JIN HO had been quite a hit with those living around Kovan MRT Station ever since its inception — the coffeeshop stall that was previously at Blk 203 Hougang Street 21 which was best known for their wallet-friendly Japanese Donburi and Asari Bata Yaki (i.e. Asari clam in butter sauce) had recently became a standalone establishment, and had moved into one-north neighbourhood. Occupying the space which was previously home to an outlet of Attap House, JIN HO is now JINHO Shokudo & Bar — the space being revamped to become a watering hole with a dimly lit interior that features neon lighting. The dining hall features furnishings and fittings with a wooden accent; there are tables meant to serve various group sizes from 2 pax to 6 pax all around. Maintaining a menu that carried most of the favourite items during its time at Kovan, JINHO Shokudo & Bar’s menu does feature familiar Donburi dishes such as the Gyudon, Unadon and Yaki Toriniku Don; also available is the Asari Batayaki — now being listed in the “For The Belly” section alongside ala-carte orders of the various meats featured in their rice bowls. What is newly-introduced here would be the items listed in the “Light Bites” section of the menu — items which are intended as a bar snack such as the Ebi Chilli, Plum Daikon and Kaki Fry. Being positioned as a watering hole, the beverages available at JINHO Shokudo & Bar largely revolves around alcoholic beverages — their selection of alcohol includes draught beer, red and white wines, sake, whiskey, cognac, gin, vodka and highballs, while their non-alcoholic selection includes canned drinks and a small variety of juices.

If we had to choose an item to write about, it probably would be the Kagoshima Butadon. The menu describes the Donburi to come with elements such as house-cured kurobuta pork belly, edamame
confit tomato, truffle mushroom and onsen egg; all of which sitting atop a bed of short grain Japanese pearl rice. Mixing the onsen egg into the rice before mixing up the entire bowl of elements altogether, the egg yolk does bind all of the different elements that are served in the same bowl by providing a silkier touch. The various elements in the bowl also gave the dish a textural contrast — the house-cured kurobuta pork belly providing a meaty bite with a good chew from the fatty parts; all that whilst being crisp on the exterior. Meanwhile, the edamame provided somewhat of a popping mouthfeel as one chews on it, while the confit tomato gives a good refreshing burst of tanginess. The truffle mushroom provided a bouncy texture; all that with a slight whiff of truffle to provide an umami note to the earthy flavours of the mushroom — a pretty apt addition for yet another dimension of flavour to be added to the entire bowl. The bed of rice beneath has been drizzled with what seems to be Tonkatsu sauce for some flavour — carried a savoury note with a hint of ginger that cuts through all that meat and carbs in the same bowl.

Whilst it is a joyous occasion to see how JIN HO has evolved from being just a baker stall to a full-fledged standalone eatery by its own, we found ourselves pretty much sitting on the fence for this one. It is pretty amazing to have seen how they have grown ever since their inception — we did however feel that the quality of the food was not particularly up to scratch and prices are now somewhat steep as compared to in the past. Whilst the Kagoshima Butadon did seem to be an improvement over the Gyudon which we have had during our first visit at their Kovan stall, we found the Asari Batayaki to be lacking in its richness in terms of the buttery notes that we had enjoyed previously — all that whilst the clams felt a little sandy. The Ebi Chilli also did not seem to impress much; that is besides the fact that the prawns served were pretty decently sized. That being said, JINHO Shokudo & Bar was pretty well-packed on a weekday evening when we made our visit visit for dinner — here’s hoping that this will be still the case for them in time to come …