Thursday, May 14, 2015

Tsukada Nojo 塚田農場 @ Plaza Singapura

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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.

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Ichiban Boshi いちばん ぼし @ JEM

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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.

Saturday, May 9, 2015

Jewel Cafe and Bar @ Rangoon Road

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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.

Sunday, May 3, 2015

Girls' Just Wanna Have Fun! @ I'M KIM Korean BBQ | Cash Studio Cuppage

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It was after office hours, and where to go? The singles have gathered and off we went to treat ourselves to a good meal. Since most places will be super duper crowded, we made reservations at I'M KIM Korean BBQ, located near SOTA. They do not have online reservation, so had to call their telephone. Had to call multiple times though, before someone picked up.

mascot
Dining there has a two-hour limit, to ensure that all guests had a chance at the buffet. Was informed at the point of payment that they had increased the price with an extra 90 cents charged per head. One pax for dinner buffet (2 hours) is about $29.30.

From observation, walk-ins are still possible if you're there before 7pm. The place gets really crowded around 730pm. Seems popular with young adults. 

at 7pm

Tried sikhye, traditional sweet Korean rice beverage. Free-flow from the drinks dispenser. Enjoyable drink on a warm humid night. They also have unsweetened roasted barley, mango drink or plain water.

sikhye 식혜

For this place, the cuts of meat were a plenty. From the porky section; pork collar (spicy, non-spicy), bacon, belly. Then, the beefy section; sirloin, short-ribs and thinly sliced meat. For chicken, they have volcano chicken (not that spicy la) and garlic-chicken.

let the grill begin~
taste enhancers

While waiting for the food to cook, help yourselves to the cooked food section. Japchae, chicken wings, nuggets, and soups. If you take beef, give its radish beef soup a try. Familiar and agreeable taste.

chicken wings

The soy marinated deep fried wings make a good beer food. Sweetish, savoury and some bits crunchy. But a bit of disclaimer since I'm biased towards wings anyway.

have some kimchi first

There wasn't anyone to clear the used plates for the first half hour. Our grill plate got changed once during our two-hours there.

The pork belly was leaner than expected. Beef was good and tasty, but towards the end of the meal, the winner was volcano chicken. Thigh meat with some skin on, marinated with mild spices, grilled till slight char equates to tasty bites.

Wrap those meat with fresh lettuce (which gets cleaned out pretty fast, by the way), fresh garlic and kimchi, and yeah, that's how we rolled.

hello there, delicious 고기

Wash it down with a small bowl of warm radish beef soup. So good.

Two hours later, and with super full belly, we adjourned to our next stop. Vocal exercise!

Someone recommended Cash Studio Cuppage, so off we went... smelling like the BBQ-aftermath that we were.

Had to wait though even though we had booked the room. First time at Cash Studio, and boy, the room was interesting.

disco lights
standing mic

Songs selection and controls made through mobile phone-app? That's new for me. Had to download the app from App Store, and connect it to the room's wifi before the songs can be selected. The room doesn't have any remote!

The downside was that the app hangs sometimes and one need to have a charged-phone or have charger cables. To loan a cable, they will take hold of your NRIC which will then be returned when the charging cable is returned. I think that was rather unnecessary. If the cable is not returned, simply charge the cost of the cable into the room price.

need room wifi password

Songs selection were adequate. Mandarin, Cantonese, English, Malay and Japanese songs available. Drinks were of canned variation with one canned drinks included in the package price. Three-hour package for 5 pax costs about $22 per pax. And, yes, guests are required to leave on the dot when time is up.



Friday, May 1, 2015

Kinsa Sushi @ HillV2 Bukit Timah

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Was invited for a tasting session at Kinsa Sushi, located at HillV2. HillV2 is a shopping mall, located at Hillview Rise. Kinsa Sushi aims to bring affordably priced Japanese dining to the heartlands.


signboard
interior
kaiten sushi counter
imported seafood

Kinsa Sushi will be running a Mother's & Father's Day promo from 10 May till 30 June 2015. The theme of the promo are of oysters and salmon.

promo menu


Let's take a look at the Salmon Set (for 2 pax) @$59.90++.

Salmon and Roe with Japanese Yam (@$6.90++ ala-carte)
Salmon with Butter (@$11.90++ ala-carte)
Deep Fried Salmon (@$9.90++ ala-carte)
Salmon with Ikura Sushi (right)

The salmon with ikura sushi (鮭(さけ親子すし) was lovely. Simple in looks, goodness in taste. Loved the bursts of flavours from the egg globules.

鮭(さけ親子すし (2 pcs @$13.90++ ala-carte)

The main course for the meal, is the Salmon and Vegetable Hotpot (Ishikari Nabe). Tasty broth, plenty of vegetables and salmon belly simmering gently. Nice. My mom will like this.

Salmon and Vegetable Hotpot (@16.90++ ala-carte)

Next up, let's have a peek at the Oyster Set (for 2 pax) @$69.90++.

Oyster with Ponzu Sauce (@$7.90++ ala-carte)
Oyster Sushi (@$15.90++ 2 pcs ala-carte)
Grilled Oyster and Cheese ($12.90++ 2 pcs ala-carte)
Deep Fried Oyster with Shiso Leaf (@$13.90++ 3 pcs ala-carte)

Oysters were imported from Hokkaido, and fresh oysters eaten simply with ponzu sauce had a clean feel to it. Grilled oysters in cheese was saltishly good and probably best to be eaten, with a small sip of sake.

My favourite oyster style, had to be the Kaki Kaori Age or deep fried oyster with shiso leaf. Mild herb taste and freshly fried with luscious juicy oyster. Yums.

Similar to Salmon Set, Oyster Set too came with a hotpot full of vegetables and the delicate oysters. Soup base tasted very similar, with the salmon hotpot made slightly richer by the good oils from salmon belly.

Oyster and Vegetable Hotpot (@$24.90++ ala-carte)

If you're not a salmon nor an oyster fan, fret not. There's still plenty of options to choose from Kinsa Sushi.

How about giving its signature Wagyu Don a try? Slices of tender beef, accompanied by a lovely wobbly onsen tamago and drizzled with sweetish savoury sauce, now doesn't that sound exciting?

Wagyu Don @$24.80++

Break the egg, and let it flow~, let it flow~ Gosh, how corny was that *gasp*. Hahaa!

perfect

Then, mix it all up and let the soft flowy yolk covers every single grain of the rice.

mix it up

Very likeable bowl of SooGyu Don, of wagyu A4 grade from Kagoshima. A taste of luxury, brought closer to home.

interesting tea pot

Ended our meal with black sesame mochi balls, which was enjoyable and slightly chewier than usual. Goes well with the green tea.

congregation of mochi balls
anatomy of mochi

Thanks to Shannon for hosting the dinner, and Hence for the invite. Much appreciative to Hazel for lending her hand for one of the pictures.


Kinsa Sushi @ HillV2

Address: 4 Hillview Rise, HillV2 #02-02, Singapore 667979
Tel: +65 67107278
Website: http://kinsasushi.com/HV/

 
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