Foodie Paradise

Sushi Tei
Outlets

Ratings: 5.75/10 

(edited: Actually, the ratings for Sushi Tei is in between 5.5 or 6, but I never gave any in-between ratings before.  Thus, setting a precedent, I shall have my first in-between rating of 5.75 in order for me to do some justifications to the ratings I have given Sushi Tei.)

Sushi chains have colonised the shopping centres of Singapore.  Some of the popular sushi chains have lost the X factor that have made them popular in the first place, while some of these sushi chains are gaining great momentum as they continue their never-ending expansion plan.

Out of these sushi chains, my favourites are Sushi Tei and Ichiban Boshi.  For this entry, I was having my meal at the Sushi Tei in Raffles City. 

If you are looking for high quality and absolute freshness in your sushi, these sushi chains are definitely not the place to go.  However, if you are looking for relatively cheap and decent Japanese food to satisfy your craving for sushi, Sushi Tei and Ichiban Boshi (mainly the outlets in town), are the best places to go.

I love Sushi Tei for the classy design of its outlets.  For the outlet at Raffles City, there were string-liked curtains separting each table, giving each table some privacy.  Yet at the same time, you can see the chefs busy in the kitchen preparing your sushi.  The dim lighting at the restaurant also added some nice dining atmosphere to the place. 

I took the photos some weeks back, hence I can’t remember what I had wanted to blog about.  However, I shall let these photos speak for themselves, while I give some short commentaries along the way! 

Hanasaki Ika Cuttlefish and Smelt Roe - Somehow I wasn’t expecting it to be raw when I order it, but it tasted fresh.  I quite like this dish.

 
Udon - the udon had a very nice bouncy texture to it.  One of the best udons I tasted among the sushi chains in Singapore

Raw Fish - I am a raw fish fan ever since I had my first piece of raw fish some time back.  There’s tuna, yellow tail and salmon here.  My favourite is the yellow tail.  The raw fish at Sushi Tei was decent, not exactly top-notch in terms of freshness, but was reasonable. 

Special Unagi Roll - Unagi, my favourite Jap food.  I can’t get enough of them.  I kept grumbling to my friends that I have unagi craving all the time.  The unagi at Sushi Tei tasted great, smooth and seemingly melted in my mouth.  Yummy!

Dragon Roll - Nice but not exceptional.  One complaint that I had about the sushi at Sushi Tei was the rice.  The rice was not bind sufficient tightly to give that extra X factor to the sushi.  However, the presentation of sushi was very exquisite, giving an additional unique touch to the dining experience at Sushi Tei.

 Chicken Katsu Don - The chicken katsu don tasted really bad.  The chicken was tough, the rice seem soggy.  One of the worst chicken katsu don that I have tried.

 
Sesame Ice Cream - Excellent!  A nice dessert to round off a hefty meal.

Restaurant Hoshigaoka
Shaw House
Level 4

Ratings: 7.0/10

Salmon Ju

Having tried Tonkichi some time back, I wonder how’s Restaurant Hoshigaoka is like, especially since both of them are located so close to each other in the shopping complex. Won’t there be too much competition between both restaurants, especially since the shopping mall has only five restaurants (i.e. excluding fast food)?

It just doesn’t exactly make much business sense to me, unless maybe it is because the main flagship in the shopping mall, Isetan tends to woe the Japanese clientele, given the Japanese supermarket in its basement, thus it makes sense to have two Japanese restaurants there.

Whatever the reason is, it’s not for me to speculate.

However, after trying both restaurants, I’ll have to say that the food in both restaurants is delicious, and I definitely can’t determine a personal favourite between both of them. Food wise, I suppose Restaurant Hoshigaoka is better. However, I prefer the layout and deco of Tonkichi. Perhaps that’s the reason why each restaurant manages to hold its own, given that customers can’t decide between both of them, since both have their own strengths and weaknesses.

Sushi

The “usual udon” that I usually have is served in a broth. However, at Hoshigaoka, it’s my first time trying udon that is just boiled in hot water, probably with a little MSG added to it, then to eat the udon by scoping them into a brownish sauce that comes along with the noodles. (hmm..does anyone knows what is that called?) It’s definitely an interesting way to eat the udon for me and I love this change in taste, especially the sesame taste to the sauce, since I had basically added all the sesame that is part of the condiments that came with the sauce.

I like the service at this restaurant. The person-in-charge is very friendly to all customers and attempt to meet all their demands. In fact, the customers at the table next to mine seems a tat unreasonable and throwing their weight around, but she resolved all their issues really nicely, which won good “service points” from me indirectly.

Good food and good service - definitely a reason to draw me back to the place again.

Tonkichi (Isetan)
Shaw House
Level 4

Ratings: 4.0/5.0

I first tried Japanese food when I was very young, and surprisingly, it was also at a restaurant at Shaw House if I didn’t remember wrongly. Being “young and innocent” then, I think I ordered one of their cold noodles because it looked “exotic” from the menu. At that point in time, I hated the noodles tremendously because an overpowering taste had seemingly spread from my tongue to my nose the moment I tasted the noodles and I didn’t like that suffocating feeling. That instance, I told myself never to try Japanese cuisine ever again.

The next time I tried Japanese cuisine was when the craze of conveyor belt sushi hit Singapore for the first time some years back, and many of the authentic Japanese cuisine was given a more localised flavour. From then on, Japanese cuisine has made its way up to one of my favourite cuisine ever (but nothing can ever replace the position that Thai cuisine has on my list), and I’ll get “withdrawal symptoms” if I do not have my fix of tempuras or teriyaki chicken occasionally. Then again, just don’t make me taste wasabi or any of the raw Japanese food because I don’t think I can ever stomach those.

I don’t think I can ever do any justice to this entry on “Tonkichi”. From the moment we entered the restaurant to paying the bills, the entire “process” took only half an hour, as we had a movie to catch in 20 minutes time. Luckily, the service was brisk as the place wasn’t really crowded then, thus we were only 15 minutes late for the movie. Despite the rush, I had enjoyed my meal at “Tonkichi” tremendously and also loved the atmosphere and the service at the restaurant. It’s definitely a restaurant that I’ll visit again given the chance.

Hiyashi Ramen - the main course that I’ve ordered for myself.

I ordered Hiyashi Ramen, or cold Ramen for myself. One reason why I love Japanese food is because of the healthier alternatives it offers. The ingredients that accompanied the ramen were mainly cucumber, eggs, carrots, seaweeds, steamed chicken, and jellyfish (maybe the only not-so healthy ingredient there), thus it makes a very balanced and healthy meal. The sauce for the ramen comes in a separate bowl thus you can determine the taste that you prefer for your ramen.

I was actually thinking of the Fish and Chips that I had for lunch earlier that day and also the calorie-laden “TCC” meal I had over the weekends that consisted of coffee and ice-cream, appetizers and macaroni when I was ordering, thus I decided to have some healthier choice for that day. But, considering the side dishes that were ordered too, maybe my dinner didn’t turn out to be as healthy as I hope it will be.

The rest of the food that was ordered more…

Sun and Moon Japanese Dining Cafe
Wheelock Place Level Three

Rating: 3.5/5.0

I guess I do have a penchant for shopping near Wheelock Place somehow. Probably it’s that big Zara boutique, Borders, Marks and Spencer, and many other shops that are drawing me so often to the place. After blowing my bank account on some books at Borders and on two pairs of pink shoes (I’m shock personally by my recent taste for things in pink), I had my desert fix at the newly opened Sun and Moon Japanese Dining Cafe.

Fujiyama - Fuji Mountain Shaved Ice

I was shocked to see the size of desert. I wasn’t expecting it to be so huge in size. It’s something like the local Ice Kachang, except this time round, the ingredients in it is dumpling, red bean and mango. What I love most about this desert the lovely green tea taste it had, which gave a refreshing feel to it.

Kurogoma Shiruko - Hot Dumpling in Red Bean and Sesame Soup

Another lovely desert, with dumpling, sweet potato and red bean. I like the sesame paste, which is thick in texture and not too sweet.

Tofu Cheese Cake

I was mildly captivated by the lovely presentation of the tofu cheese cake and it tasted as delicious as it looks. My only grouse about it is that the portion is really small for $5.

On the whole, I love the decour of the restaurant, except the air-conditioning was really freezing. The menu is very limited, serving mainly only deserts. I suppose I might stop over the place again if I’m thinking of having my desert fix, but I suppose at Wheelock place, there are better restaurants serving delicious deserts like NYDC. Nevertheless, it’s nice to have a change from the usual ice-creams and cakes occasionally.