Grubs From The East

Aburi Chirashi ($17.90)

Much cheaper than its counterpart served in The Sushi Bar, Koh offers a similar bowl that's smaller in size but bigger in flavour. The gently torched sashimi slices were melt in the mouth, and its sauce was nothing short of spectacular.

Jin Chirashi ($30)

With a 50% discount of eatigo for pretty much the entire dinner service, this comes down to a mere $15 for a Chirashi don that comes with Uni and Botan Ebi amongst a great deal of other types of sashimi. And that's a proper steal.

Quality of some of the sashimi could be better though, with the scallops having some of that fishy aftertaste.

Crispy Duck ($22)

Pretty underwhelmed by my experience here, especially given its one Michelin star rating. Feel as though dim sum can only reach a certain standard, and any increases in price just can't yield any further satisfaction. However, my mum thoroughly enjoyed dining here, even though it was pretty pricey.

Black Pepper Wagyu Bowl ($22++)

Topped with Wagyu with a BMS score of 8/9, the beef itself was tender and flavoursome with a decent sear on its circumference, while maintaining an even shade of pink from edge to edge. It's flavour profile was well-balanced, especially with the pink ginger foam that is light and slightly sweet, helping to breakdown the richness of the dish between each bite to ensure that you get the most from every bite.

It's definitely small, and I was left hungry. But the quality makes it worth it's price tag. Can't wait to return to try their claypot rice with Wagyu shortribs!

Shinjuku Comfort ($18)

Pretty great option for a light lunch, where you don't leave feeling bogged down from whatever you just had. A rather complex dish I would say - multitudes of flavours, textures along with the added richness of the egg. Salmon was extremely well-cooked to a medium rare temperature, maintaining its moisture inside.

Okay, but it's not something I would spend precious meals on as it's just not indulgent enough. This is more for health conscious people I suppose.

Aburi Kaisen Don ($26.90)

It has been on my wish list for the longest time, but I never really quite understood the hype surrounding this particular chirashi don, hence the long period of time before I actually went to visit. But I understand it now, thanks to the freshness of their fish, and that gorgeous outer sear from the blowtorch that adds a smoky flavour to the fish. Oh and also the lovely smell of aburi which envelops the entire restaurant.

I'm usually enjoy salmon more than the rest of the fishes, but this is the first time I found every type of fish equally enjoyable, perhaps due to the freshness. I guess one tell-tale sign was the redness of their tuna, where normal Japanese restaurants tend to serve tuna that is more pink than red.

Although it looks like a small portion, it was rather filling even though I was hungry as the slices were rather thick, which made each bite extremely satisfying.

At $23.90, this buffet provides great value with a selection of good quality meats including marinated beef, beef brisket, thick cut pork belly and pork collar. I would say that the quality of meat here is much better than the ones at K.cook, especially with the use of a charcoal grill that imparts a charred, smoky flavour.

Service was decent, they take the initiative to change the grilling plates and charcoal, but do take some time to refill water or other side dishes such as the molten egg.

However, we came at 1:30, and were told that the last order for would be at 2 only after we were seated. As such, we weren't able to have our fill, but I was still satisfied and would come back again, albeit at an earlier time!

Been to this place 3 times in one month now. And I absolutely adore their coin prata - it has that crispy crust texture and flavour throughout the entire prata.

I love their garlic naan, and their prawn/mutton tikka masala. Skip the chicken tikka masala though, it tasted rather dull in comparison to the others. I had two naans all to myself because who cares about eating all the carbs when the food is that good!

Oh and get their iced Milo, just get it.

Chirashi ($25++)

Not the cheapest, but also not the most expensive. Like the fact that it came with watermelon (albeit an extremely small portion) and miso soup. Overheard the next table saying that their sister outlet, Manzoku, serves larger portions, but I'd say the portions here are already great at such a price point especially given its location in posh boat quay.

Now, I like to use the Ikura as a test for freshness. Sadly to say, it was somewhat almost salty, an indication that it lacks freshness. As for the other fishes, I'd say that it isn't the freshest either. The Akami for example, was more pink than red. Judging from the other photos, perhaps I had gone on the wrong day.

For $25, you do get your money's worth though. It seems as though quantity exceeds the quality, but it may have been due to my high expectations from raving reviews. Manage your expectations and I'm confident you would be more than happy to part with $25 for this bowl of chirashi goodness.

Tip: if you are a massive fan of salmon, ask for them to swap the rest to salmon, and you will be rewarded with a vulgar amount of it (not that anyone would be complaining of course)

Roast Beef Don ($18.80++)

Layers upon layers of gorgeously pinkish tender roasted beef, cut relatively thick compared to others, provide for an unbelievably satisfying bite every time. The wasabi sauce looks heavy, and I thought it would overpower the flavour of the beef, but it was rather light and adds a little zing to create a sort of contrast in flavours as you savage through the mountain of meat. The set even comes with miso soup and salad, which provides fantastic value for money.

It's not perfect though. The egg was overcooked, and the serving of rice was way too small. Had to end up ordering another bowl of rice, which added $3 to the total bill. So unless you're a small eater, this isn't going to fill you up.

Went for the salmon promotion - 5 slices for $3

Ordered 40 slices between the two of us, which is more than enough. They didn't sell rice as it is though. Instead, it came as a set, inclusive of a salad and soup for $5 in total. Bill came to $20 flat per person after taxes, which is extremely affordable.

Quality is decent, but you can't expect great quality at these prices.

I tend to prefer restaurants with smaller menus, the reason being that I believe in specialisation. Ginza Tendon only has two main items on its menu - Special and Vegetable tendon.

To be honest, with fried food, the difference in taste between high quality and low quality ingredients is very subtle, much less than raw food such as sashimi for example. So I can't comment much about that, although the chicken breast was surprisingly juicy for some reason.

The thing I liked about this was the experience, it's intimacy, reminiscent of sort of an omakase meal almost, where the chef prepares your meal right in front of you before personally serving it to you. Oh, and that lovely poached-then-fried egg.

And last but not least, the price - $13.90 before taxes, inclusive of chawanmushi and miso soup. That's really a steal.