Jumbo aji katsu is back at Tonkatsu by Ma Maison

Jumbo aji katsu from Tonkatsu by Ma Maison. Crisp, crunchy and hot fish. Has been consistently nice!

Taichiuo shioyaki teishoku from Nakajima Suisan

Came across a taichiuo shioyaki teishoku at Nakajima Suisan (一, 二, 三, 四, 五, 六, 七, 八, 九, 十, 十一, 十二, 十三, 十四, 十五, 十六, 十七, 十八, 十九, 二十, 二十一, 二十二, 二十三, 二十四).

Taichiuo is commonly known as beltfish. Never had them before.

Meat's tender and flaky. Doesn't seem to be distinctive otherwise. Lots of bones along the edges.

Yappari Steak, Wisma Atria

Yappari Steak has a new outpost in Orchard (#04-24 Wisma Atria, 435 Orchard Road). They're currently at the spot that used to be Kai Kai Sushi & Grill by Teppei.

The menu's adjusted a little. There is a 300g option for the karubi now which I've gotten today. One could also top up with foie gras. 😬 In retrospect, I didn't enjoy this as much as the last time I've had it. Maybe I never liked it that much previously in the first place. Noticed that they have hanging tender and was intrigued. Will try that the next time. 

One week+ later......

Came back for the 300g sagari (hanging tender). Or onglet. Couldn't resist the foie gras.

Pretty good. I think it might be my favourite cut from them with its mineral rich and beefy flavour. Came in thick chunks.

Slice and remove from the hot stone when it's at desired doneness. Eat with adequate salt to bring out those flavours.

Sushi Dorobo, Bugis Cube

Got wind of Sushi Dorobo (#03-17 Bugis Cube, 470 North Bridge Road, tel : +65 8344 2811) and was intrigued by their aburi engawa don which was a lunch only item on their menu.

It looked a lot more impressive as a picture on the menu.

The first thing that came to mind was that it wasn't as aburi-ed as I imagined. I was hoping that it would be smokier. But it's savoury and unctuous with melty fat. That egg layered a smooth richness while spikes of brininess from the ikura cut through with some character to the flavours.

The engawa was not quite as exquisite as Sakari Sushi but way better than the one from Tsukiji Sushi at Avenue K.

So we're back to Man Man again (formerly also known as Unagi Tei)

For some reasons, Man Man has decided to call themselves Man Man again after an attempted rebranding to Unagi Tei (一, 二, 三, 四, 五, 六, 七, 八, 九).

We were here tonight for their fleshy tare glazed Hyogo oysters. These were creamy and plump. Stole all the limelight from their unagi. I'm pretty glad that they're no longer giving us the ends of the wasabi root and grater to make us sweat work for it. On the other hand, I'm sad that the Suntory kuro has been taken off their menu.

Beef katsus at Kimukatsu

Trying some gyu katsus at Kimukatsu. The regular mille feuille rendition which they called beef katsu was actually kinda nice. One could taste the light beefiness in the thin layered meat beneath that crispy panko.

The other one which featured a slice of whole meat which was called gyu katsu was forgettable. Not particularly beefy and most of it was more cooked than the medium rare we asked for (we were given a choice). That Miyazaki gyu katsu from Ginza Anzu is still the best we've had.

 

Niigata Food Fair stuff and the old black truffle fried rice from Tampopo @ Ngee Ann City

Haven't eaten at this branch of Tampopo for a really long time. The last time we were here might have been that one where we had their gyukotsu ramen. We were reeled in today by a couple of items that were featured in their Niigata Food Fair menu.

One of which was their amaebi rice flour tagliatelle. Couldn't tell if the tagliatelle was made with rice flour through the gravy/broth which had an intense umami sweet crustacean flavour. Think prawn bisque. Those amaebi also had a gentle but discernible sweetness to them. Nicely done this one. 👍🏼

Presentation has kinda...changed for their black truffle fried rice compared to how they used to plate it. Thankfully, it's still pleasantly greasy and sufficiently salty to be moreish.

The other Niigata Food Fair thing we tried was their matcha parfait. Notice a sprig of thyme. No cornflakes in this one. Plenty of intense matcha sauce. Nice.

Aburi chirashi and pitan tofu from Chirashizushi Shou

Been a while since we were last here. Seems that quite a bit of the stuff we've had in the past aren't on the menu anymore. Were the removed items open admission to failures that weren't good enough to stay on? I know I wouldn't remove stuff I knew they were making money......🤔

Pitan tofu to start.

Tried their aburi chirashi. Should have double yolked this. A bit more torching for the char would have definitely improved the seafood topping.

Tempura-EN, Great World

Tempura Makino rebranded into Tempura-EN (B1-112/113 Great World, 1 Kim Seng Promenade, tel : +65 6257 8733). The a la carte tempura menu appeared to be mostly similar but some of the stuff they used to have previously are no longer available.

Garlic shoyu butter corn - the butter and the fried garlic made it nice. Corn's...corn. Nothing particularly outstanding about their tempura. The rebranding did not seem to have improved the quality of their specialty.

We came here for their kaisen hitsumabushi. Not their tempura. 😬 Since it was a hitsumabushi, it came with instructions on how to eat as well. You know, the one that suggests that you should taste it first as is and then perhaps add a little something as you go along.

The last part is typically where you finish the remaining portion with their broth. Personally, I think you should just eat it the way you want to. The bowl came with cubed seafood including some scallops and a large prawn. 

The broth was tai dashi. It's deliciously umami. Having it over the seafood and rice feels like the Japanese version of Teochew styled fish porridge. It's also great drinking on its own.

Revisiting Royal Host @ Takashimaya/Ngee Ann City

Have been meaning to come back to Royal Host.

Got their Royal Hamburg Curry Rice which came with some floral iced tea...

...and a soup. This was the clam chowder. Tasted better than what the Campbell-esque appearance might suggest. There's quite a few tender chewy clams in it.

Royal Hamburg Curry Rice featured their delicious hambagu with curry on the side. 

Not bad tasting curry which was spicy sweet but not annoyingly so.

Also nicely done mentaiko seafood pasta with small squids and scallops spiked with pretty potent shiso. 👍🏼

Black Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen Premium Special from Keisuke's Tonkotsu King

I didn't realize that Keisuke's Tonkotsu King has a Tonkotsu Ramen Premium Special which was an upgrade from their regular "special" bowl with a pork rib. This bowl's nicely done, much like a tonkotsu-ized bak kut teh with tender meat on said rib that easily slid off the bone. I like this better than their attempt at bak kut teh ramen but I don't think I'll get it again. 

That wasabi ginger ale doesn't have any wasabi flavour at all. I'd take the spicy ginger ale from Marks & Spencers over this any day.

Revisiting Pizza Studio Tamaki

Been meaning to come back to PST for a while.

Today's soup is mushroom. They're also not chilled like the previous time. Flavour's pretty intense. 👍🏼

Menu mentioned spinach with marinade anchovies, red chicory and pine nuts. I was imagining baby spinach and slivers of anchovies but it's stir fried Chinese spinach I think and the anchovies have kinda melted into it. Pretty umami. Also, the salad's chilled. Actually kinda nice for the weather.

Ended up with a couple of their monthly special pizzas.

This, their Tokyo Odyssey: Singapore Edition, is I quote "Crafted exclusively for our first international home, this pizza blends the spirit of Tokyo with flavors made to celebrate Singapore’s vibrant food culture." It's nice but I couldn't reconcile the name, the theme and the flavour. If you asked me, this tasted much like tom kha gai. I like it but I don't feel the Singapore in it. 😂

One has got to love kani miso to enjoy their zuwaigani miso pizza. While the crab miso bechamel was understandably not as intense as regular kani miso, it's definitely there. Pretty good tasting also with a squeeze of lemon.

Their house made tiramisu's nice and well soaked inside.