Japanese

The entrance of this place looks relatively unassuming, yet the rice bowl we had was anything but.
We visited this place while there was an anniversary one-for-one promotion on the Guilty Pleasure Bowl (Japanese Wagyu, ikura, uni, caviar, foie gras and onsen egg 😋) or the Kabuke Pleasure Bowl (with Australian Wagyu instead). We chose the Guilty Pleasure Bowl.
Although the bowl was not huge, servings of foie gras and uni were generous, and the wagyu beef slices were cooked to a tender perfection.
There was also happy hour one-for-one sake and very reasonably priced bar bites.
B was beaming from ear to ear with the promos 😁

Guilty Pleasure Bowl - $88
90ml glass of sake - $12
Bites (chicken wings and salted egg renkon chips) - 2 for $6
Prices before GST and service charge

Had this some time for lunch 2 wks ago (but forgot to write about it until now haha).
I actually didn’t really have high expectations of this place somehow cos it had the run-of-the-mill mediocre Japanese restaurant vibe (don’t ask me why haha; just a vibe), but I ended up being pleasantly surprised as I thought the food was pretty good. The beef slices in the Wagyu Karubi Don ($19 + additional $1 for onsen egg) were tender and rather tasty, and I had nothing much to complain about. Perhaps I will try the Premium Wagyu Jyu ($29) next time to see whether it offers a distinctly more ‘premium’ experience, but I think what I had is already good enough to satisfy a beef don craving. I was actually even more surprised by the Kurobuta Hoho Yaki ($12.80). The pork cheek/jowl slices were nicely charred and had a melt-in-the-mouth texture. I enjoyed this more than the beef, and given that I’m typically more of a beef person, this should show something about the quality of the dish. Though it is meant as a sharing side dish, I could easily eat it all by myself. Definitely ordering this again when I re-visit! Overall, a pretty good place for lunch at Vivo. Be there early though, as it gets crowded in the peak lunch hour.

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Came by to this place because I was craving for okonomiyaki.
Although it was relatively crowded at 8pm on a Friday (we had to wait maybe 10-15mins despite a reservation), we certainly did not regret coming by.
I had to watch impatiently as each dish (other than the gyoza) was expertly prepared, right in front of the iron-topped teppan counter on our table.
Prices were reasonable, and the food was more than enough for 3 of us.
Love the authentic Japanese taste!
Thanks to @natfatdiaries for your excellent recommendation 😊

Tonpeiyaki - $12
Sambal Okonomiyaki + Ramen topping - $20 + $5
Yakisoba with seafood - $12
Gyoza - $5

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Indulgent dinner tonight😍 Shared a Seasonal 5 kinds Sashimi Platter ($35.80) + Otoro add-on ($8) as well as the Bansuke 3 kinds ($39.90) with my friend.
There is no need for an extensive discourse on the food, as it is safe to say that everything was awesome. The sashimi slices and uni were fresh and the otoro satisfied my perpetual craving for it😍 Each slice of sashimi was also cut evenly and thickly, and I had nothing to complain about. The Bansuke 3 kinds (comprising Saba, Hokke and Akauo) was pretty good too, and the portion was rather substantial (for those of you who think that having fish will leave you hungry). I actually liked all 3 types of fish and it was nice to have a variety. For the drinks, we each had a Summer Sake Tasting Flight (3 types, 50ml each) ($15.90). We enjoyed the sake (though we would admit we are not sake connoisseurs haha). This restaurant is a place I would definitely recommend to give a try! As a side note, I saw many Japanese in the restaurant, which gives an indication of the authenticity of the food perhaps😊

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Finally tried this place out after walking past it like a million times (okay I’m exaggerating obviously haha but u get it).
It was rather quiet and there was only one other table of patrons. Didn’t get my hopes up too high but was kind of pleasantly surprised. Yes, there are better skewer places/ Japanese restaurants around, but the food here was actually not bad. Ironically though, the item I liked most is not from the skewers section of the menu. My favourite was the sliced Iberico pork with truffle sauce ($12). Honestly I could hardly taste the truffle but I felt that the pork slices were well marinated and tender, and it was a rather enjoyable dish overall. The skewers was decent, and I quite liked the shiitake bacon maki with cheese ($2.90/stick), but well I like anything with mushrooms😝We also had the asparagus with bacon makiand buta bara (pork belly with onion) (both $2.90/stick) and kawa (chicken skin) ($2.20/stick). The yakimeshi unagi (fried rice with unagi) ($10) was also pretty decent. Though I wish there were more unagi pieces, what can I expect for $10 right?? Didn’t order any drinks cos I was trying to abstain from alcohol, but might have been more tempted if I had gone there earlier. Apparently they have $5 drinks at 5pm, and the prices increase by the hour. Sign me up for happy hour drinks anytime🍻

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With a 1-Michelin Star accolade in the Tokyo Michelin Guide 2019, I had relatively high hopes for this clam-based ramen.
It was not bad; the noodles were springy, the clam broth with truffle paste was rather tasty, and the pork slices were decent. I wasn’t wowed though. Maybe I was expecting more cos of the Michelin Star accolade, or maybe I just prefer the usual pork broth (well, taste buds are always subjective right). Nevertheless, this was a pretty good bowl of ramen still. Would not mind patronising again if I’m in the area!

Shoyu Hamaguri Soup Ramen, $14.90 (additional $2 for Ajitama)

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Very indulgent Monday dinner😍 Not too sure about all the exact dishes ordered (since I wasn’t the one who ordered haha), but my favourites were the Foie Gras with Terakyaki Sauce, Sashimi (consisting of Otoro, Kampachi and Kajiki), A5 Miyazaki Wagyu Beef and Hokkaido Scallops with Onion Butter.
Some of the other dishes were quite unique, but may have not impressed so much in terms of taste. For instance, the Mikuni Lobster Maki scored in terms of presentation, but was pretty ordinary-tasting. I felt that it did not do the lobster justice as the sweetness and texture of the lobster was not really brought out. The dessert was really pretty, and I thought it was good end to the meal as it was refreshing and wasn’t too heavy. I think this is a pretty nice place overall with good ambience and quality food, and worth a visit even though there are misses here and there. P.S. We managed to get 50% off with Eatigo by dining early! So do check out Eatigo for promos should you wish to dine here. (#notsponsored by Eatigo but always happy to share promos haha) Total damage for these plus a veggie appetiser (not pictured here cos of photo upload limitations) was $200 plus after the discount, which is not cheap per se but, considering the general quality of the food, is definitely worth the price!

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Used to have this quite often when I was working in the CBD, but haven’t been here since I started working in a land far far away (actually just Alexandra, but yes far enough haha). Ordered the Mentaiko Wagyu Beef donburi ($21.90) which I recalled enjoying when I last had it, and it was indeed still as good. The Wagyu beef slices were consistently tender and the mentaiko complemented the beef well. Also ordered a portion of Mentai Hokkaido Scallops ($13.80) to share with my friend (the small plate u see is half the portion, as they portioned it out for us), but I thought that was rather ordinary. The scallops were relatively fresh, but not plump enough and didn’t have the wow factor. I would say it would be safe to just stick to the beef bowls! If I don’t remember wrongly, the Truffle Wagyu Beef donburi is pretty good too:) Drinks were quite cheap too! My glass of wine cost me just $8. Stuck to one glass since it was a non-drinking night, but I think this could make it a good place for post-work drinks as well.
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Being a fan of the Pickering Street branch of Koji Sushi Bar, I was happy to know that a new branch was opening at Raffles City.
When I heard of their tokubetsu don, all the more I decided I had to pay a visit. You can scroll to the second pic to see what it consists of (sorry the pic is a little blur)! The ingredients sounded so awesome that I just had to give it a try. Just like their kaisen don which I usually have, there was a choice of white or brown rice, and I chose the brown rice as I always do. When the bowl arrived, it was smaller than I had expected. Unlike how it looks in photos, it is closer to the size of a chinese restaurant rice bowl than that of a typical don. I was a little worried that P would be hungry, but surprisingly he said he was full enough (but maybe it’s cos he ate breakfast and lunch was early haha). The portion was fine for me, and I think it helped that the bowl was packed very tightly. In fact, it was so filled to the brim that the egg overflowed when I prodded it. The sashimi was, as always, fresh and I enjoyed every mouthful, especially the sea urchin and fatty tuna (my fav!!). Only thing I didn’t really like was the Japanese mountain yam actually. This was in fact my first time having it, and the slippery sticky layer under the bed of sashimi wasn’t really to my liking. I guess it belongs to the type of thing u either like or quite dislike. I personally felt that it made the rice too mushy and slightly affected the original taste of the sashimi. Perhaps if I have the tokubetsu don again I will request not to include that. Overall, this was still a very good bowl:) #sgfood #sgfoodlover #sgfoodtrend #sgfoodporn #sgfoodstagram #foodphotography #sgfooddiary #sgfoodies #sgfoodblogger #instafoodsg #foodsg #foodiesg #sgeats #sgrestaurant #sgjapanesefood #japanesefood #sashimi #sashimiricebowl #ikura #uni #otoro #fattytuna #japanesedon #tokubetsudon #burpple

I love it when we walk into relatively quiet restaurants and finding out that the food is not only reasonably priced, it is pretty good too.

A delightful serving of mushrooms was buried along with the scallop under yummy mentaiko sauce.
Grilled sticks comes in pairs, and we tried the Buta Enoki Chizu ($6.90 for two sticks).
We also went for the Kani Ebi Stick Gyoza ($7.90 for one stick, $11.90 for two) and the Chao Chao Gyoza (8 pieces for $4.90 and 16 pieces for $7.90). Really liked the Ebi Stick Gyoza, and although the Chao Chao Gyoza tasted like your usual gyoza, it was great value for money.
As our mains, we shared an upsized Yakisoba ($13.90 + $2.00).
Drinks were really cheap too, with a full pint of Asahi Super Dry at $6.90. B had the house-pour sake ($10.00).
All in all it was a great value for money dinner with yummy food.

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Afuri Ramen (Level B1-29) Undoubtedly riding on its reputation in Japan, there were already about 30 persons ahead of us in the queue, even though we came on a weekday evening.

With a distinctly citrusy dipping broth, the taste of the Yuzu Tsukemen was quite unique. The texture of the springy noodles was great too. However, I felt that the cold noodles didn’t offer the same satisfaction that a warm broth of ramen could. There’s just something about a piping warm bowl of ramen noodles.

The Yuzu Shio Ramen suited my tastebuds better. The warm ramen soup had a similar citrusy flavour, but was more subtle in its yuzu flavour, allowing the yuzu flavour to complement the taste of the soup rather than overpower the dish.
The meat (pork cubes for the tsukemen and charsiu for the ramen) and egg for both the tsukemen and hot ramen felt quite ordinary to me, and were not the highlight of the dishes.

I did like the Buta Winged Gyoza, although B felt that the gyoza skin was not crispy enough.

Yuzu Tsukemen - $15.90
Yuzu Shio Ramen - $15.90
Buta Wings Gyoza - $6.90

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