Tachibana @ 100 AM

Saw this place from JPassport and decided to give it a try. Usually, I tend to steer clear from places that are new new and this place seemed like it with just 5 reviews on Google.

Decided to make a reservation for early lunch. The place is located at Level 3 of 100AM mall but discovered that they weren't ready even at opening time of 11.30am.

shop front

It's quite a big space and there was only one staff doing the opening (cleaning up, arranging utensils, placing glasses into the fridge etc).

menu

drink culture at an izakaya

We were finally seated and the shop does offer set lunches teishoku. We ordered a main from the set lunch and some small dishes from the regular izakaya menu.

interior

I saw one other customer in the shop that also ordered Tonkatsu Curry and it turned out to be a good choice.

Tonkatsu Curry @$16.80

delicious savoury curry, crispy cutlet

The curry was less sweet and more savoury (which we liked) and had visible bits of meat inside (this was a bonus), cutlet was crispy and portion was good. Served with a bowl of miso soup and a small side of pickled vegetable. It was yums.

Top-up $5 to get a bottle of Sapporo beer to go along with the curry rice.

Sapporo beer

kanpai~

We also tried their gyu sara (beef slices cooked with onions) and karaage (small).

gyu sara @$9.80

karaage (small) @$6.80

The beef slices were cooked in soy sweet broth, and tasted pretty nice and the fried chicken was crispy. 

junmai ginjyo sake

cheers~

Also tried a cup of sake and it was deliciously sweet. I liked all junmai ginjo and junmai daiginjo!

Staff was friendly and we enjoyed our lunch there.

Iced water and green tea are complimentary and self-serve. Glass and water near the shop entrance.

Tachibana 

Address: 100 Tras St, #03-13, Singapore 079027

Contact: +6564432218

Business Hours:

Daily: 11:30 AM–10:30 PM

[Tasting] Myung Ga (명가) II @ 28 Tanjong Pagar Road

Craving for some reasonably priced and delicious tasting Korean food? I found one of the dishes that I had wanted to eat for the longest time; donkatsu at Myung Ga II ! It is located right behind a bus stop, and that's a pretty convenient way of getting to the restaurant.

let's eat delicious food!

Thank you Hence for inviting me to tag along to experience Myung Ga II.

our table

barley tea

Service was warm and a jug of room temperature barley tea was served to the table once the guests are seated.

There were many things from the menu that caught our eyes but the one that stood out most to me, was the donkatsu 돈까스 and altang 알탕 (fish roe soup). But let's start with some banchans (side dishes) and appetisers.

aged kimchi

miyeok julgi bokkeum (sautéed seaweed stems)

beansprouts

myeolchi bokkeum (stir fried anchovies)

gyeran mari (egg rolls)

My favourite from the banchan was the sliced gyeran mari. Just a subtle pleasant eggy flavour with a hint of sweetness and balanced savoury.

Original Kimbap (Spam) 

The Original Kimbap is pretty looking and works well as an appetiser. The spam was nicely fried to golden and the colourful pairings of the ingredients made it a joy to eat.

Pro-tip: the ends actually had more spam and egg ;)

one bite

seafood pancake 해물 부추전

ingredients are popping!

I was a bit reluctant to order the seafood pancake as our party only consist of 3 pax. But boy, was I glad we ordered this as the pancake was nicely crisp on its outside, firm flavourful batter and abundance of seafood that appeared in every mouthful! Best part...there was much less oil than anticipated. And that sauce was pretty good too though the pancake was already flavourful on its own. But do try as the flavours gets a changed up.

How about deliciously wobbly cheese steamed egg?

치즈 계란찜

The steamed egg should be eaten while it was still hot and so we did, but in careful manner, of course. The cheese was stretchy and kinda fun to eat. Really strong flavours for this one and I wonder if a glass of soju might be helpful in this case... Hahah, need to try it out on next visit!

We also ordered two portions of pork belly for BBQ and requested for the staff to assist us in grilling. Minimum order is 2 portions. 

2 portions of Iberico Pork @$24 per portion (with staff to assist in grilling)

let's check the fire

a dash of pepper

carefully grilling

drip out the oil

getting there

crispy pork

wrap it with lettuce and condiments, and enjoy~

Thank you Noel, for helping us to grill the pork till a nice crisp.

The crispy Iberico pork could be quite oily hence, wash it all down with a bowl of spicy fish roe soup (altang).

fish roe soup

let's see what's in there

treasures

I liked the soup and it was spicy for me. The heat dissipates as quickly as it comes but it was definitely there! The fish roe had a firm texture and flavourful. Not funky. The wriggly ones were softer but not much flavour.

If you're craving for some carbs, I do recommend the Donkatsu (it comes with rice) or the Stir Fried Octopus Rice (nakji-deokbap).

Donkatsu @$20

The donkatsu was lightly battered and the meat was thin and easy to chew. Tasty and the sauce was a mix of tangy and savoury. Eat it with rice, the sliced cabbage with thousand island sauce and baked beans for a 'yesteryear' kind of vibe. Pretty nostalgic and reminded me of the missed opportunity to try donkatsu at Namsan many years ago.

delicious!

Octopus is always a good choice, especially if it is chewy but still tender.

nakji deokbap

lovely bite

To end, one might enjoy a sweet refreshing Korean drink such as pear, sikhye 식혜 or grape.

grape drink

Thank you Victoria (Vicky) for being such a warm and friendly host, as well as staff at Myung Ga II who are earnest in introducing their food to diners.

Have a try and let me know which is your favourite. I know which ones are mine. 잘 먹었습니다!

Myung Ga (명가) II 

Address: 28 Tg Pagar Rd, Singapore 088451

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/myungga2.sg

Business Hours:

Tues-Sun: 11.30am-3pm, 5.30pm-9.30pm

(Break time 3pm-5.30pm)

MiMi Korean BBQ @ 2 Peck Seah Street

It was our annual Christmas gathering and Gina wanted to eat Korean BBQ. Searched for new places via Google and I found one that none of us had been before, plus it accepts reservation. There's options for buffet or ala-carte. For the buffet, everyone at the table need to take the same and limited to 90-minutes session. Pricing is reasonable for $34.50+ on Fri-Sun, PH and eve of PH. On other days, it is just $29.50+. Do check directly from the restaurant's website for updated pricing.

Anyhow, we shall decide once we are there!

Reservation was fuss free and was contacted by the restaurant staff on the day of the reserved date a few hours prior to our visit.

menu

restaurant interior

A tumbler of cold roasted barley tea was served as soon as you're seated. Observed that majority of diners on that Friday evening, would come by around 730pm onwards.

drink up

Decided to take up Premium Set A (@$129+) for more beefy options! Beef short rib (boneless), ribeye, marinated beef and short plate. 4 different cuts of beef to satisfy our cravings! Also ordered a Seafood Pancake to try.

Once done, staff will help to turn on the grill and pour the egg onto the sides of the grill. Banchans were also served immediately after we ordered the mains.

table full

seaweed

kimchi

japchae

pickled sesame leaves

beansprouts

The meat served here looked good! Wasn't expecting the beef short plate to be of such a big piece and this is the same thing served for buffet! Wow, I'm sold! The marbling for the ribeye and the boneless short rib were really nice.

Premium Set A (@$129+) - marinated short ribs, short plate, ribeye, boneless short rib, sausage, onions, mushrooms

let it sizzle

There was a small piece of fat provided amongst the sliced onions, and I guess we were supposed to use that to oil the grill. Didn't notice it hence, in all our eagerness (plus hungry tummies), we just placed the short plates directly onto the grill. It was fatty enough to not stick to the grill.

And of course, how could we miss out on some soju and beer combo? I like it at 1:2.5 ratio.

somaek 소맥 (beer + soju) 

Seafood Spring Onion Pancake @$27+

While the Seafood Pancake had a lovely batter that's crisp on its outer side and not doughy/mushy on its inside, it could do with more seafood.

beef short ribs (boneless)

made a wrap (쌈)

Personally, I felt that the best texture and flavour for the meat, goes to short ribs! 

It was a filling meal for the 3 of us ladies, and there's complimentary mini yakult for diners after their meal. Self-service from the cooler-box near entrance.

take one

We spent $67 per pax and had an enjoyable meal. Staff was polite and helpful. Will return to try other things next time!

Thank you Florence and Gina for the many years of friendship! See you next time.

MiMi Korean BBQ 

Address: 2 Peck Seah St, #01-01 Air View Building, Singapore 079305

Website: https://mimikoreanbbq.business.site

Contact: 9114 9510

Business Hours:

Daily: 1:30am–3pm, 5:30pm–12am