Hitsumabushi

$35.00 · 41 Reviews

Good food, and id say the unagi is grilled better than most places (evidently crispier). Also, the wasabi is REAL wasabi, not the fake ones we get from cold storage/NTUC or most other commercialised jap restaurants.

But the price is super steep ($35 for this medium size) and although this set meal on the menu was described to have different dippings/sides to enjoy the Unagi with, to me i feel like its just the usual garnishes that would already come on the dish at other places, which has been separated onto another side dish plate (e.g. spring onions, seaweed, pickles, wasabi, soup).

Taste wise 8/10
Price wise 4/10

If you're a fan of unagi — you're in luck! Indulge in their signature Hitsumabushi ($35), which sees chopped up eel serbed with condiments, broth, soup and pickles atop a bowl of fluffy Japanese rice. Also popular are the Sashimi Rice Bowl ($23) and Rare Wagyu Rice Bowl ($27). Complete the meal with some alcohol beverages and drink the night away!

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Not too bad but I was honestly expecting more from the unagi. Would be btr if it had a smokier flavour and crispier skin. The ambience here is good and service is worth a mention too 👍🏼

[ Food Review — Fav hitsumabushi specialist in town! ] Who here loves unagi? There’re few things that beat the honeyed, smokey taste of eel, and frankly, it’s like having a slightly healthier version of char siew!

One of the places my family used to visit pre-covid for unagi was Uya. Before the fire incident, you could look into the kitchen and watch the chefs grill eel after eel in almost hypnotic synchronisation. (You got to peek at the live eels then too!) That, along with the view (and heat) of the charcoal pit really added to the experience.

This time, I brought certain someone and his dad there instead!

Uya is renowned for not just any unagi dish. It’s claim to fame is with its Nagoya-styled hitsumabushi. On first glance, it may look similar to unadon or unajyuu. But what sets hitsumabushi aside is the number of condiments present on your tray, along with the pre-cut unagi laid out in an ohitsu (wooden rice container) instead of a bowl.

This is where the magic begins. Not only do you get to enjoy the unagi in its traditional eel-on-rice way (1), you can season it with any/all/none of the condiments (2), before eating the remaining portion with dashi á la ochazuke (3)! If you want to go ahead and eat the entire portion as solely 1, 2 or 3, that’s totally fine too. The idea is that you get variety and autonomy — as long as it tastes and f-eels good for you, you’re good!

A certain someone and I opted for a large and normal hitsumabushi respectively, while his dad got the unagi rice box (basically an unajyu), of which the latter turned out to be quite a spectacle in itself.

To my relief, the food quality was still excellent, with the sticky sweet unagi charred crisp yet tender, leaving behind a distinctive omega-3 sleekness after each bite.

It was addictive.

The best part for me is when adding in the dashi — the broth softened the rich, heavy tones of the unagi and smoothened the edged textures, making the end of my meal a much lighter affair.

Our sides were fab too: The Rare Wagyu Beef Salad was refreshing; the Oyster Tempura was a mosaic of textures; the Unagi Egg Roll was fluffy and gentle; and both the dudes enjoyed the grilled liver and liver ponzu!

For a good unagi in Orchard, Uya is where you should head over to.

Their unagi was juicy and soft, felt they have lesser bone. Sadly they don’t have much sauces to accompany, but the unagi itself already excellent on its own.

Large Hitsumabushi!
This is one of those melt-in-your-mouth kind of unagi in Singapore! Albeit a little pricey, but definitely worth the visit! I had grilled unagi liver on the side too and it definitely makes for an interesting "makan" experience.

Charred well ..personally prefer this over man man

Uya Japanese Unagi Restaurant 四代目菊川 on level 2 of Wheelock Place is known for its unagi hitsumabushi.
The restaurant is tastefully decorated and the unagi is crispy on the outside and tender inside.
http://hungryghost.sg/uya-japanese-unagi-restaurant/

So when I was invited for dinner at UYA - honestly I was not looking forward to it. Fortunately, they offer non-Unagi dishes and I was going to order one of those before my sis suggested that I try their Signature Unagi dish. And since I didn’t want to disappoint her - I ordered the Hitsumabushi - chopped up eel over rice - with 4 ways to eat it. Found out from my wife later that night that Hitsumabushi originated from Nagoya and this is how she would eat it back home.
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And as instructed - I divided the rice bowl into 4 equal portions - I scooped the first portion into my bowl and ate it as it was.  The next portion was eaten with wasabi, nori and spring onions - the third portion, poured the dashi with some condiments into the bowl to make Ochazuke.  And finally - for the last portion - I could eat it however I wanted - I chose the Ochazuke way - cos I felt that it tasted best when eaten that way.
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I enjoyed dinner. Since I’m not a fan of Unagi nor have I eaten lots of it - I can’t say I know what or how it should taste like - but this Unagi tasted really good - unlike those I’ve tasted before - it was tender and flavourful - although I would have preferred a little more char on it. I enjoyed sampling the different ways of eating it - and after this meal - I must confess that I may be becoming a fan of Unagi.
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Always wanted to try out uya bc I really love unagi and wanted to see how it compares to manman 🤪 There was no queue during dinner time on a weekday hence everything was pretty speedy.
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Hitsumabushi M (~$35) was slightly pricier than ManMan. There was a generous portion of meaty unagi, grilled well and crispy (esp the skin)! Rice was sticky and moist, but imo the sauce wasn’t tasty enough (or maybe it simply wasn’t enough) bc some parts of the rice didn’t have much taste.
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Dashi broth was really good and I liked how it wasn’t too salty Nor take away the sweetness of the unagi sauce. Overall I’d say uya’s unagi was less smoky than ManMan’s and I personally prefer ManMan but Uya is still really good.

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