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ippudo mandarin gallery

February 27, 2012
Japanese, Mid - Range ($15 - $30), Orchard Road, Pricey ($30 - $70)
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bowl of hot soup. 

ippudo is synonymous with ultra-popular, delicious ramen in NYC, with massive queues snaking all the way out of the restaurant during meal times. and knowing this, when we visited ippudo NY a few years ago, i always ensured we went at off-peak times of like 11.00 or like 5.30 to avoid the crowd. still, the wait was roughly 30 mins – 1 hr, so you can understand the hype.

mind you, i think ippudo, NY is really quite good, and it has the crowds and the hype to prove it. well seasoned, delicious and nuanced soup broth paired with sinfully good char-shu pieces and noodles with a great ‘Q’ consistency, it’s the very definition of a good ramen.

so what about the singapore version of ippudo? hmm.. the queues somewhat remain, and its again good advice to come to ippudo at slightly off-peak timwes (read: earlier or later) if you don’t want to wait for too long, but its not as hyped as its NY sister. the menu is somewhat different as well, whereby the NY version stuck true to the notion of a ramen store with few other accompanying side-dishes, whereas the singapore one has incorporated quite a bit of other side dishes and mains, from hot/cold appetizers, salads and the likes (some look good to be honest, but when i go to a ramen stall, i go for the ramen).

so what about the ramen? i had chosen the shiromaru hakata classic with char-shu ($18) which promised a classically tasting, well-balanced ramen. and well, it fulfilled its brief. the char-shu was generously given — almost 5 – 6 pieces of well-broiled, flavorful meat that paired perfectly with the noodles and broth. the broth was a little light compared to local tastes but upon closer sampling, you could really sense that the flavors were firmly locked into the broth and masterfully nuanced. the only drawback? well.. the price and the stinginess of other condiments — to be honest, $18 is a little steep for a bowl of noodles, considering that other ramen contemporaries usually go around $12 – $15 and usually have much more other ingredients. ippudo’s ramen seems a little stingy by the fact that there is very little other ingredients added within the ramen bowl – i mean, the broth, noodles and charshu are all very good but not having almost anything else is a little sad. i mean, yeah you essentially could add in alot of other stuff like the onsen-tamago (half-boiled egg) and likes but these really hike up the price (i think each ingredient addition goes for around 2 – 3 bucks). so yeah, you could end up with a really expensive bowl of ramen if you want the full works.

didn’t try the rest of the dishes, but my previous experience of the akamaru ramen is that the soup broth is more intense in flavor and perhaps more suited for local flavors. to be honest i was pretty impressed by ippudo NY, but i can’t summon similar enthusiasm for ippudo singapore. i think the quality hasn’t exactly dropped — but the fact that it is fighting with some many other ramen contemporaries, be it tonkotsu king keisuke, ramen champion, marutama and the likes, all which aren’t too bad themselves and priced somewhat cheaper, means that it becomes that much more difficult to justify its price point or its hype. furthermore, we’re not comparing with the local variants of prawn noodles and chinese noodles and the likes, all which form some sort of competition with it.

ippudo’s worth a visit or two when you want the ambience and want a bowl of good ol’ hearty ramen. but its not gonna get the hype to make me a frequent patron at any rate.  6.75/10

ippudo mandarin gallery | 333A Orchard Road, #04-02/03/04 Mandarin Gallery, Singapore | japanese, ramen, pricey

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sun with moon, revisited

February 19, 2012
Japanese, Mid - Range ($15 - $30), Orchard Road, Pricey ($30 - $70)
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sun with moon has a pretty interesting history if i may say. this moderately upscale (more expensive than your casual sushi tei and ichiban boshi) started off at wheelock and gained much praises and rave reviews and quickly became the place to have a chic, delicious japanese meal what with creative favorites like their kamameshi rice and tofu cheesecake. at the peak of its popularity, it was practically impossible to get seats without prior bookings and the restaurant expanded to central, and then chijmes.

but then, somehow the expansion hasn’t done it much good, and the fierce competition at central (with all the other well-marketed and delicious japanese restaurants) forced the eventual closure of the central branch (now replaced with sque rotisserie and alehouse by emmanuel stroobant.. i wanna go try).  and to be honest, the standard at wheelock has also somewhat disappointingly dropped, so it was with a sense of reservation that we headed back for another try. (mind you, i was very tempted to just head to skinny pizza or cedele next door)

the restaurant is a chic, artfully designed space using much wooden elements and dim lighting to create an almost sensual effect. tables are nicely spaced apart so you get a sense of privacy to catch up on the latest gossip (its pretty obvious the design of the place is to attract girls somehow). i noticed that the ceiling had english translations of haikus sprawled across which to be honest, is tad contrived and a little trying too hard to be atas.

and mind you, they do charge quite a bit for their food (since they want you to feel that this is an upscale place). sushi of 8 pieces go for roughly 20 a plate whilst mains go for 15 – 20 and sets go from 20 – 40. you can’t just go on an ordering spree here as you could possibly do at sushi tei.

lets look at the food.

nixon sushi (4 pcs, $9.90) – grilled eel, cream cheese, egg and cucumber

i chose this because the japanese restaurant at cornell university does an absolutely heavenly rendition of grilled eel + cream cheese + avocado sushi roll (that’s called out of control) and i really wanted to taste something similar. and to be honest, this is disappointing. the flavors don’t mesh well together (honestly its lacking the avocado imo) and the resulting flavor in the mouth isn’t one that is cohesive or particularly memorable. and when you charge $10 for a plate of sushi, i would wish for a certain standard.

pork belly kamameshi with soft boiled egg, $16.80 (without soup)

a restaurant recommendation, the kamameshi is essentially japanese rice cooked in an iron pot, where the rice normally gets slightly burnt at the bottom, giving a nice flavor to the dish (something like a mild version of a claypot). to be fair, the pork belly tasted great and had the melt-in-your-mouth sensation but what confused me was that when i poked the soft boiled egg and mixed the rice together, the watery-ness of the egg made the rice kinda wet and there wasn’t that slightly burnt effect in the end. (i dunno.. maybe the iron pot wasn’t hot enough, but my mom’s salmon kamameshi worked out fine). all in all, its a decent, special dish that can’t be found easily at other japanese restaurants but be warned that the flavors are somewhat lighter than what we singaporeans are commonly used to.

tofu cheescake, $6.50

a sentimental classic – the tofu cheesecake is light, very smooth and also very tasty. i don’t understand the concept of the cage to be honest, in my opinion its another example of the restaurant trying too hard but.. ah well.. they’re trying. its a tasty, satisfyingly good dessert- almost like the japanese variant to panna cotta with berries compote, though the berries here didn’t exactly go very well with the cheescake. wonder why.

all in all, to be honest, this place isn’t as good as what it used to be during its heydays. but there’s still good food and its worth a visit once in a while when you have to meet those gal pals and chit chat/bitch/catch up and the likes. lol. or yeah, a good dating spot i suppose. 6.75/10

sun with moon japanese dining and cafe | 501 Orchard Road, #03-15 Wheelock Place | japanese, upscale, desserts

chikuwa tei

September 12, 2011
Clarke Quay | Robertson Quay, Japanese
3 Comments

no nonsense, good japanese food

so chikuwa tei was a recommendation by my dear friend stephanie, who was raving much about the chirashi don one night in cell after i told her about kinki’s foie gras+hotate sushi. apparently it is by this grumpy chef that was originally from a wildly popular Wasabi-tei but whatever the history, I was craving some good chirashi after tasting some sub par, scrawny versions in places like mof @ japanese sweets & coffee at raffles city.

chikuwa tei is pretty much a no-nonsense, no frills japanese eatery that doesn’t spend much on decor or ambience — classic japanese filmsy wooden tables and chairs are placed neatly across the wide expanse of the room with nary an acoutrement or decoration. the only efforts at decoration lie at one side of the wall which is covered with a wallpaper of a cherry blossom scene. it reminds me of a canteen, but who cares about decor when you’re just there for value, nice japanese food and you have good company eh?

service is kinda typically singaporean auntie style, direct and straightforward without much pleasantries. we quickly ordered our chirashi dons ($24) and were promptly served with simple appetizers, miso soup and watermelon as dessert (ughh..). one thing i like is how quick the service is — if you’re hungry, fret not – the chirashi don comes real quick.

speaking of the chirashi don.. wowzers.. this thing is really fresh. and the assorted pieces of sashimi as generously thick, juicy and just really tasty. paired with copious amounts of wasabi+shoyu, it was one of my most satisfying japanese dinners to date. i mean, this dish is all about the freshness of the sashimi and how much you’re given. and i’m happy to say chikuwatei didn’t disappoint — there was shake (salmon), maguro (tuna), hamachi (yellowtail – bottom, next to the ginger), uni (sea urchin – that orangey piece in the center, surprisingly fresh and tasty!), mekajiki (swordfish – the pale pink whitish slabs at the left),  and hotate (scallop)! so much variety and each one so fresh and delicious!

all in all, a satisfying meal in a no-frills restaurant. good stuff! 8.0/10

chikuwa tei | 9 mohamed sultan road, #01-01 | japanese, traditional

yonehachi

September 9, 2011
Japanese, Orchard Road, Value (less than $15)
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tastes like japan.

i’m having a really japan-inspired week this week in terms of gastronomic selections it seems, what with chirashi-dons, okawas and japanese patisseries. mind you, i really love japanese food. the effort gone into both the aesthetic quality and overall presentation and taste of japanese food is really something, and there’s also a sense of home and sweetness involved with the taste of japanese food. traditional japanese food can come at quite a high price in singapore, so its nice to make the occasional visit to takashimaya b2 and visit the quaint and somewhat traditional-looking stores selling more interesting variations of the japanese cuisine. one of em’s yonehachi, a store selling different types of okawa, sticky glutinous rice with variety of ingredients.

chestnut okowa, $7.80

you can get the rice alone, or complete the rice with some typical japanese pairings like miso soup, hijiki and a small protein dish like karaage or shio salmon. but the focus is on the rice anyways.

pork curry okawa set with shio salmon, $13.80

i got the pork curry okawa, a new flavor that tasted somewhat of a non-spicy indian curry and not that of the japanese sweet curry. the rice smelt and tasted good, and ultimately very homely. i like. =) the other pairings are really nothing much to write home about, but forms constituents of a typical japanese bento meal. good enuff’ for me!

overall, a decent choice for people craving some japanese homely food. 7.5/10

yonehachi |  391 Orchard Road, #B2-04-1/2 Takashimaya Food Hall, Ngee Ann City | japanese, authentic, bento

tonkotsu king keisuke ramen

August 28, 2011
Japanese, Mid - Range ($15 - $30), Tanjong Pagar | CBD
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pound out the flavor.

my dear friend’s review of tonkotsu king keisuke ramen piqued my interest small unpretentious ramen shop, considering that he pretty much used the words “best ramen in singapore“. boy that’s some tall praise considering how saturated the market has become for ramen. and yeah perhaps one of my posts in the future will be on the top few ramen places in singapore.

anyways, i don’t really understand why, but to me, you need a certain mood and time to eat ramen. ramen is a relatively heavy meal, consisting of a thick broth soup, noodles and other condiments which each determines how good the entire bowl will turn out. to me, ramen is only eaten on days when you have that “i need some tasty soup but not exactly prawn mee” kind of craving. but those days come quite often, so I guess it works out for ramen shop owners. =)

ok anyways, as per what the above review mentioned, there was a sizeable queue outside the stall when we walked from tanjong pagar mrt station toward the shop. and the queue moves slowly, simply because it moves only when patrons within have finished their meal and have vacated their tables. its that small a restaurant. please don’t come with like a bunch of 20 friends, because you wouldn’t fit inside. even with like 12 friends, you practically need to book the entire ramen shop because there are pretty much like 2×4-seaters, 3×2-seaters and a bartop seating another 4. but since people do realise that there are hungry hordes waiting for them to finish their meal, they are relatively brisk and no-frills after they finish their meal, which is much appreciated. =)

so we got in after queuing for around half an hour, by which the friendly waiter had taken our orders already via some handy sheet of paper-order where you indicated the type of ramen you wanted – normal, black spicy (a more peppery version that’s apparently the signature ramen here) and red spicy (i suppose to cater to the singaporean’s liking for red hot spicy stuff). you also chose the accoutrements you wanted, either inoli (seaweed), char siew, onsen tamago (egg that is boiled in a precise onsen (hot-bath) temperature to give a semi-runny, semi-hardened consistency with the yolk – amazing) or just be greedy and get all in. of course, me being me, i got the black spicy special ramen with all the ingredients added in. cheers.

whilst waiting for our orders, we took in the surroundings a bit. this place conjures up fond memories of kenka in st marks place, NYC, a really vibrant, hip japanese restaurant which i tried with sheryl+cheewei once and then another time whilst catching up with chen kiang after his work. ahhh memories.. the reason for the resemblance i suppose comes from the old shop japanese posters that were plastered on the walls, the crowded, packed-together seating and just a genuinely authentic japanese feel to the place.

kenka, st marks place, NYC

ok let’s get on with the food.

[ black spicy tonkotsu ramen special, $15.80]

 this thing smelt amazing, a wholesome aroma of peppery, meaty goodness which tasted really good upon first tastings. the broth is really interesting as the pepper adds a certain zing to the soup but does not mask the underlying pork broth flavors. noodles are thin and pair well with the soup. the onsen-tamago is to die for - perfectly made such that when you bite into it, it slowly melts outward giving a really textured response. seaweed was a little awkward to eat since it was essentially one big piece stuck to the side of the bowl, but after we broke it up and mixed it in with the soup, it also joined in the symphony of deliciousness within the brew.

note that this place serves free eggs and slightly spicy beansprouts at the side for u to supplement your meal, making for a really full dinner. they also provide condiments such as bonito flakes and the jap chilli flakes but imo its not too necessary. hmm my issues with this ramen? well two main points – one was that whilst it tasted amazing and special one first bites whilst everything was piping hot, once it slightly cooled down, the taste became slightly too overpowering, like you know how peppery bak kut teh that has slightly cooled suddenly doesn’t taste as nice? imo this place needs like warmers to maintain the heat within the bowl, or well, you just have to finish it fast and not be like me, snapping many shots merrily at it. -_- (i think the restaurant is banking on most people doing the former). another thing was that, the soup broth, on closer examination, really conjured some health worries within me because whilst it tasted amazing, i think i spied on chunks on pork fat within the soup which really sends my health-conscious mind into a cardiac arrest. lol.

overall a tasty, interesting ramen option that does duke it out well with other established ramen shops in singapore. do go try it once, though be prepared for the wait, and dun expect it to be some chill, cozy place where you can slowly finish your food, kick off your sandals and relax. be courteous. 7/10

tonkotsu king keisuke | 1 Tras Link #01-19, Orchid Hotel, S078867 | ramen, authentic

kinki restaurant and bar

August 18, 2011
Contemporary, Japanese, Pricey ($30 - $70), Raffles City | Marina Bay
3 Comments

back in business.

[pomegranate and honey-miso black cod fish with gobo (burdock roots), ginger, scallion and sesame, $24]

so i met up with my good ol’ friend, alex today for some good ol’ contemporary japanese food (ha, oxymoron much).  its something i have been missing since trying hapa izakaya at vancouver. anyways, i had suggested this place called kinki, located at the shimmering location of customs house sited right by the bay facing MBS. mind you, the fullerton bay area has seriously glammed up since the last year i visited the area (which was errm never, because this place was never much of a talking point until recent times i suppose). looking exactly like the expats and banker’s cozy after-work chillout spot, the place is filled with sleekly designed boutique restaurants and the beautiful open-concept fullerton bay hotel. kinki fits right with this theme, giving off a nonchalant, casual vibe mixed with obviously expensive aftertones. you have the incongruous graffiti juxtaposed with sleek looking furnishings that opens out to a magnificent view of the bay courtesy of the full length bay windows.

anyways, lets talk about the name of this place. i suppose it serves a double entendre purpose of implying cheeky fun as well, but my friend searched ‘kinki japanese’ and the first hit was japanese girls. *shakes head*. ok to the food..

foie gras and scallop sushi, $22

this small creation set us back by $22, which is kinda shocking, but honestly, its worth the try and leaves you seriously craving for more. the foie gras melts in your mouth whilst the japanese scallop gives a great texture (what chinese call ‘kou gan’) creating a true gastronomic delight. THIS is what i love and miss so much about contemporary japanese food. the carefully nuanced use of japanese and western ingredients and cooking styles to create an exciting, elaborate culinary adventure. every bite brought about new sensations. lol.. and i’m not kidding – the combination of the buttery flavor of the foie gras paired with the sweet sauce and freshness of the scallop was truly great stuff. pity about the price.

note that after this dish we actually ordered a buta sushi ($18), some slow roast pork belly sushi that was gobbled up so quickly that i remembered about my camera only after the last grains of rice had melted in my mouth. -_-

kinki okonomiyaki (japanese pizza with bonito flakes, shrimp, scallop and bacon), $24

this was a little bit of a miss for me – i appreciated the western take on okonomiyaki by use pastry bread as the base for this dish and piling on traditional okonomiyaki ingredients and sauces, but to me, it was a little too way off to be called okonomiyaki. in other words, dun mess with my okonomiyaki biatches! the dish on its own was decent, the pastry bread was well baked and soft but i felt like there was a certain disconnect between the ingredients on the top (the prawn, sauce, bacon etc) and the pastry bread, as though the proportion of bread had overshadowed the fillings on top. this being said, the dish started to grow on me and by the last piece, i was starting to want more and was burping nice after-flavors.. lol.

another highlight was the pomegranate and honey-miso black cod fish paired with ginger, scallion, sesame and gobo (burdock root). initially i ate the fish without the acoutrements and felt like it was just a uniquely flavored and well prepared fish dish, but the pairing of the other components truly elevated the dish to a much higher level. the scallion, sesame and ginger lent the fish much of a japanese flavor to the pomegranate-tasting fish which really enhanced the flavor profile. the semi medicinal and off-bitter taste of the gobo further accentuated the sweetness and complexity of the entire dish. amazing stuff.

all in all, a really delicious gastronomic adventure. bill came down to round $56 per person but you did feel full. had it been cheaper, this would be moved to the top of my list, but now it stands as more of a once-off, novelty food excursion. yummz. 8.0/10

Kinki Restaurant + Bar | 70 Collyer Quay #02-02, Customs House, Singapore 049323 | fusion, japanese, chill-out

ramen champion

July 17, 2011
Bugis | Little India, Japanese, Mid - Range ($15 - $30)
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ramen, iron chef style.

methinks this is a really innovative venture at iluma shopping mall – round up a bunch of well known ramen chefs and pit them against each other iron chef style and allow the patrons to decide who is the king of ramen. the concept of the restaurant is similar to that of medz/shokudo/marche where you get a card to swipe as much food as you want, you grab a seat in the japanese-izakaya themed restaurant layout and then order your preferred ramen.

mind you, for the uninitiated, the nuances between the ramen of different districts can be quite daunting. and well, even for me, who has tried quite a few ramen stalls, i can’t tell you what makes different ramen of different districts unique. i only know that i like hakata ramen for their thin cut noodles and savory broth and am acquainted with sapporo ramen for their miso/shouyu/shio broths normally sweetened with the inclusion of corn.

so yeah, i was intimidated and well, went with my instincts and chose the Bario ramen, based on my friend’s prior recommendation.

Bario ramen – this one’s for the boys – $13

this ramen has character. and indeed, interestingly as it sounds, the characteristics of the ramen resemble that of a stereotypical macho dude that zhams all the ingredients and asks for second helpings at everything. in other words, everything in this ramen is loud and boisterous, like a drunkard japanese man stumbling out of an izakaya. the soup broth is good stuff – and with the addition of copious (and this is encouraged by the chef – 3 scoops of garlic = decent DUDE) amounts of garlic, the flavor profile becomes more unique and well.. nice. and well, this ramen honestly can be shared amongst two in my opinion, because the noodles are thick and heavy and the beansprouts mountain is really quite daunting a task to finish. i somehow felt the thickness of the noodle made it difficult for the flavor of the soup to entirely seep into the noodle, leading to a somewhat less tasty experience when u eat the noodle cos u taste alot of flour. ohh.. and the char siew is kinda miserable compared to the other ingredients, 3 pieces of char siew that ain’t much to talk about. =)

in a nutshell, Bario – full of flavor, overwhelming, not too nuanced.

tsukemen from tetsu

my sis and dad opted for the tsukemen – a dipping ramen where ramen and broth are presented separately and one has to dip the ramen into the broth and sip vigorously. the broth is thicker than other ramen soups and is also somewhat more flavorful. wasn’t too impressed with this because it just felt like zhup (sauce) and noodles without any other ingredients, but the broth was pretty good. worth a shot if one hasn’t eaten such dipping ramen before.

black shoyu ramen from menya iroha

my mom got this cos she didn’t want something too oily. hmm, this one actually is the most similar to the normal ramen we see at other ramen establishments. but the black shoyu does give it different, more edgy flavor profile. i think i preferred this the most in my opinion.

all in all, a decent place to soak in some japonisme and try all the quirky ramen you can stomach! 7/10

 ramen champion | 201 victoria street, bugis iluma, #04-08/09/10 s188607 | japanese, ramen, themed

saboten

July 3, 2011
Japanese, Mid - Range ($15 - $30), Other Locations, Raffles City | Marina Bay
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the japanese do breaded the best.

in bid to perform some analytics to my this pseudo blog business operations (allow me to indulge awhile), i wanted to see exactly how long it took me to blog a food post – first with the selection of pictures, touching them up slightly, loading, and then the actual blogging. mind you, i’m quickly realising that this blog thingy requires a fair bit of discipline. of course, one could argue that ya’know.. just blog when you feel like it, but that’s precisely my issue for most things — if you do things when you feel like it, you mostly do nothing much. and hence this blogging has become more of a discipline for me at times, just to show myself (haha) that i can carry through what i say and plan to do a few months ago.

ok back to food business. so yesterday we headed to the airport, T1 to pick up my sis who had finally flown back from vancouver to the sunny, crowded shores of singapore. our initial intention was just to have a simple meal at paradise inn, but after seeing the miling crowds outside the place, and the surprisingly long queue at astons specialities, we settled for saboten.

now for people who don’t know about restaurants like saboten and tonkichi, these tonkatsu restaurants have a laser focus on perfecting the art of the tonkatsu, otherwise known as the breaded pork cutlet. try going there to order your typically chawanmushi or tempura and be prepared to be disappointed, because every page of the menu is some tonkatsu set meal or a variant of that. the restaurants operate under a very simple theory, we serve only one thing — the tonkatsu, and damnit we’ll do it damn well. its a pretty decent idea, but you need to know what you’re in for. furthermore, rice and cabbage come free flow, so for the mighty hungry, you can satiate yourself by carbo loading or veggie loading.

now a word on the condiments. the restaurant doesn’t make it very easy for first timers to figure out which sauce goes with which, so here’s some friendly reference. the small bowl filled with sesame seeds is for one to pound to your desired level of fragmentation before ladling out copious amounts of sweet tonkatsu sauce (look for the thick, brown, syrupy one). that sauce+sesame is reserved for the dipping with your tonkatsu. and honestly, the combination is pretty darn good. traditions last for a reason ehh. in terms of salad dressing, saboten offers a vinaigrette-esque sauce or a more traditional thousand island-esque sauce for one to dump on their salad. i prefer the vinaigrette one, so its up to you.

now lets talk tonkatsu. the tonkatsu here is good, and expectedly so. the bread crumbs exterior is delicately crunchy and melts in one’s mouth and doesn’t give you a sense of oilyness (which happens if you use stale oil or too much oil) or jer-lak ness. it is fragrant, delicious, though i somewhat wish the pork within was pounded/tenderized slightly more. good, hearty comfort food from the japanese.

price-wise, its pretty decent. a medium-order of the tonkatsu set will set you back by about 19 dollars, and with the salad/miso soup/rice/green tea ice cream as accompaniments, you are guaranteed to be satisfied. the place is slightly cheaper than tonkichi with no apparently drop in taste level. service is acceptable, and almost gives the place a street-cred of being authentic what with japanglish-speaking waitresses. notice i didnt talk about the ambience, because seriously, what do u expect of a airport establishment — its very open concept, cafeteria style that can get relatively noisy.  6.5/10

saboten |   80 Airport Boulevard, #031-004 Departure Check-in Hall Level 3, Changi Airport Terminal 1 -and- 9 Raffles Boulevard, #P3-01 Parco Marina Bay, Millenia Walk | japanese, comfort food, tonkatsu

*the post took a grand total of 30 mins.

yoshimaru ramen bar

May 30, 2011
Holland Village, Japanese, Mid - Range ($15 - $30)
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looks pretty legit.

Yoshimaru Ramen Bar is this ramen place located in holland village that actually looks pretty much like a traditional japanese ramen-ya you would find in japan, complete with the chef-facing-you-preparing-the-dish-separated-by-a-glass-panel experience. that being said, the pretense of being traditional quickly evaporates when you notice that the servers are mainly foreign hires either from phillipines or china and that, well, the restaurant chain is managed by jumbo seafood. not that there is anything wrong with jumbo seafood — in fact i think jumbo seafood does a great job with food-related business, both with yoshimaru as well as one of the nicer restaurants @ vivocity, j-pot. that being said, it’s just kinda nicer to watch a wizened old japanese uncle laboring to make ramen noodles whilst one sips hot green tea in the cosy confines of a ramen-ya.. (ok getting carried away). let’s talk food.

hakata traditional ramen – $11

now, considering the growing popularity of ramen stalls in singapore, it’s kinda difficult at times to pinpoint what makes a good bowl of ramen worth it — that is, worth 2 – 3 times more than a common bowl of prawn mee or the likes at hawker centers. in my opinion, the crux lies with the soup as well as the char siu pieces. the soup really separates the wheat from the chaff, as good soups are fragrant, immensely rich in flavors and when served piping hot, is the ultimate comfort food in winter. the char siew creates the additional savory taste that enhances the dish greatly and also breaks the monotony of flavor by just eating the noodles alone. so what about yoshimaru? well.. honestly, i wasn’t too impressed with their ramen this time round– considering that this place to me is a sentimental value-priced favorite where I have really tasted good soup before. yet, the soup i tasted this time round was rather flat, as though it hadn’t been fully and thoroughly boiled. i dunno. kinda disappointed. the char siew was decent, but yet again, not impressive. i have tasted better. =(

 hakata mini burgers – mentaiko mayo prawn burger, $3.50

this appetizer dish is simple, relatively cheap and delicious. in fact, i have always wanted to order 3 mini burgers (other flavors include spicy char siu and teriyaki chicken) for a value price of $8 and just treat that as my dinner. but usually i come here to satisfy my craving of ramen.. so there. the fusion of east and west flavors creates a really good combination and is well worth a try.

overall, i expected better i guess. and well, i’m not gonna let one misstep (in my opinion) stop me from patronizing the place again. i’ll give u another chance, yoshimaru. anyways, you’re pretty value for money compared to other ramen chains. 6.5/10

a word of caution though: avoid the other ‘side dishes’ like ebi tempura or the likes.. i think the only authentic stuff is the ramen, so stick to it.

Yoshimaru Ramen Bar | 31 Lorong Liput Holland Village s277742 | japanese, ramen, comfort

izakaya nijumaru

May 17, 2011
Japanese, Orchard Road, Pricey ($30 - $70)
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catty.

so we headed to izakaya nijumaru for dinner monday night since the next day was a public holiday and well.. anything warrants as an excuse to eat/drink/have fun. so there. i was pretty excited to be going to izakaya nijumaru since it was mentioned by my friend from cell as being a decent japanese comfort food place and that was exactly my craving for the night. i was also excited to see how singapore izakaya food compared to the amazing food i had in hapa izakaya in vancouver.  first things first, the restaurant is tucked away on the second floor of cuppage plaza, otherwise known as seedy-ville with a plethora of skimpily clad female escorts trawling the alleys of the dark shopping center looking for customers. the interior is plain and indeed quite authentically japanese but the poor ventilation of the restaurant meant that the fumes from the grill/kitchen permeated the entire restaurant and at times was pungent enough to lead to some coughing displeasures. hmmz.

next thing that annoyed me was the service – euphemistically, we would call it ‘auntie’-service because indeed we were being served by busy aunties bustling around with a whole assortment of foodstuff. honestly though, i semi-felt like i was back in school, to which any additional orders or slower-than-usual deliberations was glared at or just roughly answered with. it was careless, thoughtless, inattentive service that really did mar my impression of the place. in fact, that combined with the poor ventilation made me really feel like leaving. the issue is further compounded by the fact that the menu is super non-japanese unfriendly — the english menu is literally phonetical translations of the japanese terms which made it really difficult to order. furthermore, when i asked for recommendations of appetizers, the servers really made no effort to find out what we were interested in eating or made any really cogent recommendations. annoyed.

lets get to the food.

steph’s curry katsu rice – $10

hmm.. uninspiring. well, i didnt really try the katsu but the curry was pretty much standard fare (ie. you can buy the packet and pretty much do it yourself-style). its acceptable for the price point.

agedashi tofu – $5

 grilled asparagus wrapped in bacon – $8

ehh.. honestly the appetizers we got were pretty unmemorable. we also got a salmon sashimi dish that cost $15 and yielded FIVE pieces of salmon sashimi. really? like, the sashimi salad in sushi tei cost $9 and has much more sashimi? ok maybe i am noob at sashimi. ah wells.

the litmus test – katsudon, the comfort food – $8

ok i think this is likewise pretty decent for its price point, but i did feel that the katsu (pork cutlet) pieces was drowned in the sauce and wasn’t crispy enough to assert its flavor within the dish. and sadly, this doesn’t taste like home. don’t ask me why. maybe i was quite annoyed by the service already, or maybe the dish wasn’t served hot enough, i dunno.. i felt like i could have gotten the exact same bowl at the common food court for a slightly cheaper price.

i had enough of their service after this, so we adjourned to wine connection after the meal without any dessert. hmpf. well, turns out, my friend told me today that we should have ordered the nijumaru set ($20) which was apparently value for money and good (and i do remember the server actually recommending this dish.. haha give them back one point). also, my other friend ordered a grilled codfish that actually tasted really good and not at all too oily or jelak. so yeah, there are redemption points.

but honestly, this place needs to improve on their service. majorly. the food is decently priced (besides the sashimi) and of a certain standard. but i doubt i would head back for a second try in a long while. 5.5/10