Divine Japanese

Grilled unagi speciality restaurants are far from a new concept in Singapore, but none of them would be classified as anything approaching ‘affordable’. However, @unatoto_sg is here to right that wrong, offering a whole tail fillet of grilled eel over rice for thirteen dollars before GST & service charge.⠀
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Eating unagi is a bit like Russian Roulette, you never know if you’re gonna get a fillet full of pin-bones or one with relatively few pin-bones, so proceed with caution. The eel is expertly grilled and retains its moist, soft texture, while the teriyaki glaze amply brushed on the unagi is more than sufficient to flavour it with savoury & salty notes, intermingled with a seductive smokiness from the charcoal grill.⠀
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If you really wanna make a meal out of it, you can turn it into a meal with unagi liver soup & a side dish for an extra $5.50++. I was a bit apprehensive about the unagi liver soup, but it surprised me with its light yet satisfyingly savoury qualities. It’s a light, yet tasty broth, and it’s probably an excellent hangover remedy.⠀
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Here at @unatoto_sg, you don’t need to strike the lottery just to afford a fulfilling meal that’s sufficiently sumptuous. Now that’s a winning ticket if you ask me.

Once you’re done getting some beers from Get Some, head on over to @kinobe.sg just round the corner to get some delicious food to silence those voracious beer munchies. No I mean it, Kinobe is just a few steps away from the pub, which seems like some genius tactical positioning. If Kinobe sounds familiar to you, they should, as they used to dish out rather delectable Japanese food at Amoy Street Food Centre. Apparently they moved to the wild west of Singapore.⠀
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You’re going to be spoilt for choice here, as you can choose from beef, wagyu beef, chicken, duck, pork and salmon, and you can choose each protein in three different variations. I was about five pints deep by then, and I just picked the first thing my drunken eyes fell upon: the Mentaiko Salmon Don for ten dollars flat. For ten bucks I got myself quite the bargain with a full ricebowl topped with a sizeable slab of salmon buried under a generous layer of torched mentaiko mayo, a fabulously flowy soft boiled egg that unfortunately popped too early, and most surprisingly, some nicely sautéed shiitake shrooms.⠀
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The slice of salmon I got certainly appears to be thicker than normal, and as such I was pleasantly surprised by its extra moistness as I devoured it in my drunken desire. The mentaiko mayo is certainly more creamy than savoury, but the levels of umami presented were certainly enough to sate my taste. The sautéed shiitake was an interesting addition with its bouncy chew, and I quite enjoyed their presence to complement the soft flaky fish. The egg added a luscious, albeit slightly unnecessary, richness to the rice as it gushed its essence all over the sticky Japanese rice.⠀
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With bangers like their mentaiko salmon, Kinobe is a definite can eat, bae.

Nobu-ya has a reputation for turning away customers that don’t want to booze it up, and their reputation for being an astoundingly affordable izakaya has been somewhat clouded by the ‘all patrons must drink’ policy enforced by the owner. Fortunately I have no such problem, and I was able to savour Nobu-ya’s food to the fullest. Their menu changes nearly every day, so just like that Forrest Gump quote, you never know what ya gonna get.⠀
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I had their salmon ochazuke (rice in soup, $8++) and a bowl of ton-jiru (miso soup with vegetables & pork in it, $6++) and enjoyed both hearty yet simple soup dishes. The dashi broth in the ochazuke was light yet sufficiently umami and flavoured the rice adequately, but the salmon was grilled for way too long. Fortunately, the ochazuke broth managed to redeem the salmon’s shortcomings somewhat. ⠀
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The ton-jiru was surprisingly sublime, with the deeply savoury miso soup being augmented by the sweetness of the carrots & radishes that had been simmering in the soup. There was a bit of pork in there to make the soup more substantial, and it proved to be an unexpectedly excellent accompaniment to some heavy drinking.⠀
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Homely soup dishes aside, get yourself some kaki fry (deep fried oysters, $10 for 5 pieces) for when the booze munchies hit. It’s crispy, decently deep fried, juicy and pretty toothsome. These fried oysters are decent with beer, and the food is acceptably decent overall, but the highball cocktails here at Nobu-ya are the real legends.

Nasi don has undergone a rebrand recently and is now @ricebowl.san. Gone are the days of Japanese fusion nasi lemak, and most regrettably of all, their stellar sambal chili. In all honesty, the spicy, savoury sambal was the best thing in their rice bowls, so I’m pretty bummed to see it lost to the annals of history. Also gone are some of their flashier menu items like the Blackpink Calamari, but at least they retained their Honey Chicken ($6.50 nett).⠀
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The Honey Chicken was sufficiently salty and sweet without being saccharine thanks to the honey marinade. The marinade penetrated deeply into the juicy, moist meat of the chicken thigh and flavoured this otherwise mild tasting chicken. The rice was surprisingly superbly sauced up with lashings of sauce over the fluffy white Japanese rice. ⠀
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To my delight, @ricebowl.san serves a healthy portion of vegetables with most meals, and I can finally eat a good balanced meal while not having to worry about my wallet. What was very odd was that the rice was adequately seasoned, but the vegetables, which needed the same amount or maybe even more love, were un-sauced & unseasoned. However, the one thing that killed the vibe was the additional deep fried enoki mushrooms, which absorbed way too much oil and tasted slightly sickening. Maybe the oil was old, or perhaps their deep fryer wasn’t hot enough, resulting in a surfeiting enoki tempura.⠀
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Despite these minor shortcomings at @ricebowl.san , I can definitely vouch for how tasty & affordable these bowls are.

Sometimes, two good things are better off separated. Case in point is @sukiya.singapore new special, the Shrimp with Chili Gravy Gyudon ($11.90 nett for XL bowl). I’ve already professed my admiration for Sukiya’s stellar sukiyaki beef, and that hasn’t changed one bit. The felicitously fatty beef slices were absolutely ambrosial, and the stewed onions were superbly sweet & accentuated the savoury qualities of the beef.⠀
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The shrimps were in chili gravy that was clearly inspired by Singapore’s national dish of chili crab. The thick, spicy & sweet & salty chili gravy was the perfect seasoning for the shrimps, which were satisfyingly snappy & bouncy. However, as brilliant as both beef & shrimp were, they could not coexist. There was just a cacophony of flavours, with the sweet & salty soy simmered beef warring against the spicy, salty & sweet shrimps. There was no cohesion, and both the beef & shrimp were trying to one up each other which resulted in the rice bowl feeling rather disjointed.⠀
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Sukiya’s beef is amazing, and their shrimp with chili gravy was surprisingly satisfying. However, they simply don’t work well together, and both would undoubtedly shine when left to stand on their own merits.

Compared to its far more popular brethren ramen, udon is rather overlooked, and I’d say unjustly so. Idaten Udon does their part to right this wrong with their udon centric menu with offerings that range from the simple but comforting udon in Kake Udon (plain soup udon) to more unique ones like curry udon and this Pork Kimchi Udon ($12.50 before additional 9% GST).⠀
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Idaten’s unctuous udon is served in a light kimchi broth with a thick slice of radish, some seaweed and pork shabu shabu. The thick, springy udon noodles are perfectly poached and possess a captivating chewiness, making each bite a delight. The kimchi broth was the real MVP, with the subtly spicy, supremely savoury & tastefully tangy flavour profile that’s unmistakably kimchi. The light yet sapid kimchi broth is addictively appetising, and you won’t be able to resist imbibing it all.⠀
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Since Idaten Udon is an udon shop, I won’t judge their tempuras so stringently. With that said, their Jumbo Ebi ($4.30+) & enoki tempura ($2.20+) were massive but both had exceptionally thick batter coating it, and they did get surfeiting quite quickly. Oddly enough, the sweet potato tempura ($2.50+) fared better, and was a delight to devour.⠀
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Ramen is a lot more common than udon, but u don wanna miss out on Idaten’s unctuous udon.

@sushigo.sg can certainly roll up a few handrolls, but sometimes you gotta go bigger. Well, they can roll a fat one pretty darn decently too. Their Jumbo Ebi Roll ($6++) lives up to its name, with a particularly ponderous prawn breaded, deep fried and rolled in sushi rice & sheets of seaweed, garnished with lashings of spicy mayo & dollops of tobiko. The crunch of the breading contrasts well against both the natural springiness of the prawn as well as the soft fluffiness of the sushi rice. The spicy mayo was spicy enough to make a scintillating statement, and the creaminess of the spicy mayo bound the tobiko to the roll & made the Jumbo Ebi Roll all the more luxe.⠀
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I don’t know if any one of you does this, but every time I hit up a Japanese sushi place, I always get an order of their tempura prawns. Sushi Go was no exception, and their Prawn Tempura ($5.80++) was quite decent. Fresh, snappy prawns are battered in a light but crisp tempura batter and deep fried competently, and a dashi broth is served on this side as the sole source of seasoning. While not as stunning as the tempura prawns from another sushi chain, Sushi Go’s Prawn Tempura was still quite excellent.⠀
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I don’t think I’ve had a single dish here at sushi go that would deter me from going back to @sushigo.sg, and you’re goddamn right I’ll be back.

If you need a bigger serve of rice, Sushi Go also offers mini rice bowls to satiate your carb craves. I chose to sample the new Kushi Tori Don ($5.80++), which is technically chicken rice. The chicken kaarage was surprisingly sublime, with well flavoured & juicy chicken meat enveloped in a tastefully thin batter that’s deep fried till golden brown perfection. The meatballs, on the other hand, were obviously prepackaged & frozen balls. As such, they had the texture of stress balls and were as dry as flip flops. At least there was enough teriyaki sauce to make it somewhat alright

Everyone loves to roll up that good stuff, and you can go to @sushigo.sg to find rolls of the good good. Although my order of Soft Shell Crab Handroll ($4.50++) was delayed for about 45 minutes due to the kitchen getting absolutely slammed, I finally got a roll with a freshly fried crab and this roll had me on a roll with how satisfying it was. ⠀
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The crispy, slightly meaty soft shell crab was deep fried flawlessly, and decorated with a dollop of spicy mayo before getting rolled in a seaweed with sushi rice & tobiko (flying fish roe) for little pops of umami. It could’ve used more spicy mayo for more impressiveness, but this roll was sufficiently redolent. As for the Lobster Salad Handroll ($4.50++ as well), it may not be real lobster meat in there, but I’m a sucker for lobster salads nonetheless. It’s adequately creamy & suitably savoury, and the lobster isn’t minced too finely, so you get a satisfyingly chunky texture with a sufficiently springy chew on the bits of lobster.⠀

If you’re craving handrolls, go roll up to @sushigo.sg for some rolling good times.⠀

If you want rice with your sashimi, Sushi Go’s nigiris won’t let you down. As expected, their Mentai Mayo Salmon Sushi ($3++ a pair) was the most popular nigiri, and it wasn’t difficult to see why. Tastefully thick slices of salmon sashimi are draped over little rice rectangles, dabbed with a dollop of mentaiko mayo and lightly kissed by a flamethrower. It’s simple but undoubtedly umami from the creamy, salty mentaiko mayo, and the natural fattiness of the salmon make this an unexpectedly luxe sushi.⠀
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Sushi Go has it all in decent amounts: they offer decent quality at reasonable prices, and they offer a decent selection of sushi & other foods. If you’re hankering for sushi, hop aboard & go to @sushigo.sg!

I’m old enough to remember conveyor belt sushi restaurants being a unique marvel, with Suki & Sakae Sushi both blazing a trail in the F&B scene. They walked so that all these new conveyor belt sushi restaurants could run, and boy there are a lot of them. @sushigo.sg is one of the many competitors in a crazy crowded market, using their futuristic subway themed decor & conveyor belt trays fashioned into little bullet trains to deliver your order(s) and to stand out from the crowd.⠀
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Aesthetics are nice, but quality & taste of the food is paramount. Sushi Go has that adequately covered with their reasonably priced sushi & sashimi offerings like this Sashimi Moriwase ($15.80++). It’s supposed to contain five varieties of sashimi, namely hamachi, salmon, swordfish, sweet shrimp and tuna, but they ran out of hamachi that evening and compensated with more salmon. I certainly wasn’t complaining, as all of the seafood is flawlessly fresh and retains a terrific texture. The sweet shrimp did their name justice, while the slices of fish were of a charitable thickness. In fact, the tuna sashimi was so tasty I had to get a second individual portion ($5.80++).⠀
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Sushi Go has it all in decent amounts: they offer decent quality at reasonable prices, and they offer a decent selection of sushi & other foods. If you’re hankering for sushi, hop aboard & go to @sushigo.sg!

I know that going to a ramen place to order a rice bowl is absolutely counterintuitive, but contrary to popular belief, men don’t always want noods. Sometimes we’re looking for some fun, sometimes we’re looking for some love, and sometimes we’re looking for some happiness. And here at @hanamaruken_sg, I found Happiness Don ($13.80++).⠀
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The Happiness Don really does spark joy with three sizeable slabs of soft bone pork ribs, which have been slowly stewed for about a day. The result is a stunningly sapid piece of pork that falls apart at the slightest provocation, and every breathtaking bite of pork is packed to the brim with unbelievable umami. The pork ribs have been stewed for so long that cartilage within the ribs have been stewed into a jelly, and these bouncy collagen rich tubes are such a delight to bite into. ⠀
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The steamed Japanese rice in the bowl is sufficiently sauced with the same stellar stock that the ribs are stewed in, while the edamame & onsen egg turn this Don into a fully fleshed out & satisfying meal. The pickled ginger was a thoughtful touch, as the sharp sourness was adept and cutting through the fatty richness of the pork & the creamy, sticky runny egg yolk. With just how sublime the Happiness Don is, I don feel so bad about skipping the ramen.⠀
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As for the six piece Gyoza, they were crisp, delicious and fantastically fried, but $8.80++ a plate is a bit of a tall ask as these gyozas are notably diminutive. They are unquestionably unctuous though, with remarkably thin skin swaddling a tasty amalgamation of minced meat (pork? Chicken? Both? We will never know) and chives. Your mileage will vary, but at the end of the day I regret nothing.⠀