Mitsuba Japanese Restaurant @ The Central Clarke Quay

Looking for Japanese ala-carte buffet that's value for money? You might want to head on to Mitsuba Japanese Restaurant, conveniently located at Level 3 of The Central, Clarke Quay.

Chef Low Chee Hui helms the kitchen, and has been busy dishing out plates after plates of delicious food. Was recently invited to try the food there and here's an account of that experience.

いらっしゃいませ

Once inside, diners will likely be greeted by restaurant manager, John Chia. An amiable, friendly and polite guy who knows his sake.

booth seats

Booth seats offers more privacy while us plebeians dine at the open common area. Actually, didn't mind it at all since we got the window seats with a nice view to enjoy.

view from our table window

For non-buffet items, one could opt for the Haru Chirashi Sushi which comprises of sliced thick cut sashimi, rice, pickles, miso soup and fruits. Shioks to eat the thick slices of raw fish!

Haru Chirashi Sushi @$28++

Or for sharing, one could get the Unatama maki うなたままき. Crunchy tempura batter with savoury eel and fluffy egg roll at its center. Yums.

unatama maki @$16++

 
Fancy trying horse hair crab (or hairy crab) from Hokkaido? You can have one for $38++. For distribution, just need to peel off the center shell, break the crab into half and tear off its legs one by one.

ケガニ

attack!

There's plenty of options for sake here. Tried the Kuboto Senju from Niigata. Easy to drink, dry, mild tasting and with some sweetness.

乾杯!

The perfect accompaniment for the sake are foods such as the tasty savoury Ebi Mentaiyaki and Hotate Mentaiyaki.

Ebi mentaiyaki @$12++ (2 pieces) and hotate mentaiyaki @$12++ (3 pieces)

Sometimes we just want something hot to warm the tummy. Try the ikura chawanmushi. It was like an elevated chawanmushi with bursts of umami'ness.

ikura chawanmushi @$8++

Or, have the steaming hotpot of tara nabe with plenty of vegetables and chunks of cod fish swimming in a simple light soy based broth.

tara nabe (cod fish and vegetable hotpot) @$30++

If you prefer teriyaki cod, they have it here as well. Perfectly cooked, with a good oily mouthfeel. Nice to have it with a bowl of rice and miso soup. Most of the ala-carte items can be topped up with $6++ for a set, which means it can be served with rice or udon set which basically contains one carb, otoshi, miso soup (for rice set) and fruits.

gindara teriyaki @$22++

Mitsuba also offers ala-carte buffet at a reasonable price of $36.90++ (correct at the time of publishing, please check restaurant's website for updated info).

ready to rumble

As usual, let's start with a plate of sashimi moriawase. The thick slices brought a smile to everyone's face.

sashimi moriawase (salmon, hamachi, mekajiki, tai, maguro)

Of course, can't miss out on tempura items. Tasted crispy and fresh.

mixed tempura

Another must-try item would be the buta kakuni dish; Japanese braised pork belly. This was love at first bite. That sauce, by gosh... that sauce was a winner. Well marinated with flavours fully absorbed into the meat. Good.

buta kakuni 豚角煮

Plenty of light bites too. More sake perhaps? Yes, please!

takoyaki

gyoza

shisamo

The takoyaki and gyoza were both deep fried and quite crispy. Snacks, I called them. Grilled tebasaki (mid-wings) were only lightly salted but somehow, I liked that light flavours. Juicy meat was a plus point too.

grilled tebasaki

Not commonly available for buffet, but it is at Mitsuba, do remember to try the dobin mushi; traditional Japanese seafood broth served in a teapot.

dobin mushi 土瓶蒸し

no time to dilly dally

Ended on a sweet note with cream puffs and single scoop ice-cream.

cream puffs @$3++ (4 pieces)

yuzu ice-cream @$5++

matcha ice-cream @$4++

An enjoyable dinner with good company. Special thanks to Mitsuba for hosting and HGW for the invite.

Mitsuba Japanese Restaurant

Location: 6 Eu Tong Sen Street #03-88 The Central, Singapore 059817
Website: http://www.mitsuba.com.sg/
Telephone: (65) 6227 0388
Opening hours:
Lunch: 11:30 am to 03:00 pm
Dinner: 06:00 pm to 10:00 pm

Travel | Seoul 28 Oct - 2 Nov 2014 | Bau House Dog Cafe 바우하우스

Are you an animal lover? Do you like dogs? If yes, then very likely you'll want to visit at least one dog/cat cafe when you're in Seoul. Having visited a cat cafe in Penang (read about it here), I've made it a point to visit a dog cafe when I was in Seoul for holiday last year. Main reason? There's no dog cafes in Singapore...yet. Hahaa!

Googled the directions and found one that is very near transportation; Hapjeong Station 합정역, which was perfect as it is also pretty close to Ewha University area. Exit Hapjeong Station and watch out for Jeil Building which was described as a black shiny building. Then, look for its back entrance as Bau House is only accessible to patrons via the building's back entrance.

Was peeping at its door, feeling unsure of what to do since it was my first visit and in a foreign land. Fortunately, one of the staff noticed and went on to open the small little gate while keeping the little dogs away so that none could escape.

Staff could only speak Korean but that didn't pose any problem at all. Just choose any available seat and make yourself comfortable. All bags need to be hung on the wall, to prevent the furry ones from getting to it.

hi little one

As soon as I sat down, one schnauzer immediately made himself comfortable on my lap. You can sit there forever and the staff wouldn't mind. As a rule, the guests are expected to purchase at least one drink while they are there. Since I couldn't move without dislodging my small friend from my lap, I was just sitting there, chilling for half hour till I felt quite paiseh. Haha! Not much choice for drinks though.

rosemary tea

ti

tenants of Bau House

First half section (front) of Bau House, has plenty of dogs that are of smaller breeds. The inner section of the cafe has all the big dogs. And by big, some are actually huge!

my loyal companion

this guy here came with its owner, probably dog playdate at Bau House

Ventured into the inner section and to be honest, there are times when it felt quite intimidating with all the big boys in there.

big dogs area

free to roam

smells like treats

hobo me with an amused looking samoyed

The place was kept quite clean and when 'accidents' of the pee and poo kind did happen, the staff were also quick to clean up the mess.

Bumped into a nice lady from Singapore, so it was good to have someone to converse with while I was there.

Had an enjoyable time there. Hope to visit Bau House again!

Founder Bak Kut Teh 发起人肉骨茶餐馆 @ Rangoon

An impromptu gathering with the Friday Gang. Love this group. We went BKK, HCM together. Now that most have a family of their own, or busy with career, we are meeting much lesser. Nevertheless, we'd still have dinner, drinks whenever we can.

Was watsapp'ed and mobilisation starts. Dinner at Rangoon Road. Sure, let's have bak kut teh!

menu

wall of fame

Founder Bak Kut Teh has many fans, evident from the photos displayed on its wall.

preserved vege, a must-have for many when having bkt

With two famous bak kut teh shop at Rangoon Road, diners are spoilt for choice. We ordered the set for 4 pax. Drinks are in pre-packed form though. Sour plum would be nice, but they don't have it.

sugar cane with water chestnut

Service was brisk and friendly. The side dishes came first, and then the main 'stars' of the bak kut came later.

bak kut teh

kidney soup

The bowl of bak kut contained one premium meat and the rest normal cuts. The normal cut being more meaty, and tender with a bite. Meat dipped in dark soy chili sauce equates to yums.

Throw a couple of those deep fried fritters or 'you tiao' pieces into the soup, let it sit for a while to absorb the peppery soup, before popping one into the mouth. Shioks!

braised small intestines

They do have a variety of dishes available, but we went for the standard ones typically eaten with the bak kut teh.

Spent about $18 per pax for the meal. The restaurant accepts cash payment only, so do bring enough.

Jewel Cafe and Bar is just nearby, so we headed there for post-meal coffee. Of course beer, or cocktail would be nice, but they don't serve it anymore. So, coffee it was.

piccolo - but it was called something else which i can't remember

Was nice catching up with the gang, and to hear all the stories about life after marriage. Our next meet up, would be at Connie's wedding in May. See ya soon.

Garibaldi Italian Restaurant @ Purvis Street | Restaurant Week March 2015

Visited on a weekend lunch during the recent Restaurant Week. Was my bro's birthday as well, so decided to bring us to Garibaldi to experience some good service and good food. It better be since it has a star for Restaurant Week!

The restaurant gave us a call when we ran abit late that day. From the outside, the place felt rather deserted but once ushered into the dining hall, the restaurant was rather busy.

Garibaldi's RW 3-course set lunch costs $40++ as with any other restaurants that had been awarded a Dining City star.

RW menu

cheese sticks to chew on

Complimentary bread to ease the hunger. Replenishable upon request.

house bread, complimentary

As in any celebration, how about a bottle, err.. make it half since there's only two of us. Half bottle of Livon Pinot Grigio.

Pinot Grigio @$60++

cheers!

The wine was light, and with mineral taste.

Service was quick and courteous. Food was delivered promptly. First course, was seafood soup.

seafood soup 'acqua pazza' style

Light and slightly tangy broth, and pleasant. However, it lacked that seafood umami taste.

Main course was pasta or meat.

homemade saffron fettucine with jumbo prawns and zucchini

baby pork drumstick confit with chestnut gnocchi and mushroom

The texture of the homemade fettucine was simply lovely. Well tossed with olive oil, tasty and the trombetta zucchini could've fooled me for asparagus. Very nice.

Baby pork drumstick was probably an alternative way of saying, 猪脚? My bro and I concluded that this dish will be excellent if there was skin left on the meat and some fats in between. Generous amount of protein but it was a tad too dry. However, there was some hidden gem in this dish; namely, the gnocchi.

gnocchi, chestnuts and mushroom

Am a gnocchi fan but only for good gnocchi. The Garibaldi version is of course, excellent. Perhaps the 'limited edition' amount of these small pillowy babies added to the 'want'. Found only 4 pieces in this entire plate. Of course, there's perfect explanation to it. Gnocchi in this dish was meant to augment the dish, not overshadowing it. Agree, as too much of it will cause 'jelakness'.

Last course was dessert. Knowing that it was a celebratory lunch, they brought out a small surprise in the form of a complimentary tiramisu.

happy birthday bro!

complimentary tiramisu

dolce - banana everything

Tiramisu was very likeable. Soft and not too sweet. The RW dessert was good too, although the recurring flavour of banana got a bit tiring after a few bites. Liked the middle one best. Tasted like a dense banana tofu.

That's not all. Included is the post-meal drink of coffee or tea. For coffee, one could opt for black, latte or cappucino.

latte

It is served with a generous amount of biscuits.

nice container

Was an enjoyable experience dining at Garibaldi. Efficient and attentive service, and the lovely tiramisu for birthday boy.

Do enquire from them if you wish to celebrate your birthday there and with a group of 4 pax (min.), as you might be eligible to enjoy a complimentary bottle of prosecco and a free tiramisu.

Expect to spend about $80+ per pax.

Zzapi Pizza Bar @ Balmoral Plaza

Was at Balmoral Plaza, Bukit Timah recently and noticed this new pizza joint. Zzapi looks familiar and realized that previously, it was located at Valley Point. Decided to grab dinner and a drink from there.

outdoor area

Happy Hour till 8pm, so had a glass of red for $8++.

main subject out of focus, but everything else comes to clarity - sounds like life

Food came fairly quickly and portion was good.

deep fried calamar and shrimps @$15++

osco busco risotto (specials)

parma ham pizza @$24++

The deep fried shrimps were of a good size. However, it was lacking in taste.

Had wanted to get a risotto and was asked if we would like to try an off-menu item. Game on.

The risotto was enjoyable, moist and tasty. Plenty of veal too. Best parts were those with some fats.

Pizza was alright, but we were too full to finish.

The place closes at 11pm on a Friday night.