Japanese Food Cravings

While I cannot comment much on the Toyosu set which were mainly made up of raw fish sushis, the husband was nodding away in approval for the fresh quality of their sashimi. I had a taste of the Ama ebi, also known as the sweet shrimp, and was truly blown away by the sweet taste and creamy texture.

And if you wonder why the sushi rice appears to be brownish, it’s actually made using Koshiibuki rice that’s only milled in Singapore before turning into sushi rice using a blend of red vinegar and Daiginjo vinegar, enhancing its flavour and aroma.

Sushi selection might not be as varied as expected and could come across as slightly pricey.

My favourite of the night had to be the Assorted Scallop Set where the taste experience ranged from the simplest, creamy scallop sashimi to slightly smoky aburi, followed by an aromatic sesame nuttiness with savoury saucy notes and finally, a burst of umami from the aburi mentai. The scallops were plump and had a hint of buttery taste.

Finally somewhere that Westies can look forward to as the newly opened Sen Sen Sushi by @donkisg now joins the selection of conveyor belt sushi restaurants at @jemsingapore! A familiar sight as you would spot in Genki Sushi or Sushiro, sushis are delivered by ‘Shinkansens’ on the conveyor belt except that there are no sushis on rotation.

We went with the recommended Oshi set, which looked slightly different from the usual sushi. Oshi sushi originated from Osaka, known as "pressed sushi" or "box sushi”, hence its rectangular shape. Consisting pickled mackerel, shrimp, conger eel, and salmon, the seafood here flaunts of its natural sweetness on top of an undeniable freshness. The mackerel was especially creamy while the congee eel and salmon had a smooth fattiness.

We know very well that Menbaka Fire Ramen is known for its dramatic fire show, but it is definitely still an experience that ramen lovers especially should try! At the very least, you don’t have to be worried about being burnt and at the same time you can watch how your bowl of ramen is being cooked over some exaggerated fire.

Prior to patronising, I have heard that it’s overhyped, and that the broth is way too oily for many’s liking. While they have been in operation for more than a year, I was surprised to have waited for about an hour even when I arrived at 8pm on a weekday. This goes to show how much traction they have gained.

On the first visit, I would highly recommend the signature shoyu fire ramen. Although having shoyu in a ramen broth is usually heavy on the palate after a while, I found that the chicken broth here was actually pretty light and addictive. The use of bonito flakes also enhanced the overall umami flavour. Indeed with the high heat, the entire bowl came with some intense smokiness, I didn’t really mind that and felt that the oiliness was of an acceptable level. That’s a personal preference. What I really enjoyed was the abundance of green onion, or negi, in Japanese. They were extremely fresh and crunchy, and I must say the pungency had helped to cut out some greasiness of the broth. The chashu slices were satisfying too as they were easily torn apart.

Now that they are also on Burpple Beyond, I have no reason to not return to try other flavours while utilising such an attractive deal!

Serving restaurant quality Japanese Katsu in the heartlands at a wallet-friendly price! While I felt nothing extraordinary about the rice, the slab of chicken katsu was definitely the highlight. Unlike the usual breaded crispiness, the use of panko for its batter contributed a contrastingly light crisp to the juicy chicken meat. Curry here was tasty and the spice flavour but leaned towards the watery consistency. Still quite decent for a neighborhood katsu place.

It’s definitely carbs overload when you dine at Pizzakaya. This particular pork ginger pizza that we chose is known to have a mountain of toppings, consisting pork slices, ginger, onion, soft omelette and cabbage. The portion is substantial, with the thick and slightly dry crust, but the core of the pizza is actually quite moist because of the toppings load. Hence, it can get a little messy while eating and it’s recommended to share. Personally it felt like transforming a pork don to a pizza, with familiar ingredients like the flavorful pork slices and sweet onion, although this one was really strong on the ginger taste. The cabbage reminded me of okonomiyaki but I also enjoyed the omelette draped over, just like an omu rice. Strong novelty you’d find here.

One of the recommended food items we should get was this Here Kitty Kitty Signature Maki. A sushi roll made using crispy soft-shell crab, tobiko, and mixed salad wrapped around with bonito flakes. Decent tasting and the soft-shell crab were in quite big pieces. However, overall flavour wasn’t wow and the rice was a little too mushy.

Highly recommended by the staff since I mentioned that I am a non-raw fish eater. Just as I was thinking to myself what is so special about this Engawa as compared to the other seafood and that it was the most highly priced single handroll, I gave in to the extremely creamy fluke fin of a flounder. It was really melting in my mouth. Can’t really go wrong with anything aburi-ed, and this was also sprinkled with smoked salt and glazed with yuzu nikiri. For a complete experience, pair it with the creamy sweet and sour cloudy Kawatsuru sake.

This was probably my favourite of the 3 hand rolls that I had! Pacific Ocrean crab meat mixed with creamy kani miso and tobiko wrapped within the crispy seaweed. I could taste the sweetness of the crustacean along with the slightly savory miso, although it was earthy and muddy to some of my friends who had it. You can choose to pair it with Sanzen sake for a hint of pomelo and cream cheese.

Rappu has been on my wishlist for quite some time since I have heard about the long queues and difficulty in getting seats. Finally managed to drop by on a weekday afternoon.

Honestly for someone who doesn’t eat much sashimi and beef, I had difficulty what to order. 😂 I thought I could asked for the raw fish to be torched but apparently that wasn’t allowed. So instead of the rappu 6, I could only do 3 specific ones, which surprisingly was already very filling at the end of it!

First up, I had the Hotate that was supposedly the mildest in flavour of the 6. While the roll wasn’t too big, I could already taste the sweetness of the fresh scallop upon the first bite. As I chewed further, the sweetness slowly translates into a creaminess that had me wanting for more.

Taste the rolls promptly as soon as each of them is served to savour the crisp of the seaweed before it starts getting soggy. It’s meticulous planning when they only start preparing and serving you the next roll after you are done with the current one. You can also order the sake pairing if you are getting the rappu 6.

Started off the dinner with 1 each of the Ikura and Uni Chawanmushi. Served warm, the steamed egg with mushroom was comforting. Topped off by either a choice of Ikura or Uni. I could taste the freshness of the Ikura as each roe burst, the briny taste was distinctive till the extent of being fishy and salty. Pretty sure Ikura lovers will like this. Although the food here in general might seem pricey, the creamy uni is still worth a try.

Besides the Okonomiyaki, Tsuruhashi Fugetsu serves really delicious yakisoba. In fact, I think the yakisoba here is actually more tasty and you should really not miss it! The thick egg noodles were Q, and full of smokiness. Not to mention the savory sauce was flavorful without being excessively salty. As the sauce coats each strand of noodle, the entire taste experience just made me crave for more especially when it’s served on the hot plate where you can evidently taste the slightly char flavour. In this yakisoba, there was a mix of prawn, squid, beef, pork topped with a sunny side up.

A pity we weren’t given the table with the grilling pan to watch our food sizzle as we eat. Recommended to make reservations as this place is pretty crowded although hidden.