Comfort Food with Sapporo Ramen Miharu

29 Dec 2016

It took abit of walking to get to Sapporo Ramen Mihara but once I stepped in, I instantly felt comfortable in this nice and homey place with very warm service staff. The menu offered shio, shoyu, tonkotsu miso, and miso ramen. With a name like Sapporo Ramen Miharu, I think it was safe to assume that they specialised in sapporo style ramen, so definitely have to try the miso ramen!

When the staff asked if I would like a beer, my resistance died on the spot. The Sapporo draft was so super duper refreshing!

Tokusen Miso (Special Blend) 

The springy noodles that I like! 

The ramen smelt really fragrant and I couldn't wait to try it. The broth was hot, buttery and straightforward. The noodles springy, and toppings complementary. The salty after taste was pretty strong, but I still enjoyed this bowl of ramen. It felt like major comfort food!!

Shisho Gyoza

I also decided to try the gyoza with perilla leaves; thought it would taste interesting and I wasn't wrong. They tasted very strongly of perilla which I decided I enjoy after consuming 3 gyozas. Haha, I also liked it that the skin of the gyozas was thin and chewy.

I returned to try its ookara (spicy chilli oil) ramen:

and the Shiro miso shouga (ginger miso) I really liked this one, the ginger taste went well with the miso, and it was very enjoyable.

Thumbs up for this Ramen! Will return to satisfy comfort food crave.

Sapporo Ramen Miharu
9 Raffles Boulevard
#01-06/07/08 Millenia Walk 
(S) 039596
Hours:
Mon to Fri - 11.30am to 2.30pm / 6pm to 10pm
Sat to Sun - 12pm to 3pm / 6pm to 10pm

Menya Sanji Kagoshima Ramen

3 Dec 2016

I've been wanting to try Menya Sanji each time I walk past it / commute past it, so decided to try it today!

The place was pretty cozy, and reminded me of Japan's ramen shops. I got a counter seat and ordered the sesame ramen. The broth was a mix of chicken and pork; super thick, creamy, milky and unfiltered. You can see how thick it is! It was very savory but wasn't too salty which I liked. The sesame also made the broth very 'pang'.

The cha siu was slightly thicker and pretty firm. It was not 'melt in the mouth' type but more chewy. It had substantially less fat than many ramen shops and I liked it.

The noodles were thicker and had a good bite as well.

I rikee

I also got the fried chicken, it was very crispy and altogether satisfying. How do people make chicken so crispy?!

I finished up everything and was getting ready to make payment when I realised that I didnt bring out my wallet.

O. M. G.

I was alone and only had my ezlink card. I considered a few alternatives, like calling friends for help or getting mom to cab over, but there was no way out.

Eventually, I mustered my courage and told the staff I didn't bring out my wallet.. so paisay! I totally felt like a freeloader trying to lie for a free meal.

The shop was about to close (closes between lunch and dinner) and seeing how I wasn't able to rush back before closing time, the staff were nice and allowed me to return after dinner to make payment. I then quickly tried to escaped but! was called back because I left my water bottle at my seat T.T. I grabbed it and almost ran out lol.

After dinner, I made a trip back at around 9.45pm and paid for my meal. And the staff said 'you left this behind', after which he took out a pack of probiotics I had left on the table. T.T there seemed to be no end to my embarrassment. I took the pack, and beat a hasty retreat, concluding the end of my eventful visit to Menya Sanji lol.

Smoky Charcoal Grilled Unagi at Man Man Japanese Restaurant

17 Nov 2016

Man Man Japanese Unagi Restaurant is an Unagi resturant (lol) by chef Teppei Yamashita of Teppei (lol). I'm quite amused by my first sentence lol. Anyway, I set off early and spent at least 10min trying to locate the elusive 1 Keong Saik Road. Finally, I arrived at 5.50pm and was 3rd in the queue.

I knew the queue for Man Man can get really long so my plan was to arrive before the resturant opens for dinner (6pm) so that when ML arrives after work, we can go straight in.

Come 6pm, the first tables were seated and I could only peer through the doors because the full group must be present to enter. There must have been mass eel killing going on because there were loud sounds coming out from the restaurant. I was glad to be outside.

When ML and I entered, we were seated at the counter and smoky grilling was going on full strength.

I got the Hitsumabushi ($26.80) and ML the Una Don Medium size ($25.80). I also got the Umaki (eel wrapped with egg) for $12.80.

While waiting for the food, I flipped through the menu which informed that the eels came from Mikawa Isshiki, an area in Japan famous for top quality eels. I also found out that the restaurant's Unagi supervisor has 20 years of direct relevant experience (lol). These messages tell me that the food will taste as good as if I was in Japan, and I was looking forward to it. The food arrived really fast!

This egg with unagi Umaki was just alright and not really worth $12 in my opinion. When our dons arrived, I couldn't stop taking pictures.

Una Don (M) 

Hitsumabushi

Zooooom up. 

Looks so nice!!!! The unagi was reallly reeeeaaaalllyyy good. So soft, totally no fishy taste. Very fresh, which is kind of stating the obvious. The charcoal-grilled taste was superb and unagi sauce wonderfully savory..

I ordered the hitsumabushi which is like an enhanced Unagi Don. The unagi is served on rice in a bowl and other toppings and condiments are provided, in this case, spring onions, dried seaweed and wasabi bg (before grating) Lololol. A little pot of dashi, soup, pickled veggies and a small rice bowl completes the setting. 

Hitsumabushi is my kind of thing because it offers variety. It's like yong tau fu, where you can eat it in different ways: dry, soup, fried etc, but I digress. 

Basically, you first scoop out a portion of unagi and rice into the rice bowl and eat it on its own. (Yum!) Then for the second helping, mix in half of the condiments and try it like that. I thoroughly enjoyed this version with freshly grated wasabi, seaweed and spring onions, loved the slight tanginess of the wasabi! 

For the third helping, add condiments and the dashi to create an ochazuke, rice porridge. 

The combination of the rice, condiments and dashi was superb!! The unagi sauce and the dashi, i tell youuu... Last warning lobhhh!

I will definitely look forward to Unagi at Man Man whenever, minus the queue.

Man Man Japanese Unagi Restaurant 
1 Kong Siak Road
#01-01 (S) 089109
Hours:
Mon to Sat: 11.30am to 3pm, 6pm to 10.30pm
Sun and PH: Closed

Bingiri Ontama - Spicy Sichuan styled Ramen at Ramen Gallery Takumen

15 Nov 2016

After yoga at circular road, I paid Ramen Gallery Takumen a visit. Ramen Gallery Takumen offers Ramen from 6 different shops in Japan. It started out as an online Ramen shop delivering a variety of noodles from popular ramen shops to homes in Japan, eventually establishing a branch in Singapore featuring ramen from 6 selected ramen shops owners.

What they do is, they re-create the taste of the ramen using a soup base from the shop owners and serve them only after an 'OK' from the shop owner.

I decided to get the Katsuura-Styled Tantan men from Bingiri since I was in the mood for a spicy something. The soup is made with meat stock broth, Sichuan peppers, Chillies, onions and a whole lot of oil.

The noodles were thin and wavy and there must have been two whole huge onions and a gazillion spring onions in the bowl.

A holey spoon was provided so that I could drain the oil while trying to eat the meat, onions and spring onions.

The soup was super hot esp with the chilli oil, I burnt my tongue at the first slurp lol. First slurp was salty, spicy with a Mala tinge. I really liked the flavors and richness of the broth. However after about 6 slurps, I had to start a fight with the oil and it got slightly stressful to eat. 

I was looking forward to eating the onsen egg, but I didn't get to enjoy it because the yolk leaked into the oily soup and the taste of the soup overpowered the egg. I concluded that onsen eggs with Tantan Ramen is not my preference. 

As much as I disliked having to pick the ingredients from the oil, I still finished the bowl of ramen. 

The sweetness of the onions paired with the spicy soup was pretty addictive, though I may only order it if I ever am craving spicy oiliness in the future. Will return to try the other types of ramen! 

Ramen Gallery Takumen

66 Circular Road 

#01-01 (S) 049420

Hours:

Mon to Thurs: 11.30am to 3pm, 5.30pm to 10pm

Fri: 11.30am to 3pm, 5.30pm to 12am

Sat to Sun: 11.30am to 3pm, 5.30pm 9pm

Juicy Mackerel @ Sabar (38) Wisma Atria Japan Food Town

I had to run an errand that left me alone in town during lunch and I seized the chance to run into Sabar 38 at Japan Food Town.

Sabar 38 sells.. Saba.. LOL. I actually learnt of Saba Fish aka Mackerel only when korean food started to become mainstream in Singapore. Ok very noob I know, but I am essentially a creature of habit, and my habit was eating the same thing again and again and again and again. I'm sure I ate yong tau fu or fish soup almost every lunch for more than a year. All those meals wasted on not trying something new... But I digress, Sabar 38 offers the well loved Mackerel as a whole grilled fish, sushi-ed, simmered, sashimi-ed or donburi-ed. Their Lunch Teishoku (Set Meal) starts from $18 and comes with pickles, and senbei cracker (rice cracker) soup. 

Interestingly, their lunch timing runs from 11.38 am to 2.38pm. There are 38 seats in the restaurant and 38 items in the menu. Their grilled Saba is more than 38cm long. However, the staff were not 38 (pun on chinese pronounciation intended pls). They were nice, kind and enthusiastic.

I ordered the Grilled Toro Saba Teishoku at $25 and a poached egg in saba dashi and amused myself by looking around the shop. I learnt that the people at Saba 38 are passionate about saba and that Saba 38 serves Mackerel caught off Japan's North Pacific Coast.

And my teishoku arrived!

This is a Big Mackerel with yummily crispy skin and lots of soft juicy flesh *Goood!* The fats just melted in my mouth and I really loved the way the oils tasted clean. Sabar 38 serves Yamagata Haenuki rice which was soft and fluffy (major heart).

The poached egg in saba dashi was served cold. I was abit sad, because I thought it would be hot. It looks beautiful though, and the dashi was packed with flavour.

I found this meal hearty and satisfying. The highlight was definitely the grilled saba. However, I had a reaction from eating here, and am determined to figure out which food item gave me that. I have narrowed it down to the below 3:

1) Tougarashi

2) Dashi

3) Tsukemono

As I have to find out which one caused my reaction, I have no choice but to return again. HA. HA. HA. HA.

Sabar 38 @ Japan Food Town
Wisma Atria
435 Orchard Road
Singapore 238877
Hours:
11.38am - 2.38pm, 5.38pm - 10.38pm

Udon Lunch at Inaniwa Udon Wisma Atria Japan Food Town

Inaniwa Udon at Wisma Atria's Japan Food Town has over 300 years of history. According to them, the process of making Inaniwa udon takes around 3 days as it is all done manually. After kneading the dough by hand, it is wrapped around 2 rods, flattened, stretched and air dried. This process results in udon that is thinner than the conventional udon and is smooth in texture.

Inaniwa Udon offers lunch sets starting from $13.80. The sets come with a choice of hot or cold udon, a donburi (rice bowl) and pickles. Lunch is pretty much value for money! We got the following:
Curry Rice Set ($13.80)

Beef Rice Bowl Set ($16.80)

Oyako Rice Bowl Set ($16.80).

The cold udon was really smooth and chewy. I super liked it!

The noodles were thin and allowed for satisfying slurps. They were so chewy, they prob would bounce if I dropped them. Ha. Ha. Ha.

The rice bowls were pretty alright but the shop's name is 'Inaniwa Udon' and not 'Inaniwa Udon &  Rice Bowl' so get the udon, and get it cold to enjoy the ultra smooth texture and chewiness. The udon loses quite abit of its chewy texture after being soaked in hot soup and just becomes a normal udon soup.

The downside to the cold udon was that I found the dipping sauce too salty. (I did get a slight reaction from eating here) I could taste a strong soy sauce taste at the end of each slurp. My lunch buddies however, did not find it too salty, so I can only say, different people different tastebuds. Heh. Heh.

Inaniwa Udon @ Japan Food Town
Wisma Atria 4F
435 Orchard Road
(S) 238877
Hours:
11am - 2.30pm, 5.30 - 9.30pm daily

Sushi Ichi

Char and I decided to pamper ourselves for our birthdays by dining at Sushi Ichi at Mariott Tangs Plaza Hotel. Sushi Ichi was just awarded a Michelin one star in 2016 and I was super looking forward to it! I made my reservation by calling in, and chose the earliest lunch timing of 12pm on a Sunday.

At 11am on the day itself, I got a call from the restaurant to confirm my reservation. I was running late and only reached at about 12.15pm.
When we approached the restaurant, the door opened and a lady in a kimono welcomed us. When we walked in, we realised we had the counter to ourselves. And I felt a slight oppressive feeling because 3 chefs welcomed us into our seats. However, 3 more customers arrived shortly and we got started! Char and I both got the Botan set @ $150 that consists of an appetiser, assorted sashimi, 1 dish, 8 pieces of nigiri, roll sushi, miso soup and dessert.

I got a beer for starters, and the appetiser appeared shortly. It was presented very nicely.

Japanese yam, persimmon salad, Japanese gooseberry and sardine.

Chef preparing the sashimi

Beautiful, so beautiful! 

Sashimi - Shima Aji and Hotate with lime, ginger and salt provided at the side. The Shima Aji, was translucent with a beautiful sheen. It was firm with a slight crunch, I really enjoyed the clean sweet taste! The hotate was one of the highlights of the meal for me. I do not usually like raw scallop because I don't enjoy the slight fishy taste that came along with many that I've eaten. However this scallop was definitely fresh, firm and sweet. I can only shake my head and say 'beautiful loh'. 

I swear I heard chef say this is Yellowtail (Hamachi). I really loved it. Smooth, oily... So. Good...

Next up is Japanese Barracuda. Looks like it was pan fried, or maybe torched. It was a delicious fish. I enjoyed the chestnut and pickle on the plate and was hoping that the grassy garnish could be eaten too. Ha. Ha. Ha.

Nigiri sushi continues! Shiroebi, white shrimp next. This is a big shrimp, and it's a beautiful shrimp.

I usually have an issue with the mushiness of raw ebi, but the clean fresh taste of this ebi and the absence of unbearable mushiness really took me by surprise. It was VERY SWEET and it was good.

Next up, Maguro!

Toro! I think it's Chutoro.

Maguro... Toro.... One word... Waaaaaahh...... 

Next up was a very springy looking torigai, cockle clam. It had a strong briny taste, not really my preference.

This however, is one of my all time favourites. Anago, saltwater eel aka conger eel. 

The anago appeared to be grilled and chef added a dab of yuzu. Sweet, soft and savoury tinged with a slight yuzu zest. Really loved it. It reminded me of the anago I ate at Endo sushi in Osaka. I remembered that I nearly punched the air with my fist on the first bite of the anago. So. Good.

Somewhere amidst all the nigiri sushi, Ika was served quietly but made a grand entrance into our tummies.

The sweet tamago was kind of amazing because it tasted like a cake instead of an egg. A sweet egg cake.

Then we were served a light and tasty miso soup. I welcomed it.

After the soup, we were presented with a Maguro and Kombu roll (I'm quite sure it was kombu).

I really loved the maguro, the flavour just pops out. Char's roll was filled with a bunch of wasabi, and her eyes watered LOL. Great fish, great taste! Great nori! Great chefs!

This was a yummy bowl of uni and ikura mini don with wasabi. Freshly grated wasabi served on top of creamy uni and popping ikura pearls!

To round off the meal, we got to choose our desserts. I chose a sea salt ice cream which came in 2 cute wafers. I really liked this one, it had a slightly savoury taste.

We were so full, our bellies were popping out.

The very nice obliging assistant chef smiled for this photo. The chefs made us feel at ease and as the meal progessed, we got more comfortable and I really appreciated the opportunity to watch the chefs at work. They were really professional. 

The service staff were excellent. The ladies provided great service, introducing the food, and answering our questions. Always there yet never intrusive. All in all, it was a great dining experience for a birthday treat!

Sushi Ichi
Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel
320 Orchard Road (S) 238865
Hours:
Tues to Sat - 12 to 2.30pm, 6 to 11pm
Sun - 6 - 10pm
Closed on Mondays