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DISCLAIMER If you have any comments/suggestions/places you think serve great food, do share with us! Email me at qiuyi_ong@hotmail.com or leave a comment in the tag board. Thanks and cheers to future gastronomical adventures! MY TO-GO LIST Au Jardin (Eaten!) Au Petit Salut Buko Nero (Eaten!) Cugini (Eaten!) Forlino (Eaten!) Gunther's Jaan (Eaten!) La Strada Le Bistrot Nicolas Pasta Brava (Eaten!) Sage (Eaten!) Tatsuya Tetsu (Eaten!) I LIKE Cugini Kuriya Le Figue LivinGreens Nanbantei Ootoya Original Sin Pasta Brava Sage Tetsu Valentino PAST ENTRIES May 2008 June 2008 July 2008 August 2008 September 2008 October 2008 November 2008 January 2009 February 2009 March 2009 April 2009 May 2009 June 2009 July 2009 August 2009 September 2009
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Thursday, August 27, 2009
Ootoya #1
#08-12, Orchard Central 6884 8901 Sometimes, I feel like I can survive on nothing but Japanese food for the rest of my life. Today is one such day. Ootoya specialises in teishoku (Japanese set meals) or more commonly known as bento boxes to us ignorant Singaporeans. There's also the choice between ordering ala carte or a set which comes with rice, vegetables and miso soup. If you order the latter and happen to love rice, you will be happy to know that you can refill the rice for free. One unique aspect is that the menu also lists the calories of the different dishes which was quite fun to know!  When I saw this on the menu, I knew I wanted it straightaway. The Grated Yam with Tuna ($6++, 164kcal) was a great appetiser. Layers of natto beans, lady fingers, marinated tuna slices and grated yam are topped with a half boiled egg. I love it when the egg yolk just flow all over the dish when I mixed it all up to a gooey mess. Not everyone will like it as this is very much an acquired taste. I suppose you have to like the sticky and slightly pungent natto beans like me to fall in love with this. The Atka Mackerel ($13++ ala carte, 224kcal) is one of the more popular items on the menu. The portion was extremely generous and definitely more than what I expected. On 1st bite, the charcoal grilled fish was very salty since it's preserved with salt upon capture. But paired with the freshly grated daikon on the side, this is a clear winner! I can't remember the last time I've enjoyed a mackerel more. Even the many embedded bones didn't bother me since they separated from the juicy and firm flesh easily.  The Mixed-Grain Soy Milk Porridge ($12++, 335kcal) sounded so healthy that it's hard to believe that something this healthy can taste so good. Comprising of nine kinds of cereal, vegetables, mushrooms and chicken in soy milk, this whole dish just scream "comfort food". Whoever say that healthy food is boring or bland? What I like best is the 2 pieces of pumpkin simmered in a slightly savoury broth which provided a perfect contrast to the sweet golden fruit.  Coated with subtly sweet toasted soybean flour, the Warabimochi ($7++, 299kcal) had a really soft texture. It's not a true mochi since it's not made with rice but rather, it's made from bracken starch which results in a jelly-like consistency. Though I usually stay clear of milk ice cream, this one made with Hokkaido milk was not half bad. OCBC cardholders get a complimentary Green Tea Ice Cream in Soya Milk Syrup ($4.50++, 300kcal). I like almost everything about this simple dessert: the ice cream tasted like real maccha and not too sweet, the red beans were plump and tender, and the soy milk added an interesting dimension to the whole dessert. The only fault I had was with the rice dumplings which were too tough and chewy.  I have to mention that the green tea served here is fantastic! I don't know what type of tea leaves they use but the smell and taste were really strong in a good way. It's definitely not the diluted type served in other restaurants. I have to go back to try its other dishes before the chef heads back to Japan!Labels: Japanese 9:27 PM ---------- Saturday, August 22, 2009
Sun With Moon #2
#01-70/71/72, The Central @ Clarke Quay 6534 7784 Mind you, the food here wasn't so great that it warrants a 2nd visit. It was just that we wanted to use the discount vouchers so our simple dinner was settled here.  Since we were there before dinner time, we could only order from the cafe menu which didn't offer a lot of choices. The Salmon, Ikura Spaghetti & SUN Salad set ($12.80++) came within minutes after the waitress took our order as we were the only customers besides a Japanese couple at the next table. The SUN Salad was very appetising with its slightly tangy and fragrant sesame dressing. The pasta was average at most. Thankfully, there was no strong buttery taste as the spaghetti was tossed in butter shoyu. The salmon was not overcooked but I didn't like the salmon roe which tasted like cod liver oil. There was nothing memorable with the soup that came with the set. I doubt there will be a 3rd visit anytime soon!Labels: Japanese 5:14 PM ---------- Thursday, August 20, 2009
Watami
#B3-23, ION Orchard 6509 9366 I didn't expect to end my long hiatus from food hunting with a 90 minutes queue for Japanese food. Have you ever done anything this crazy? This must be another 'Donut Factory Syndrome' (no, I wasn't that mad to queue up for donuts). Fortunately, I'm lucky enough to be able to enjoy the food without waiting for a maddening 1 and a half hour! Anyway, the restaurant in question hails from Japan and has outlets in Shanghai, Taiwan and Hong Kong too.  This being our 1st time here, we decided to order the signature items to be on the safe side. I'm not sure whether it's due to the fact that we were starving by now but the Kani & Hotate Cream Croquette ($5.80++) was delicious! The golden bite-sized crispy balls oozing with cream disappeared in a flash. Admittedly, the small chunks of crab meat and scallop could have been more generous though. Another favourite is the Watami Salad ($7.80++) with a huge dollop of tuna mayonnaise on a bed of colourful vegetables. Now, I really really dislike mayonnaise but there's no way for me to avoid that nasty stuff if I want to try this. Overlooking the presence of the hated mayo, what surprised me was that slices of cooked tuna were used instead of the canned flaked type. I believe what made the salad so enjoyable was the fragrant sesame dressing. Call me biased since I'm devoted to anything sesame but this really made the salad come alive with a burst of flavours. A friend asked me before why would I pay for a bowl of greens and my answer would be why not, especially if it tastes as good as this! Usually I wouldn't have ordered any sushi but the Irodori Sushi Grandeur ($10.80++) seemed like a safe bet since it has scallop, seafood salmon and unagi--all my favourites. Presentation was fantastic but the sushi didn't impress me. I'm no rice nor sushi connoisseur but it would be nice if the grains were less dry and more fragrant. The toppings, which I enjoyed thoroughly, were another story. I could find no fault with the soft eel nor the juicy and plump scallops.  The kitchen was already taking its last order by the time we were ready for desserts. I was hard pressed not to laugh when the Mango & Ichigo Daifuku ($3.80++) was served. Instead of being plump and round like the picture on the menu, the rice cake looked as though it has been flattened by a truck. Looks aside, the taste was excellent with the combination of sweet mango and strawberry and texture was great with the smooth and paper thin mochi skin. I would have ordered more if the kitchen was still open! Granted, the Kurogoma Ice Cream ($2++) was not a signature item but I just couldn't resist it. Afterall, how wrong could you go with sesame? Watami's version was not the best I've had but it did the job of satisfying my sesame craving for the day. I suppose the main draw of Watami is the irresistible combination of affordability and good quality food. The menu supposedly changes every few months so there would always be something new to look forward to. They do not take reservations so do go early if you want to avoid the lunch or dinner crowds!Labels: Japanese 10:15 PM ---------- Saturday, June 27, 2009
Isetan Hokkaido Fair
Shaw House, Isetan Supermarket Basement This was a walk down memory lane as it's been almost 3 years since my holidays spent in Hokkaido. Food and confectionery as well as chefs and sales staff are brought into Singapore from Hokkaido for this fair that's said to be the largest out of Japan. The Yubari Soft Serve Ice Cream ($4.50) was so good! Extremely fragrant and milky, this reminded me of the time when I had a towering 7 layers of soft serve (I have the photo as proof!) in Hokkaido. Which I finished all by myself!  Besides soft serve, there's also a variety of gelato to choose from. The Sweetberry Honeysuckle ($4.50) was uncommon enough to warrant a try. The taste was interesting, not too sweet and had a slightly sour aftertaste to it. This intrigues me enough to google it and this turns out to be a plant which bears large and tart purple berries which can be eaten fresh or used in jams. Another ingenuity of the Japanese to develop it into a yummy ice cream! The Otaru Marugoto Sweet Potato ($2.80) was wonderful. It's a baked sweet potato cake filled with melty mild custard cream. Normally, I don't like custard cream but the fragrant sweet potato more than covers its taste which was perfect for me! From my memory, Otaru is a nostalgic and romantic city with its famous canals lined with Western-style architecture on both sides. I was charmed by its beauty!  The Yomogi Mochi ($2.30) is a rice cake made from glutinous rice and mugwort. The sweet red bean paste topping contrasted nicely to the extremely soft and slightly bland mochi. There's such a wide variety of these Japanese traditional sweets that I had to try another. The Tokachi Red Bean Rice Cake ($3.50) was very similar to the previous mentioned, except that it's a plain mochi stuffed with a generous amount of red bean paste. I'm gushing over its softness! There were a lot of makeshift stalls selling all types of goodies from Hokkaido and I had fun reminiscing about the good old time, identifying the stuff that looks familiar (such as the corn crackers coated with chocolate!) and of course, eating those yummy treats! Labels: Japanese 3:34 PM ---------- Sunday, June 14, 2009
Kuriya Dining
#01-28, Great World City 6736 0888 Known for its delectable Japanese cuisine and attentive service, Kuriya didn't disappoint indeed.  The 1st appetiser was the Seaweed Salad ($16++) with 3 different types of seaweed mixed with the usual lettuces and tomatoes. I chose to go without any dressing but there's a choice of Italian, sesame or soy sauce dressing. In retrospect, this was a tad too expensive for an average tasting salad. Next, the Homemade Kyo-Tofu ($6++) was excellent! Wonderfully soft and delicate, it simply melted in the mouth with a slight nutty soya taste. This made me want to try the famous beancurd in Kyoto itself! The last appetiser was the Prawn and Scallop ($12++) with some jellyfish on the side. I forgot the sauce served with it but memory told me that the scallop was especially fresh and flavourful. I usually order soft shell crab in Japanese restaurants since it's one of the few deep-fried items I like. The Soft Shell Crab and Japanese Sweet Potato ($14++) was a hit! A tall tower of meaty crab meat and thick slices of naturally sweet sweet potato, this tempura with a light batter was one of the better ones I've had in a long while.  The Unagi Kabayaki ($20++) was not on the menu as I made a special request for it. You will find it paired with rice in the ala carte menu. As usual, it's hard for me to find any faults with unagi since I just love grilled eel too much. This was as nice as the one from Tetsu and Nanbantei! My favourite dish of the day was the Steamed Cod Fish with Plum ($26++). This was just beautiful! The oily fish was so fresh and soft while the sourish-sweet plum upped the flavour a notch. The Tempura on Rice ($24++) had an assortment of tempura such as prawns and mushroom. I tried the prawn which was crunchy and of a good quality. However, the batter was too thick unlike the one coating the soft shell crab mentioned earlier on.  Since I was still craving for anything black sesame, I decided on the Soft Sesame Pudding ($8++) right away. Even though this was imported from Japan, it was too jelly-like and lacked a strong sesame taste. I like the one from Sun with Moon! Another dessert to satisfy my sesame craving was the Sesame Ice Cream and Red Bean ($10++). The ice cream is made in house but I wasn't too impressed by it as it was too creamy and lacked the strong sesame flavour I'm looking for. The fantastic black sesame ice cream from Tetsu has spoilt my tolerance for other mediocre ones! Nevertheless, the red beans were pretty good as they were not too sweet and paired well with the ice cream. The Japanese Fruit platter is open price as it depends on what fruits are available on the day. Today, there's Japanese musk melon and apple which cost a grand $28++. The 1st time I ate the famous Japanese musk melon was in Hokkaido so I'm not surprised at the price. The melon is unlike anything as it's extremely juicy and succulent. Try it if you have the chance! You will look at melons differently from then on.  Service was great! Throughout dinner, our cups of green tea was constantly refilled while empty plates were cleared promptly to make way for other dishes. Even Mika, the manager who's from Japan, stopped by and chatted with us. I really couldn't ask for more... Well, maybe except nicer black sesame desserts! Labels: Japanese 9:52 PM ---------- Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Sun With Moon #1
#01-70/71/72, The Central @ Clarke Quay 6534 7784 The restaurant was fully packed with the 30% discount promotion going on and we could only get an outdoor table. Here are some of the food we ordered. The Mentai Potato Salmon Tsutsumi ($10.80++) had mashed potato with spicy pollock roe wrapped with smoked salmon. The smoked salmon was too salty and overwhelmed the other flavours. I couldn't taste the spicy roe at all.  The large portion of Soft Shell Crab Tempura ($10.80++) rightly justified its price tag. This was nicely deep fried with a thin batter and it was not too oily. I requested for no mayonnaise on the Okonomiyaki ($12.80++) and it turned out to be too bland for the rest. There was ample amount of mixed seafood embedded in the pancake. Again, the portion was generous and good for sharing. The signature dessert of Sun With Moon has to be the Tofu Cheese Cake ($5.50++) sitting prettily in a bird cage. Perhaps they were running out of bird cages that day as the waitress took away the cage as soon as she set the dessert on the table. This being a cheese cake, I didn't like it as the taste of cheese was still there even though it was quite mild.  The Goma Pudding ($5.50++) was my favourite for the day. The description "Homemade Black Sesame Pudding" had me visualising something akin to a normal gelatine based pudding but I was wrong. This is the least pudding-like pudding I've ever eaten. It's more like 2 slices of extremely soft tofu topped with black sesame paste. Excellent! I bought the Matcha Tiramisu ($6++) to bring home since sis wanted it. The mascarpone cheese was too thick and creamy but the green tea cake was soft and moist. Perhaps it was not chilled by the time I reached home, I didn't enjoy this as much as I thought I would. If for any reason I go back for a meal, it would be sorely for the desserts!Labels: Japanese 6:51 PM ---------- Friday, May 22, 2009
Tetsu Japanese Restaurant
#03-18 Tanglin Mall 6836 3112 Japanese restaurants abound in Singapore as the cuisine makes its mark on the local food culture. Granted, there are indeed decent Japanese restaurants but to find one that surpasses expectations is not as easy as it sounds. I had the pleasure of dining at such a top notch restaurant and even as I'm typing this, I can't wait to go back again!  The Chawanmushi ($5++), though a tad pricey, was definitely one of the better ones I've had. The simple steamed egg custard was silky smooth and soft with embedded gems such as ginko nut and prawn. Soft-shell crab ($3++) is something I'll always try to order at any Japanese restaurants. This was very meaty and the tempura batter was not oily and very light.  The Tetsu Special handroll ($6.80++) is actually deep fried minced seafood such as salmon, tuna and prawn wrapped with rice and seaweed. The seaweed was not crispy though.  The Saba Shioyaki ($15.50++) was simply grilled with salt. Some may not like the fishiness of mackerel but really good ones have the taste and smell of ocean. This one definitely fall into that category and the crispy skin was a nice contrast to the soft and meaty flesh.  One of my favourites was the Unagi Kabayaki ($22++). The freshwater eel was perfectly grilled and the teriyaki sauce was not too salty. This is perfect to me.  We ordered the Kaiseki Course C ($55++) to share which featured the highlights of the restaurant. The appetisers comprised of the Crab Meat Tofu (left) and Swordfish Tataki (right). The former was interesting as the sauce had a century egg-like taste which may be an acquired taste as it was quite strong. I liked the tataki as it was still pinkish raw in the middle! The assorted sashimi had salmon, tuna and hamachi. Usually, I find tuna to be too chewy to my liking but this was surprisingly a decent one. I had no complaints with the salmon and hamachi which were so fresh, especially the yellow tail (the waitress told us it's the freshest today). I didn't touch the Sushi Moriawase since there's rice. Judging from the freshness of the sashimi previously, I reckon these were just as good. I did try the tamago though but didn't like it as the omelette was too sweet. The mains were assorted Kushi-Tem which had scallop, prawn, pumpkin, pork and mushroom. The pumpkin was my favourite as it was just bursting with natural sweetness. I find the batter to be a tad too heavy and oily though. This is my 2nd time having a Dobinmushi and I always think that it looks so cute.  I labelled this tea pot soup as "fish soup" as the sliced fish used was what you can find at a sliced food soup stall in the hawker centre! Of course, the sweetness of the soup beat the one from hawker centre hands down. It was very refreshing and fresh. There were alot of mushrooms and seafood like prawn and fish.  Finally, it's desserts time! I was eyeing the dessert menu even before I had a look at the dinner menu. The course came with a dessert which was supposed to be a strawberry sherbet. But I requested it to be changed to Jikasei Goma ice cream ($4++). At 1st, the waitress refused to but she's no match to my stubbornness. Oh my, this black sesame ice cream is OFFICIALLY the best one I've ever tried! This is not the smooth type but rather rough with all the generous embedded seeds. The sweetness was just nice and not too cloying. I want this again!  The Maccha Ice Cream with Azuki & Shiratama ($4.80) was almost as fabulous. The ice cream had a slight bitter aftertaste and was very smooth, though it melted faster than the rest. Combined with the not too sweet red beans and chewy dumplings, this was very close to heaven in a bowl. The Yuzu Ice Cream on Strawberry Sherbet ($5.80++) came in a very close second to the black sesame ice cream. This was so refreshing and tangy that it's perfect as a light after dinner dessert. I didn't really like the strawberry sherbet though as it didn't really complement the citrus ice cream. I would have preferred the yuzu on its own. Service was excellent as our plates were cleared very promptly and our cups of green tea was often filled up even before they were empty. There are many other more affordable items on the menu and this is where the phrase "you pay for what you get" comes in. Ok I think I've raved enough about this place, you just got to try it out yourself!Labels: Japanese 8:00 PM ---------- WELCOME! LOCAL FOODIES' BLOGS Gastronomic Ruminations She Bakes & She Cooks Singapore Daily Makan Photo Small Potatpes Make the Steak Look Bigger The Orthorexic Foodie The Skinny Epicurean Timeless Facade Food Glorious Food FOOD FOR THOUGHT | |