pretty dramatic one. it was served in a hot stone bowl and the waitress poured the soup in so that it sizzled, with smoke billowing. i found it a comforting eat, though, and the rice was the same as the one in the charsiew don. however, it was basically just rice with bits of tako- way too much rice, so we ended up not finishing it.

got warabimochi with green tea ice-cream ($7.80) as dessert. for its portion... way too pricey for basically four pieces of warabimochi and a scoop of ice-cream. i didn't eat the ice-cream, but L said it was quite good. i liked the warabimochi (then again i always do) but i felt that the syrup they'd liberally poured over the plate was overkill- it didn't need that. L concurred.

will i be back? maybe- but only for the aburi charsiew don. still a good deal, but i think i'll stick to just the charsiew don.

tsuiteru sakaba maido ついてる酒場まいど
69 boat quay
http://maido69.com

noms.

ninja bowl, duxton, 2.0.

man man japanese restaurant, keong saik.

hokkaido izakaya, wisma atria.

tanuki raw, kapok.

the burning oak, bedok marketplace.

seiwaa okonomiyaki, dunlop street.

café & meal muji, paragon.

hoshino coffee, capitol piazza.

kyushu pancake café, novena regency.

gyuu+ yakiniku grill, emporium shokuhin, marina square, 2.0.

platypus kitchen, bugis junction.

tsukeru shabu-shabu つけるなべ物, emporium shokuhin.

ninja bowl, duxton.

tsuiteru sakaba maido ついてる酒場まいど, boat quay.

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