MaguroDonya Miuramisakikou Sushi and Dining まぐろ問屋 三浦三崎港 @ Suntec City

Who would understand maguro better than a maguro supplier? Lucky us, MaguroDonya Miuramisakikou Sushi and Dining, a renowned maguro and sashimi wholesaler from Japan, is bringing in quality maguro and sashimi for our local dining consumption.

banner at front of the shop

Was invited there for a tasting recently by the good folks from Hungrygowhere. Thanks to MaguroDonya's friendly and knowledgable manager, Mr David Lim, we learnt quite a bit about maguro that day.

Our delicately fresh maguro and fishes are supplied from Miura Misaki Harbour by Misaki Megumi Suisan. To enable diners in Singapore to experience the freshness that is comparable to those in Japan, the maguro fishes were prepared via shinkei-jime to stop the production of lactic acid and then frozen at minus-60 degrees. These are then thawed prior to lunch or dinner service in the restaurant. As a result, the sashimi texture remained relaxed and retained its freshness in taste.

menu

To get to the restaurant, head towards Tower One and take the escalator up to Level 3, or access via the Sky Garden. MaguroDonya is located at the Eat at Seven cluster of restaurants.

entrance to Eat@7

interior of Maguro-Donya

mini chalk board menu of daily catch specials

neko-chan is waiting for the fish to be served

We started off strong. First dish was a platter of Otoro sashimi (one portion) and 3 Cuts of Hon Maguro (two portions). I think this would be the 'wagyu' of fishes. For the best mouthfeel, hone in direct to the prized otoro; the fattiest and best part of the belly. The leanest part would be the akami (deeper red in colour). Clean tasting and, felt luxurious in enjoying the otoro.

3 Cuts of Hon Maguro consisting of otoro (大トロ), chutoro (中トロ) and akami (赤身)

bonito soy sauce for maguro sashimi

For drinks, they do have sake, whiskey, shochu and beer for those whom prefer some alcohol.

sake

If you like experience something slightly different, how about having some frozen hon maguro tomi (頭身) sashimi? This item is not in the regular menu, so you would have to ask the chef or David for it when you are at the restaurant. Available in limited quantity. It looks crunchy but once the slice was dipped with sashimi sauce and placed in the mouth, and when you start chewing, the texture was perhaps a tad like chutoro. Interesting.

frozen hon maguro tomi (頭身)

Next, we sampled the Yamamori Hikkaki Gunkan. Gunkan maki is also known as the 'battleship' maki, a more traditional type of maki. Maguro scrapings are piled high up onto this gunkan. Not to be mistaken with negitoro which is usually chopped/minced.

Yamamori Hikkaki Gunkan @$12+

If you happen to be there during lunch hour, you might want to try the Hon Maguro Hikkaki Aburi Don. Maguro slices and scrapings ontop of Hokkaido rice, aburi'ed (torched) to release the oils and fragrance. Gentle tasting and the texture of the aburi'ed hikkaki was almost like cheese.

Hon Maguro Hikkaki Aburi Don (before)

Hon Maguro Hikkaki Aburi Don (torched) @$36+

For diners whom would like to have the Kaisen Don and the Bara Chirashi, we too sampled these two bowls. The colours of the Bara Chirashi was vibrant and inviting. The Hokkaido rice was firm and not too sticky.

Kaisen Don (7-cuts of Sashimi Rice Bowl) @$21+

Bara Chirashi Don @$18.80+

We heard that the Hon Maguro Kama Yakimono (Grilled Bluefin Maguro Collar @$34+) was also highly sought after. Perhaps, you might want to give that a try too.

As the restaurant may get pretty busy during lunch hour, you might want to make a reservation first via the fuss free online reservation of Hungrygowhere. The link is provided towards the bottom of this page.

Thank you to MaguroDonya and David for hosting the session and Hungrygowhere for the invite. Much appreciative of the Chefs whom worked hard. ありがとごんざいます！

David

(left to right) General Manager Chef Watanabe, Executive Chef Shuji Sawada and Chef Takuya Matsumoto

Here is the current monthly promotion that you might want to take advantage of while it is available.

nice

MaguroDonya Miuramisakikou Sushi and Dining まぐろ問屋 三浦三崎港

Location: #03-314 Suntec City North Wing, Suntec City Mall, 3 Temasek Boulevard, S038983
Website: http://www.neo-emotion.jp/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MiuraMisakiKouSushiAndDiningSG/
Reservation: http://www.hungrygowhere.com/singapore/magurodonya-miuramisakikou-sushi-dining-suntec-city-hall/
Contact: +65 68846884
Business Hours: Daily 11:00-22:30

Festive Dining - Colourful Christmas @ Café 2000 M Hotel

Come December, Café 2000 will be having a Colourful Christmas with highlights of Whole Roasted Char Siew Turkey with Chestnut Stuffing, Roasted Bone-In Baked Ham and Roasted Beef Prime Ribs at the Carving Station, Roast Cajun-spiced Whole Lamb at the Roasting Pit and a whole array of Christmas sweets, and some with a local twist such as the M' Special Chempedak Log Cake.

Was good to see Chef Danny again after two years. Here is a link to my first encounter with this affable man.
Café 2000 was bustling as usual, and we were invited there for a preview of the Colourful Christmas buffet menu.

Bone-in Honey Baked Ham and Char Siew Turkey with Chestnut Stuffings

To start, how about some sweet boiled tiger prawns and fresh oysters?

US Fresh Oysters and Boiled Tiger Prawns

As usual, the prawns were good and firm. Oysters had adequate meat and not too briny.

lovely seafood

If oyster is not your thing, then how about Alaskan Snow Crabs? Think it was my first time seeing Spanner Crab. 

Spanner Crab

Alaskan Snow Crab Legs

The Carving Station is also the place where most hot items are located. On top of that, one could not help but to be enticed by the beautifully roasted turkey, bone-in honey baked ham and beef prime ribs.

(left to right) Bone-In Honey Baked Ham, Chestnut Stuffings, Whole Roasted Char Siew Turkey, Roasted Beef Prime Ribs

Roasted Beef Prime Ribs

The Char Siew Turkey tasted good. Beautifully roasted with tender white flesh and finished with char siew glaze. Not often can I associate the word 'tender' with turkey. Enjoyed the ham too. So succulent and yummy! Great with a glass of wine. The sausage looking item was actually the chestnut stuffings. Took a slice and its texture was like firm fish cake. Something different and not what I thought it would initially taste like. Good but a tad salty.

The roast beef was slapped onto the hot grill upon carving. Resulting in that pleasant smokey charred taste that worked best at the fatty bits. Ate it simply with some mustard but you might want to try with other sauces. Nice.

Honey Baked Ham and Roast Beef Prime Ribs

Char Siew Turkey and Chestnut stuffing

Over at the cooked food or Hot Items, there's Christmas Seafood and Pumpkin Paella Rice which was rather unique and sweet. The Braised Duck with Sea Cucumber was enjoyable and the must-have would be the satay. I think they have the winning formula for the satay. Loved it and ate at least half a dozen of those.

Chef's Special Salted Egg Yolk Crab

Braised Seasonal Vegetables with Fish Maw and and Mushroom in Conpoy Sauce

Oven Slow Cooked Oxtail with Winter Root Vegetables

Buttered Festive Season Vegetables

Sze Chuan styled Wok-Fried Turkey

satay - must try

Alas, had missed out to try Chef's Specialty Salted Yolk Crabs but managed to get my hands on the steamed mud crabs. Firm texture and could taste its natural sweetness.

Steamed Mud Crabs

The Desserts counter was stacked high with Christmas goodies. Pretty and Christmasy.

sweets

Christmas Fruit Cake

Linzer Pie

Raspberry Chocolate Hazelnut Feuilletine Cake

Assorted Christmas Cookies

Signature Rum and Raisin Log Cake

M' Special Chempedak Log Cake

Chempedak is from the same family of fruits with jackfruit but they are not the same. The Chempedak Log Cake has a subtle fragrance that is unique to the fruit and light tasting.

fruit cake

See if you are able to spot the Spiced Mulled Wine with Pear, warmed in a a copper pot. Made of red wine and served warm. The usual mulling spices are cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and maybe cardamon or star anise. Dried fruits or orange rind may be included as well. Tasted nicely sweet and warm.

Christmas Spiced Mulled Wine

Not only is the buffet priced so reasonably for Christmas Eve, diners will also be treated to a glass of champagne to accompany the buffet plus a chance to get lucky to win a M Suite stay worth $850++ with every $100 spent at all three food and beverage outlets (Café 2000, The Buffet and J Bar).

Thank you Malcolm and M Hotel for the invite and for hosting the dinner, and also to Chef Danny for the sumptuous buffet menu.

Café 2000 @ M Hotel

Location: 81 Anson Road, Singapore 079908
Website: http://www.millenniumhotels.com.sg/mhotelsingapore/dining-specials/christmas-promotion-at-m-hotel.html
Christmas and New Year's Eve Buffet Price: $55++ per adult (usual price @$75++) with valid reservation and full payment before 15 December 2015.
Contact: (+65) 6500 6112
Opening Hours: Daily, 6.30am - 11.00pm

Nara Japanese Restaurant 奈良 @ Goldhill Shopping Centre

Dropped by this place for lunch on one of those weekdays. Heard about their lunch sets and price ranges from $16+ to $20+. There are two menu which lists their set lunches. One is a regular while the other was more of a special menu for lunch.

in the restaurant

regular set lunch

Decided to go for the Nara Set Lunch (regular menu) of Tori Teriyaki Set. Colleagues decided to try their tempura set and the value-for-money set from the special menu. Green tea was complimentary. Had mine cold.

complimentary cold green tea

cute

The salad from the set was served first. Refreshing and necessary dose of greens. Upon finishing the salad, then only the mains arrived.

small salad (part of the teriyaki chicken set lunch)

Tori Teriyaki Set Lunch @$18++

The set include steamed egg custard (chawan mushi), grilled chicken cutlet with teriyaki sauce, steamed rice, miso soup and pickles. The chawan mushi was very healthy tasting with smooth steamd egg. Loved the pickles to bits. Steamed rice goes so well with pickles...

The tori teriyaki itself was a tad burnt and slightly dry but still flavourful.

The bento of others seemed to fare better. 

(from special/monthly menu) the pork set @$18++

soba set

And watermelon for desserts. Sweet.

fruits

Simple and fuss free lunch.

Nara Japanese Restaurant 奈良 @ Goldhill Shopping Centre

Location: 167 Thompson Road Goldhill Centre
Contact: 65 62566568
Reservation: http://www.hungrygowhere.com/singapore/nara_japanese_restaurant_goldhill_centre/
Opening Hours:
Daily:
Lunch - 11:30 am - 2:30 pm (last order; 2.15 pm)
Dinner - 5:30 pm - 10:30 pm (last order; 10 pm )

Benjamin Browns @ Forum The Shopping Mall

This is one of those places where you will be able to find the over the top milkshakes. Wait. Is this still trending? Visited at about five in the evening on a weekend and there was a queue formed. Looks like it is still popular.

here for this

Likewise, we too would want to check out what the fuss was about. Ordered the Old School and the recommended Banana Nutella. Both cost $16++. Steep pricing for a milkshake, I feel.

Old School Over The Top Shakes

After seeing this, realization came that the stuffs that were piled onto this shake were those things from childhood era. That chocolate wafer, sugar gems, candy floss and that round wafer.. all nostalgic. Felt slightly strange to be scraping those chocolate fudge off the outerside of the jar. The heavy top tumbled off after a few minutes. Perhaps we had moved it around a tad too much?

Banana Nutella

The Banana Nutella had salty mini pretzels that contrasted with the sweet stuffs. Loaded with cream as well. Best part was the nuttella. In terms of the shake, liked the vanilla flavoured ones in Old School better than the banana flavoured ones in the latter.

Benjamin Browns @ Forum The Shopping Mall

Location: 583 Orchard Rd, Singapore 238884
Opening Hours:
Mon-Thu: 10am-9pm
Fri: 10am-10pm
Sat: 9am-10pm
Sun: 9am-9pm

Kok Sen Restaurant 國成球記餐室 @ Keong Saik Road

An old school eatery located at 30 Keong Saik Road. Nearby, is Potato Head Folk. Was there for dinner after visiting 4 cafes. What a feat! Was informed that Kok Sen only accept reservations for a party of 8 or more. Thus, we arrived early before 6pm on a Saturday, for a table. By then, it was already about 80% occupied.

like many before us, we were here

menu

Ordered their famous dishes and also the weekend special; The Golden Dragon Chicken. Service was brisk and chop-chop.

lime juice (with sour plum)

Food was served fairly quickly and almost all at once. Ordered all small portions for the dishes to be shared amongst five people. Actually, the small portions could have fed two pax comfortably as well.

Bittergourd Braised Pork Ribs with Black Bean sauce (苦瓜豉汁焖排骨) @$13

This dish may be comfort food for the older generations but it was our group's least favourite. The thick chunks of bittergourd were braised well and somewhat juicy but the pork ribs did not stand out. It certainly has that retro taste (古早味) to it.

Golden Dragon Chicken (脆皮金龙鸡) @$32

One of us called this dish, "Flat Chicken" which was quite true but the official name seemed more 'elegant'. Quite the misnomer as there wasn't any chicken meat in it saved for the head and wings. Underneath the thin chicken skin, was a layer of seafood paste. Deep fried to an appealing golden brown colour. Perhaps a squeeze of lemon would add some zing to this dish.

Had this back in Malaysia when I was a kid. Nowadays, not many restaurants are making this dish, yes?

sauces for the chicken

One of the star dishes for the night, was the humble yong tau foo. It was simple and delicious. Just the way all yong tau foos supposed to taste like. But the Chinese menu for this yong tau foo was named like a tongue-twister. Haha! Reasons why this dish was good. Firstly, it has the right-sized cut of the vegetables (read - good sized and not shrivelled). Most importantly, the seafood paste was bouncy and tasted like the real McCoy instead of those run-of-the-mill factory manufactured full-of-flour type.

Claypot Yong Tau Foo (巧手三宝煲) @$14

It just gets better. The big prawns hor fun did not dissappoint. Smooth velvety thick flat noodles with  the desired taste of wok-hei and wrapped in flavourful prawn stock. Yums! There were about maybe 6 halves of the big prawns in there. Liked the vegetables.

Big Prawns Hor Fun (大虾滑蛋河粉) @$16

Also tried the bee hoon soup. Was surprised by the spiciness of it! If not careful, one might get '呛到' (choked) by the sudden spice attack. The soup has depth, flavourful and tasted good. Slurp worthy.

Big Prawns Bee Hoon Soup (大虾粗米粉汤) @$16

Kok Sen's menu has 98 items on it, so plenty of dishes to choose from in accordance to your liking. One could eat up a feast here!

all together now - let's eat! 大家吃~

The place got really busy after 6:30pm with steady streams of diners coming in. Both shop lots were packed, including alfresco seats and those tables near the kitchen, were all occupied. Popular place for dinner.

The meal costs about $22 per pax. Must orders from the above selection include the Claypot Yong Tau Foo and the Big Prawn Hor Fun.  Enjoy!

Kok Sen Restaurant 

Location: 30 Keong Saik Road
Opening Hours: Daily 11:30am to 11:30pm
Contact: +65 62232005