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Ichitei has been serving Japanese cuisine since 2009, but it’s only in 2024 that I finally decided to sample their food. The nice thing about this long standing institution is that all prices are net priced with no tax or service charge, so it already has a head-start on most other Japanese restaurants.⠀
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Ichitei’s main attraction are their sashimi dons, and I got a bowl of their best selling Hokkaido Scallop & Salmon Mentaiko Aburi ($17.50). Don’t let the deceptively diminutive size of this dish fool you; it can fill up most people with ease. Lots of salmon sashimi is laid on top of a mound of sushi rice, crowned by a couple of slices of Hokkaido scallop, and then the entire shebang gets dressed with mentaiko before it all gets lit with a blowtorch.⠀
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The plethora of fresh salmon sashimi was quite fresh, and the thinly sliced Hokkaido scallops were subtly sweet. However, the amount of mentaiko was slightly lacking, as it didn’t really make much of an impact on this dish. Ichitei did, however, thoroughly torch the mentaiko as well as the seafood, making this the smokiest aburi rice bowl in Singapore.⠀
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With all that said, Ichitei is a decent place for a no-frills Japanese fare fix, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to have the food here.
Ordered the scallop and salmon mentaiko, didn't expect it to be a set meal. Comes w a don (6-8 salmon slices and 2 avg sized scallops), salad and miso soup, value for money! Would prefer my salmon less cooked but still delicious. One of those hole in the wall eatery in sunshine plaza.
Besides the many printing shops and dim sum place that this place is known for, there’s actually several hidden gems that’s changing the landscape of this place. Recommended by @gladysng_27, there’s two pit stops that you have to make when here, one a little Japanese eatery and another a bakery wizardry. Located at the centre of the first level, they are located a few units away from each other and you will most probably miss it if you didn’t look closely as there’s no fanciful decoration both inside and out. However, if there’s one thing that you can rely on, it’s definitely your sense of smell. My first stop is to Ichi Tei and there was no denying me from getting the Saba Set ($10), which was absolutely a steal and value-for-money set as you get a huge piece of grilled saba that has been spiced with shio, miso soup, Japanese rice and a side salad. The star of the show is undeniably the saba as it was grilled perfectly and with a squeeze of lemon, it elevated the dish and gives life to it, with the right balance of tangy and savoury while the meat cooked to the right texture. Next up, it’s to Oven Marvel, which is a homemade bakery that’s so discreet that you wouldn’t know how popular they are. Specialising in only chicken pies, muffins and curry puffs, most stuff are baked to order and usually gets sold out very quickly. Based on the few minutes that I was there, there were several people who went in, got their pre-ordered items that are packed in boxes and left, which is a testament to their popularity. Even their countertop don’t have much bakes left on sale, however we were fortunately to sample their curry puff ($2.80), which was filled with generous portions of potato cubes and chicken meat, encased in a wonderful buttery pastry.
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đź“ŤIchi Tei & Oven Marvel
91 Bencoolen Street, Sunshine Plaza, Unit 01-52 and 01-55, Singapore 189652
Besides the many printing shops and dim sum place that this place is known for, there’s actually several hidden gems that’s changing the landscape of this place. Recommended by @gladysng_27, there’s two pit stops that you have to make when here, one a little Japanese eatery and another a bakery wizardry. Located at the centre of the first level, they are located a few units away from each other and you will most probably miss it if you didn’t look closely as there’s no fanciful decoration both inside and out. However, if there’s one thing that you can rely on, it’s definitely your sense of smell. My first stop is to Ichi Tei and there was no denying me from getting the Saba Set ($10), which was absolutely a steal and value-for-money set as you get a huge piece of grilled saba that has been spiced with shio, miso soup, Japanese rice and a side salad. The star of the show is undeniably the saba as it was grilled perfectly and with a squeeze of lemon, it elevated the dish and gives life to it, with the right balance of tangy and savoury while the meat cooked to the right texture. Next up, it’s to Oven Marvel, which is a homemade bakery that’s so discreet that you wouldn’t know how popular they are. Specialising in only chicken pies, muffins and curry puffs, most stuff are baked to order and usually gets sold out very quickly. Based on the few minutes that I was there, there were several people who went in, got their pre-ordered items that are packed in boxes and left, which is a testament to their popularity. Even their countertop don’t have much bakes left on sale, however we were fortunately to sample their curry puff ($2.80), which was filled with generous portions of potato cubes and chicken meat, encased in a wonderful buttery pastry.
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đź“ŤIchi Tei & Oven Marvel
91 Bencoolen Street, Sunshine Plaza, Unit 01-52 and 01-55, Singapore 189652
Really yummy slices of salmon, white tuna and jumbo ebi that were perfectly seared on the outside but so fresh and juicy on the inside. And there were generous toppings of crunchy flying fish roe to complete the dish! Loved the sweet fish stock miso soup too.