Tsukada Nojo 塚田農場 @ Plaza Singapura

It was on a Monday night, and long queues were forming at hotpot places. Hmm, everyone loves steamboat/hotpot? Or, was it because everyone has a craving for hotpot all of a sudden? *scratch head*

Friend had a craving for beauty pot, so went ahead and stood in-line to queue. At 730pm, the estimated waiting time was about an hour and all parties must be present in order to get a table.

Got seated at 830pm, and started with sparkling sake.

Mio Sparkling Sake 澪 (みお) @$16++ per 300ml bottle

The sparkling sake was very light and easy to drink.

collagen pot

While waiting for the collagen to dissolve into liquid, we had the Maximum Fries (マキシマム・ポテト). Yup, I did a double take. It was regular shoestring fries with sprinkling of secret powder. Japan menu says it's the seasoning spice of Miyazaki.

Apparently, there's a whole range of 'Maximum' family. Like 'Maximum' eggplant and 'Maximum' seasoned cucumber. So cutesy ya. All ended up in our stomach anyways.

was starving, so only had a chance to take picture of dips for the fries

cooked in a flash and gone equally fast - beauty pot ingredients @$25++ per pax

The branch at Plaza Singapura gave two pieces of chicken per pax, and tasted best with the chili and ginger dips. Hmmm, ain't that chicken rice without the rice?

lip smacking collagen soup

Service was friendly but downside was the one hour wait. That's quite a bummer. I think Tsukada Nojo at PS felt more like a touristy place. Table on my left were speaking in Cantonese with Hong Kong accent, while the one on my right were Indonesians. Heh, I'm a tourist too! (well, sort of)

token dessert

Paid $42 per pax for the meal.

Here's the link to Tsukada Nojo @ Westgate.

Ichiban Boshi いちばん ぼし @ JEM

It was a family lunch affair. Celebration over a meal, with many things to be thankful for. With age catching up, the elders wanted somewhere near. Mom wants to eat sashimi, and sis wanted to do grocery after food. Solution? Ichiban Boshi at JEM.

cosy ambiance

didn't get this one as mom doesn't take prawns nor squids, nor crab

おちゃ

Decided fairly quickly and it doesn't take long for food to be served. Liked the ambiance of the restaurant with its cosy lightings.

regular chawan mushi

fried salmon skin

Dad likes his teriyaki chicken don, and the servings here at Ichiban Boshi JEM was quite generous. Mom wants to have her sashimi fix, and was feeling rather hungry, so the bara chirashi worked out nicely with variety of raw fish and rice.

teriyaki chicken don

bara chirashi - colours of spring

Bro ordered the chirashi don and it came with a huge red prawn. He says smaller prawns would be better as this one was not as sweet. A prawn as large as this and to eat it raw, I find that challenging, especially at our this humid temperature.

chirashi don

Since my bro is buying lunch, my order was beef bowl with foie gras (duck liver), which I had wanted to try for the longest time.

tokusen beef and foie gras @$22.90++

closer view

The duck liver was still wobbly with caramelized outer which was nice. However, it has quite a strong gamey taste. The beef strips were nicely chewy and its texture wasn't tough at all. The bowl was tasty at the beginning but it could get heavy with all the richness after a while. The pickled ginger came in handy to cut through the rich taste.

がり

Expect to spend about $25 per pax.

Jewel Cafe and Bar @ Rangoon Road

First time trying the mains here. Last visited for coffee. Seated upstairs, and it was a tad warm though the air-conditioning had been turned on to full blast.

We had three orders of prawn capellini, so that ought to be good! I'd likened the capellini to Western mee kia. Had a taste and it was pleasant. Looked pretty, with bonito flakes dancing ontop of the soft capellini strands.

umami prawn capellini

chili crab pasta

Mine was chili crab pasta, that came with deep fried super crispy mantous. Tasted just like your regular chili crab; spicy, sweetish and eggy. Pasta and mantous? Carb on carb combo! Portion was good and you won't feel hungry after this plate.

Warning though, it was pretty spicy. Probably not if you're accustomed to chomping down on chili padis but this plate did pack a spicy punch. Thankfully, the heat doesn't linger for too long, before it gets reignited on the next bite.

Desserts portion were huge too, so it's better to share.

apple crumble

Chunks of apple that tasted of cinnamon, hidden underneath a pile of crumble and topped with a large scoop of ice-cream, drizzled with caramel. Not too sweet, with slight sour notes from the apple.

Liked the chocolate brownie lots. So soft!

If you have The Entertainer Singapore App, this is one of the place where you could utilize it. One-for-one main course.