Japanese 🍙

It was a rainy afternoon so soba noodles in a hot dashi broth was my go-to choice for lunch. ☺️ There weren’t many soba noodle options so I went for a simple one win tofu-skin, and added on some tempura squid as a side. The tempura was nicely fried and tasted perfect dipped with a little salt!

Loving this Japanese restaurant for their lunch set menu, with the many options of udon, don and soba, that comes with the choice of 2 sides, miso soup, fruit and green tea. Priced at just $15.90, with no lack of a variety, and my favourite part: the don comes with purple rice instead of the usual white rice. ☺️ There’s no compromise on flavours and quality (sashimi slices are thick and well-cut). Highly recommend! 👍🏻

Teriyaki chicken, purple rice infused with sesame oil, slightly charred from the kettle hot pot, mixed with the runny yolk from the onsen egg - exactly my kinda Japanese lunch. 😌

I was a little confused because the restaurant name states Soba but what I see and taste is very much like Ramen noodles. 🤔 Nevertheless we were still have much excited to try out this one Michelin star restaurant that was also featured in Buzzfeed's Worth It video. I went for the Shoyu based one because that is always my favourite but there was also Shio (salt) and Miso, and the dry ones. I find the soup incredibly flavourful because of the addition of truffle oil and bits of truffle in the soup base, giving it a umami flavour that may had been missing because it isn't the normal tonkatsu based ramen. However, personally I felt this was something very different, and very unlike the ramen I was used to. Even the cha-siew wasn't the kind that would melt in your mouth, pretty tough. Also, the noodles were on the hard side (and I don't think there was the option to get it softer).

Tried out this Chikuwatei outlet at Holland Village and what's good is that there is a 'Hot' and 'Cold' section of the menu to segregate the sashimi/raw stuff from cooked (great for me because I don't eat sashimi!) Variety was decent in the 'Hot' menu: many starters, don options and meat skewers. I had the Tokyo Katsu ($14) which came with a generous portion of chicken. The Chirashi Don had good reviews too; sashimi slices were thick and fresh! 👍🏻

I googled at random a Japanese place (having some Jap-food cravings~) near Orchard and this showed up. It did not disappoint and glad I recommended this for dinner for my colleague and boss!

For sharing, we had the California Maki ($16) and the Aoegoshi (White Fish) Tempura ($20). These appetisers were simple yet well-executed. I really enjoyed the maki simply dipped in soy sauce! (IMO you can already get a sensing of the quality of the food by the quality of their soy sauce 👌🏻)

For mains, I had the Stewed Mackerel ($26) and added on rice, miso soup and pickles for an additional $9. Apart from the tiny bones I had to pick out slowly, the fish was nicely stewed, felt like a very traditional home cooked meal. 🙂🙃

Back at one of my favourite Japanese places for their value-for-money meal sets. I had the Salmon Teriyaki ($11.90) from their ala carte menu, with add on of a chasoba and chawanmushi set ($5) that came with fruit. Good food and always great customer service 🤗

If you are looking for really good Saba (aka Mackerel) fish, this is the place. The fish was so well-grilled to retain the moistness of the center and the skin was lightly salted, slightly crispy and had a tinge of charring. The set meal was complete with two small sides of seasoned cucumber and tofu, seaweed soup and Japanese rice. There was a promotion for 1 free toro-saba sushi if you downloaded and created an account on the JPassport app so we did to sample the sushi. 👍🏻 (Which we found interesting but we'd rather stick with normal sushi)

SOBAAAA 😍I had intense soba cravings yesterday so imagine my excitement when I found specialising in soba noodles and priding themselves in an msg-free broth. I ordered the simple chicken and leek hot soba ($15.80) which was also the chef recommended option, to experience the taste as it is. The shoyu-based broth had hints of yuzu and it was really flavourful despite being no-msg. The noodles were done nicely too, with a good bite and texture to them. Very satisfied with my dinner and a really perfect dish when you are wanting something warm on a cold day!

It's been a while since I last had Japanese curry so yasss. 😋 Ordered the beef omu rice ($16) from their 4th anniversary menu, where there were a lot more other beef/steak options. The beef chunks were nicely braised and tender, and the combination of eggs and tomato rice doused in curry sauce just goes so well. The lobster seafood pasta ($15) was pretty good too, the cream sauce tasted very lobster-ish. Had a late dinner at 8pm but no queues and waiting time for food was around 20 mins so that was pretty decent. Glad Hoshino opened here!

Had the Katsu Don with egg and miso soup set for $13.90. Good filling portions and definitely value-for-money Japanese food! 👍🏻