"Autumn" cravings

20 November 2010: It's rainy and the temperature has somewhat dropped by a few degrees at night. That's Singapore's autumn.

Next week, K will leave for Japan for ten days(envy)while I continue working. He's actually heeding my advice to go to Nara (greater envy) with his gal. I miss Nara. One thing that I like to tell History majors is, "The remnants of the Tang dynasty are seen daily in the place where I used to stay..." - and then see their eyes broaden.

A. asked me what I thought his morning toast look like one day, suddenly. I answered "Kofun (ancient tomb)" and he said, "Right". Anyone who hasn't the experience of living in Nara would not have blurted that answer.

Especially in autumn, I occasionally have urges to eat some mochi. Strangely I thought of eating a sakura mochi in September this year -although the mood/season wasn't quite right. I managed to buy one which didn't taste bad (I wonder if that was because it was slightly more expensive than usual - at SGD2.80 for one?) I bought two and gave one to K. I'd thought he would puke and warned him that he'd need an acquired taste. Well psycho. prep did help. He enjoyed it, even chewing the leaf which I thought he would discard. Bravo! He passed the "Japanese cultural test" that I set before his trip.

I really had great warabi mochi when in Nara. Maybe soon I'll head to Takashimaya and grab some...

Old Enka

It was my first time at Rakuichi located in the Dempsey dining place.

Outside it looks really like a Japanese inn. After taking a few steps from the entrance, I was rather impressed for it reminded me of those good ol' days in the 1980s when Japanese restaurants really are like Japanese restaurants: Small wooden tables and chairs in a small area, enka, Japanese beer posters, comic books and sliding paper-wooden doors.

This place does have a lot of wood to mellow you down. It also plays very old enka. I like these.

The first dish that arrived was blanched daikon with sesame seeds and miso.

Simple and good.

The second was good as well. Yum! What garnishing.
Subsequently when my set dinner arrived, it was a grilled fish and some side-dishes such as pickle and a miso-soup.

These ended my meal -but the fish was really no big deal. I wonder what other dishes are good? I think having some drinks and listening to the oldies may just be enough for a short night-out, but frankly,I am not too much attracted to the Dempsey area.

Great Izakaya: Tsubohachi @ Iluma つぼハチ＠イルマ

Thumbs up to this sashimi. One doesn't need to spend a bomb at Sushi Yoshida anymore for fresh and delicious fish. And sashimi comes with grated honwasabi (real wasabi) here:

The sashimi lunch set costs S$14.90 ++! Incroyable! The same set is available for dinner now at S$19.80++:

There's no sign of cost-cutting on the detail; the salt used is sea salt and seasoning such as shichimi toogarashi is made-in-Japan:

So I don't have to travel to Japan for the real stuff.

Mmmm...I am impressed with this place- both by its interior and exterior. It's an exciting fusion of the sturdy old and sprightly modern:

One can't say it boasts of a group of posh Japanese restaurants- that doesn't seem to be its concept. It's made up of several outlets for casual, yet impressive izakaya dining:

At izakaya, staples such as edamame and beer taste almost the same as elsewhere everywhere. The Japanese always demand that their beer be served at the right temperature. I've seen a Japanese man roaring at a waitress and almost driving her to tears at Hong Kong Street (Bukit Timah) for serving his beer 'warmer' than usual. So here, these can be expected to be perfectly served:

The indispensable sake:

Yummm... chijimi is superb as well:

The apparent strengths of this place are: first, it does not have a 'low-cost' izakaya feel.

There was certainly meticulous planning -in the embellishment of what should go to which niche and corner and so forth.

Yet, it's spacious, very appealing to the senses:

There's even a rock garden to look at and attain peace:

Second, the price line is the same as that of Sakae - big shock! - as well as that Tampopo and all those outlets outside Meidi-ya in Liang Court. What a shame to those who cheat on authencity and try to cream the undiscerning average consumers off! Can I say, at least for now, the Japanese restaurant scene here has shown some maturity with the arrival of this group of restaurants? Authentic food, relaxing ambience.

Attentive service as well- I found the Japanese waiters super-friendly and vigilant.
There is an array of favorites for the locals who indulge only in salmon (see Vegetarian Roll below) and kushi-ryori (kebabs):


Sushi is prepared at the counter next door to Tsubohachi:

The grilled fish is as scrumptious as the raw. See nishin grilled to a heavenly crisp:

Although desserts are limited in choice, I love this soft green tea ice garnished with warm cubes of sweet potato with a soft outer crunch. Wunderbar! Slurp.

I'll go there many times more before the authencity wears off, when the chefs and waiters all pack and go home to Japan...

Food quality: 4.0/5.0; service:4.0/5.0; ambience:4.0/5.0; value-for-money: 4.5/5.0

A web link on this restaurant.

Shinobu Dining (Tel: 6271 5586, 64728269) しのぶダイニング

In a rather out-of-the-way building filled with offices with closed doors, I didn't expect to find a Japanese restaurant which in fact, offers reasonably good Japanese food. The restaurant spreads out and the interior is tastefully furnished with polish wood. What is important is, it is spacious.

A. and I found the appetizer, a dried tuna, delicious. This is a great place for set lunches. A reasonably appetizing set costs about SGD 20 /head. I ordered a tempura and sashimi bentoo and A. had his grilled fish.

He didn't like the tare(sauce) on his fish which he said was too 'strong' for him. On the contrary, I appreciated my salad, which was served chilled and crispy.

Overall we found our lunch enjoyable and was tempted to find out a bit about the chef. He turned out to be a Malaysian Chinese -not a Japanese- who has been doing Japanese cooking for 30 years, the waitress reported. He's a much better cook than the one at Donguri, located in Japanese Association. Donguri's Japanese chef has returned to Japan and in his place is a Malaysian Chinese. The food at Donguri now is pathetic not only in terms of quality but also quantity. The plating is just passable, but my satisfaction from eating there has diminished.

Shinobu Dining can be considered an izakaya and it's a good choice for corporate dining where space and privacy besides good food are important.

There are quite a few private rooms; the only setback is the location of this restaurant. I'd only come back if I am anywhere near 460 Alexandra Road #04-01 PSA Bldg.

MoA-TSUBAKI 椿 at Riverside Point （Tel:6438-4280)

May 24, 2008 (Sat): It's Saturday- a day to lunch out. I chose MoA-Tsubaki after reading about it in a newsletter for Japanese expats in Singapore. All of its six chefs and two Japanese waiters are Japanese and thus I expected it to be truly authentic.

It was not easy to find it, but thanks to posters, I made my way to the fourth floor of this quaint looking shopping mall. I do like the mall for its height -the fourth floor being the highest- and it is located right across Meidi-Ya by the side of the Singapore River. The restaurant gives the feel of a modern Japanese restaurant- like a posh Japanese restaurant in America - but with friendly staff. It overlooks Indochine and the Ford Canning Hill with its wonderful greenery. An artificial trickle of water inside the restaurant divides the private rooms and its long corridor leading from the entrance before the spacious seating area. Hmmm...I do like the interior.

It has lot of dark-colored wood yet it makes use of natural sunlight. Its long purple sofas match the dark tables, black pepper and salt pots,chopsticks and napkins. How many restaurants in the commercial districts of this small island can offer such 'breadth'? - not even Kura no Naka and Sun & Moon - both nearby.

The waiter and the front manager are Japanese. A. found them 'dirty-looking'; one wears long hair and the other is spotted with a crew-cut, moustache and a beard.

The food is great and presentation is astoundingly artistic. Salt, mixed with green tea-powder, is served in a golden lacquer bowl with the tempura - for those with strong kidneys.

The music reminds me also of a Japanese restaurant in California... soft, slow jazz. The mood of the restaurant is right for a romantic date.

I enjoyed my lunch bentoo ; a SGD 32-course with three pieces of negiri-sushi. A. ordered a Himeyuri (SGD 23) with Japanese chicken rice instead of sushi,

but every other dish were the same as those in my bentoo. The lunch came with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream topped with strawberry.

Ambience: 4.5/5.0; Service: 4.5/5.0; Quality of food: 4.8/5.0

Minoru Restaurant (Tel: 6775 8879)

February 20,2008(Wed): It's mid-week and chilling out at some small cozy place seems the right way to 'recharge'. I found this place along the quiet West Coast Way. It's hidden and all covered-up so that passers-by will not be able to see its interior.

I used to take evening walks near Hong Leong Shopping Centre where Japanese kids and housewives hanged out in the 1980s-90s; but then, I did not even know this eat-out existed. The equally inconspicuous sliding door of the restaurant opens up to an authentic Japanese drinking ambience. Its low ceiling, warm latterns, small wooden chairs and tables, beer ads of sunbrowned belles on the beach, comics, and ornaments are all so provocative of the izakaya ambience prevalent in the back alleys of Japan. The three gaudy fu-lu-shou (Prosperity, Wealth and Longevity dieties) standing above the shelves of Japanese comics hint at its non-Japanese ownership, however. The chefs and the waitresses are also of Southeast Asian origins - though not necessarily Singaporeans - except for a tall waitress from Mainland China. The head waitress has the sweetest smile, and she immediately imparts an ii-kanji (good feelings) of the place. She told me that the restaurant has been there since the 1980s. I wonder what the place was like in those times when Singapore's Japanese population was four times greater?

Most customers now consist of families or couples, and most were locals living around there. There was a Japanese tanshin funin (expatriate without his family) who pecked at his bowl of rice and naberyori (hot claypot) while reading his daily. I guess doing that was better than just focusing at the steaming claypot right in front of him.

I ordered a Minoru bentoo (lunch-box) and A., a sashimi set. Although lunch time has long past, the waitress informed that bentoo orders were acceptable. That was the kind of flexibility I like.

After munching the rather chewy sanzai (wild mountain vegetable) appetizer, our food arrived.

My bentoo looked ordinary enough: a grilled saba, a deep-fried kushi consisting of bacon and asparagus,sashimi slices, a miso soup and a star-shaped mold of rice. I like the shredded daikon which was thicker and juicier than the very thin popular version. A. liked his fresh sashimi - but not the ambience.

The bill added to about SGD40, including GST. It's not bad, really. The friendly staff know their regulars; the restaurant offers decent wine /sake and does not charge any corkage fee so you can bring in your favorite drinks from home.

214 West Coast Way
Hong Leong Garden Shopping Centre

Keyaki Restaurant, Pan Pacific Hotel (Tel: 6336-8111)

July 28, 2007: It was my first night-out after close to one month of being confined to the hospital and the home. There were several other reasons for celebrating as well, one of which is, I am finally in the last stage of recovery.

I was thrilled when I was told the venue would be Keyaki in Pan Pacific Hotel. It was the first Japanese restaurant in Singapore that left some really good impressions on me more than a decade ago. I have returned over the years - and have never once complained about any drop in its standard.* (Please note the end of this entry).

I met the person who took down my reservation for the first time. He didn't introduce himself as Shigeki James Sekiya. He just greeted me with an "Irrasshyaimase", then led me to my seat. It was a small table, and I said that I was going to sit on the chair outside facing the garden; but alas he didn't know how to pull out the chair for a lady guest. What a shame. He's learnt English, without mastering its culture.

Keyaki has a serene traditional Japanese garden-it is probably the only restaurant of its kind. I love the garden as much as the food.

As always before any meal there, I'd walk around the garden and do some deep-inhaling. It's all part of "defeating dengue" and there was no mossy around.

Very quickly a starter was served. I took a look at the menu; the current promotion is foie gras. Foie gras on grilled hotate was the first registered.

When 'A' finally found a parking lot, he made his way to the table. I told him to take the Miyabi Kaiseki (SGD 90/ person). Surprisingly Keyaki allows sharing at the table. That's very nice- I couldn't imagine small eaters would be able to complete the kaiseki. The waitress made some recommendations for me: fried rice, hamaguri (clam) soup and foie gras. As the hamaguri (clam) were gone, dobin mushi seemed to be the perfect substitute.

I knew that I'd feel a little 'tormented' having to abstain from beer and wine-- for the sake of my liver--another challenge of dengue patients. Luckily the kampachi was excellent-both in the way it was served and its taste even without drinks.

It was accompanied by the julienned fresh mountain yam- what a bore, you might think, chewing on taro strips when you're going haute cuisine. The yam turned out incredibly light, refreshing, juicy and accompanied with quality seaweed-- a true delight in its own right.

The dobin mushi was a refreshing hot teapot of seafood and bamboo shoot, aromatized with some golden drips of sweet and sour lime goodness.

Before I could finish it, I was surprised by the sight of the foie gras, prettily served on a scallop shell. Beneath the layer of goodness, there were the succulent meat of fresh scallops--all tasted too good to be true.

Then the prawn and tempura arrived; they were superbly light as well. The truly divine dish of the night was the skewered beef with vegetables (gyuuniku no kushiyaki). I surprised myself by loving it immediately -- I was never a meat-lover. Lightly charred on the outside, sweet juices gushed out from its rare tender core. This succulent beef might just make any vegetarian break his oath. I finally understood why the teppanyaki table was always full at the restaurant. I won't mind becoming a carnivore for those beef!

The fried rice came in the correct amount- an aromatic grainy bowl. Though simple, its flavour was robust.

There was the vinegared cucumber with wakame seaweed and eel to cool everything down. There were quite a bit of eel embedded in the mound of seaweed and cucumber that loosened to fill half the bowl. I could taste very good-quality rice vinegar in it and couldn't bear to waste a single drop of it.

A good dessert would definitely bring the meal to a memorable end. I chose a simple fruit platter which came with simply the most heavenly papaya.

The green tea ice-cream added another perfect finishing note.

I felt extremely energized and soothed by the meal. The feeling of having overeaten was absent; and I was sure I felt much healthier.

The budget for one person is SGD100 a person (7-percent GST inclusive). It's well-worth the splurge. Even if the 'service' manager is just an average usher and the service compares poorly with family restaurant, Donguri, Japan Association, the chefs shine.

I am looking for the next excuse to return.

* I did return later in November 2007, but the sashimi, sushi and the beef kebabs tasted very different. Until now, I haven't gone back there for a review. I would, I guess, to give it the benefit of the doubt.