japanese

16$++

From 8 to 28 March, Kabuke will be part for 5 restaurants that will run Okinawa Fair! Chef Rio of Kabuke pays homage to Okinawa cuisine with his interpretation of ingredients and dishes he feels are symbolic to Okinawa.

The Sata Andagi reflects Okinawa’s unique culture and history with a combination of Chinese and Japanese techniques. These sweet critters are crispy on the outside but cake-like in the inside. Chef Rio serves them with a scoop of sea salt ice cream that ties in with Okinawa’s geography as an archipelago, and a beni-imo (purple sweet potato) cream glaze. It imparts the cream glaze with a sweet flavour and beautiful purple hue.

Truly a sweet ending this was. The Sata Andagi was so good it could be eaten on its own! I heard from Chef Rio that he made these with Okinawa brown sugar too. I could have 5 of this no kidding.

24$++

From 8 to 28 March, Kabuke will be part for 5 restaurants that will run Okinawa Fair! Chef Rio of Kabuke pays homage to Okinawa cuisine with his interpretation of ingredients and dishes he feels are symbolic to Okinawa.

The Rafute with Awamori is skin-on pork stewed in soy sauce, Okinawan brown sugar and Awamori. Chef Rio gives this dish that was once a part of Okinawan royal cuisine a new presentation with a hint of playfulness.

15$++

From 8 to 28 March, Kabuke will be part for 5 restaurants that will run Okinawa Fair! Chef Rio of Kabuke pays homage to Okinawa cuisine with his interpretation of ingredients and dishes he feels are symbolic to Okinawa.

The Goya Tempura with Umibudoh contains Goya which is Okinawa bitter melon, also known as bitter gourd. It is a trademark Okinawa produce and is popular for its healthy and anti-Aging benefits. Chef Rio poached the Goya, stuffs it with cream cheese and bacon, then coats it in a light Tempura batter before deep-frying to perfection.

The Umibudoh, a local speciality seaweed from Okinawa is matched with Shikuwasa Honey Ponzu drizzled on the plate.

Never knew bitter gourd could taste so well with cream cheese! A good dish to pair with an Okinawa special alcohol - Awamori!

Big chunks of lobster meat, avocado slices and very well-seasoned with Japanese sesame sauce. The cashew nuts that were mixed into this dish was also a good touch to the salad. Very satisfying lunch option

13$

This was the first time I’ve ever had Truffle Ramen & I have to say that I’m sold. Just like wasabi, Truffle is a rather acquired taste. A part of me was weary that the Truffle smell and taste would be too overwhelming. But the Truffle turned out to be a good pairing to each of the individual items in this bowl of ramen goodness. The noodles were cooked al dente with a slight chewiness that I love. You can’t go wrong with an onsen egg. You also get to choose whether you’ll want lean or fatty char siew for your meat. The char siew is cooked in a more Chinese style than the usual Japanese way. All in all a very comforting and affordable bowl of ramen noodles that’s perfect for a rainy day.

7.50$

Had this as part of their set lunch donburi promotion. When the rice bowl came I thought the portion looked rather small but by the end of it I was struggling to finish my meal. The set came with green tea and miso soup. The soup was sweeter than most miso soups I’ve had. The chicken was adequately glazed, the meat and rice proportion was done well. I mentioned to Manager Nicole that I wished I had more teriyaki sauce to go along with my meal, but she mentioned that there were other guests who thought there was too much sauce initially. So if you’re conscious about your sodium intake, this donburi’s proportion should be just right for you. Or if you are like me, who wish to have your rice drenched in teriyaki glazed sauce (just thinking about it makes my stomach growl), just simply request for more sauce & they’ll be happy to add an extra scoop or two.

10$

Affordable roast beef bowl that had the perfect proportion of rice to roast beef. The rice was drizzled with tare, wrapped in the roast beef and topped with an onset egg and sour cream sauce. The items are flavourful and did not need the addition of soy sauce or other condiments. I wished there was wasabi on the side to give it that additional kick to the dish.

18$ for ladies set

I had the Ebi Shoyu Ramen before and the smell of prawn was too overwhelming for me. When I ordered this I was a little worried since the overwhelming prawn taste might clash with the curry taste. However, both ingredients worked really well together, where both did not try to overpower the other. The curry taste was light and made for a good soup to go down with the noodles. The set came along with 2 sides of your choice and a dessert. Worth every penny and will visit again for yummy ramen especially when it’s rainy.

16.75$

Fujiyama Curry sets itself apart from the other Japanese curry places in that you’re able to savour your dish in 2 ways. Either as is or mixed with their complimentary Paitan (chicken broth) soup. The portion, looks intimidating because of the bowl that it comes in, but in actual fact once you dig in it’s quite manageable. You are also able to customise the dish by choosing your spicy level and the garnishes it comes in. Overall a good hearty meal, especially during the rainy season to warm your belly and whole being hopefully.

19.90$

Stacks of roast beef on a warm bed of sushi rice. Though the layers of roast beef were sliced finely, portion was more than enough and did not have an overly strong beef smell. Kind of wished the egg served was soft boiled but it wasn’t a deal breaker.

18$

Had this for lunch which came together with a side of tofu, braised seaweed & condiments such as Japanese pickles, wasabi & fried rice pops for your mains. While I liked that they used vinegared rice, wasn't a fan of the salmon sashimi slices as the warmness of the rice accentuated the lack of freshness of the salmon sashimi. The ikura roe was huge and had a generous amount which I felt made up for the lacklustre salmon sashimi. I also thoroughly enjoyed having my leftover rice with the dashi soup.

18$

Chose brown rice for this. The brown rice was actually sticky (half expected normal brown rice that has not been seasoned with vinegar so this was a nice touch). No shoyu will be given as the rice & sashimi cubes were already seasoned. Asking for shoyu would result in the service staff giving you the side-eye & a slight condescending tone of which-part-of-already-seasoned-do-you-not-get (yes, tried & tested). For that price you get a small plate of salad tossed in kewpie sesame dressing & miso soup. Decently priced but service was a bit of a letdown.