Located at Level 4 of ION Orchard. Went on a weekday evening before 8pm and there wasn't as much of a crowd. Mostly walk-in customers.
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| shopfront |
There are two small boards outside that shows the Happy Hour offerings; with $5 Tiger beer from 5pm-7pm, and selected shochu at $5 per glass from till 5pm - 8pm. What's an izakaya without a drink or two right? Happy hours like these made it all sweeter.
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| interior |
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| menu |
Once seated, an order for shochu (can't resist a good offer!) was quickly placed, and upon recommendation from the friendly and helpful service crew, we had the Tomino Hozan (Imo), a sweet potato shochu served on the rocks (or can opt for with soda).
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| Tomino Hozan, on the rocks |
The Tomino from Kagoshima prefecture has a well-rounded light and clear taste, with a tingle of sweetness. Smooth on the tongue. High on alcohol content at 25%. Wheeee~
Otoshi (appetizer) is served here, free of charge. It's a simple dish of raw cabbage and a spoonful of miso paste. Crunchy vege with natural sweetness made tastier by the miso.
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| otoshi |
Ordered the Ibushi Yaki, a shop specialty. Small pieces of chicken meat grilled, licked and smoked by high flames. The open kitchen allows customers to catch glimpse of charged up fire sizzling the meat whenever this order is prepared. Served on a hotplate with cabbages and with a small dash (on a separate small dish) of grated wasabi mixed with radish (wasn't really paying attention when the service crew was describing it) but it was pretty salty.
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| Ibushi Yaki (sorry for the messed up picture, was trying not to get the camera melted by the intense heat) |
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| close-up view of Ibushi Yaki and cooked cabbage |
It's somewhat different from expectation (in terms of appearance and taste) but still liked its smokiness and was pretty juicy and tasty too. Perhaps, it's the idea of how it was cooked that gave it its novelty.
One thing about this place is that when a skewered item is ordered, it must be in pairs. Meaning, if you want to eat buta bara, it must be ordered as 2 sticks. "So how if you're eating alone?" My friend asked. Hmm...I guess eat two of the same thing? Or order the 5 kinds yakitori and you'll get 5 different types of skewered items which changes on a daily basis. Do ask the friendly service crew if you'd like.
The person who took our order (a young helpful chap) was really patient and can rattle off recommendations should you need any. We ordered wagyu harami (beef outside skirt, one done rare and the other stick done medium), shishito (Japanese variety of capsicum that looks like peppers), tsukune oroshi (chicken balls), and buta bara (pork belly).
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| shishito, high in vitamin C |
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| buta bara |
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| wagyu harami (medium) |
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| wagyu harami (rare) |
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| closer view of wagyu harami (done rare) |
The shishito tasted natural (think it was unsalted, though not sure if that's intentional or not), and it's like a distant cousin of capsicum but definitely can taste the resemblance of flavour.
Buta bara (pork belly) was really quite lean and gives a chewy bite. The wagyu harami was tender for both doneness but I liked it rare. It was considerably light flavoured as well. Less salt is good.
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| tsukune oroshi (chicken meatballs with grated radish) |
The tsukune or chicken meatballs were good. Tasty. Actually this dish and the ibushi yaki gets the vote of being the more stronger tasting items out of all the items that we ordered.
Total bill came up to around $65 for 2 pax.
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