Sushi Tei @ Vivocity Part II

What do you think of, in summer? Breezy sunny day, with splashes of bright colours? I think of ayu fish because apparently Sushi Tei's summer menu features it. So off we went to Sushi Tei, in search of this fish that I've been wanting to try since Japan Hour days.

As usual, one need to wait to be seated during lunch hour at Sushi Tei Vivocity. The big menu displayed at its entrance listed out aji, unagi, sakura ebi and ayu fish as their featured items for the summer. Can't wait. Or so I thought.

We were seated at the corner of the restaurant where one can see the waters. Not bad. A seat with a view.

summer promotion menu

view from our seats

After a few minutes of deliberation, we were ready to order. Ordered the grilled ayu shioyaki and imagine the surprise when the waitress just shot back, "Not available." I must've worn quite a crestfallen look on my face and my colleague was quite symphatetique. "Next time better call the outlet before coming..." There was no where on its online menu, nor the printed menu nor the entrance menu that stated the inavailability of this item. Appalling, indeed.

With half the mood gone, I ordered the sakura ebi kakiage (@$6.80++), yaizu sushi set and my colleague ordered a garlic fried rice and salmon temaki.

sakura ebi kakiage with salt

tiny black dots for the eyes

a little too much flour?

The sakura ebi kakiage were pretty to look at. A bit tiny. And the waitress said, "Eat it with the salt." Ok. So I did. Tasted a little too floury, hence the ebi taste was quite muted. The salt did little to bring out the flavours. Maybe, they should use sea-salt or flavoured salt like matcha or ume.

salmon handroll

garlic fried rice

The garlic fried rice was tasty, served piping hot and it came with small chicken pieces. Nice, but my colleague preferred a more garlicky version.

yaizu set (@$16++)

My sushi set was colourful and it has uni sushi in it. Yay! First time I had it, they ran out of uni sushi, so it was replaced by chutoro. Nice. But it was always apprehensive to try uni because the first time I had it (elsewhere), it has a certain 'pong' taste to it.

uni sushi

The uni sushi here looked 'dryer' than the ones I had elsewhere. Maybe that's a good sign? Not plump nor juicy, but just smooth. No weird taste. In fact, it doesn't have much taste. Hmmmm.

The rest of the stuff were pretty run of the mill. But the ebi sushi that day tasted not as fresh. Maybe I should've eaten that first rather than uni.

ebi

negitoro

This meal for two pax costs about $40+ in total, without using their wet towels (chargeable).

Before leaving the restaurant, I asked the waitress when will the ayu fish be available and was told, it would be available in August. I think it will be prudent to find out prior to visiting the restaurant, to avoid any surprises. Dear readers, feel free to tell me, if you ever get to taste the ever elusive ayu (at least for my case) whether it is nice.

Crystal Jade @ Toa Payoh

Was there for lunch. The place was bustling and we had to wait about 10 minutes to get a seat. This place has live seafood. Cool!

live seafood tank

After a while, we got our seats. Expect to sit near other patrons during lunch hour.

dim sum menu

We ordered flowy custard bun (my must order item in all places that serves it), mixed part porridge, roasted duck (my colleague insisted on having this!) and cheong fun with spicy shrimp paste. You will need to exercise a certain amount of patience while eating here. The service staff looked quite harrassed, and patrons were waiting for their dishes to arrive.

porridge

The porridge was smooth and can't see a single grain of rice in it. It has intestine, liver, meatballs and stomach and ironically, each ingredients came in pairs so, just nice for sharing amongst two pax? Hahaa.

roasted duck

crispy skin roasted duck

The roasted duck came with bones. I found that to be quite a hassle. It has nice crispy skin but I found the seasoning a tad too salty. Good to eat with the porridge though.

I was surprised to see a cheong fun that doesn't look like the usual cheong fun. I thought it was carrot cake instead.

cheong fun in disguise?

But the cheong fun was quite tasty. Nice and mildly spicy.

flowy custard bun

yummeh

The flowy custard bun here was nice orange coloured balls of goodness. But the fillings were too watery. Tasted good though.

This meal costs about $36 for two pax.

Graze @ 38 Martin Road

Located at 38 Martin Road, this restaurant is very near Robertson Walk. Went there to celebrate the July babies birthdays. Liked the restaurant for allowing us to bring our own cake for the celebration.

entrance

opening hours

outside of the restaurant

We were greeted at the door by the friendly service crew (dressed in cute restaurant uniform). Next we were asked if we would like sparkling or still water. Neither. Tap water will do. And yes, this restaurant do serve tap water. Another plus point.

The restaurant has a nice ambiance. Think candlelight dinner.

candlelight dinner

interior, directly facing our section

drinks coaster

menu

We ordered starters like wok seared calamari and chipolata and beef carpacio. For mains, we had lamb rump, sirloin steak, wagyu steak, salmon steak and seafood pasta. Noticed that the restaurant menu is different from its online menu. They were having a promotion for champagne where a bottle of veuve cliquot was going for $85++. So we had that as well.

complimentary bread

starters: beef carpacio (top) and wok seared calamari and chipolata (bottom)

We were served complimentary bread while waiting for our food to arrive. The bread was soft (at room temperature) and nice to eat with the tangy balsamic vinegar in olive oil. My friend commented that the beef carpacio here was one of the better ones that he had tried thus far. I liked the wok seared calamari as it was tender and nicely fragrant with the wok fire.

waiting for our champagne

cheers to the birthday girls

Noted that the food arrival was pretty slow paced. We had our mains 20 minutes after our starters.

seafood pasta

sirloin steak

salmon steak

lamb rump

I liked the seafood pasta. It has two good sized prawns, some clams and al-dente noodles. My friend commented that the noodles were a tad too dry.

The wagyu steak did not taste as tender as I envisioned. It has less fats marbling than I thought. Same for the sirloin steak. Chewy but not jaw-achingly so. Nicest part was the one with some fats. Liked the fries though. Served hot, with soft midpart. Pair it with tangy tartar with lemon. Yums!

Salmon steak was quite dry. I was disappointed with the lamb rump. The meat was a little too tough, and it was sitting atop of something foreign that I can't make out what it was. Did not like the taste too, unfortunately. The roasted cherry tomatoes were good though.

Service was commendable but unfortunately, expected more out of the food. The price is on the higher side. The restaurant online menu can be found here.