benben & dardar's food expedition
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Showing posts tagged japanese
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Aoba Hokkaido Ramen
After Ben bought his new shirt at Benjamin Barker Marina Square, we decided to go to Vivocity for dinner and to enjoy the picturesque view along the riverfront.
Dar and Ben have tried the Aoba outlet at Ion Orchard, but not the one at Vivocity. Was in the mood for ramen, so decided to pop by :)
Iced Houji Tea
Tasted quite refreshing. Not too bad for a hot day!
Agedashi Tofu
Decently executed, but not to Ben’s standard.
Now for the long awaited ramens!
Ben’s choice - Corn Butter Ramen
Dar’s usual choice - Seafood Ramen
Both were decent but not fantastic. Dar kept commenting that she preferred Ajisen’s Crayfish Ramen and Ben insisted on his Marutama Ramen!
Well, this is one of the few ramen places with Seafood Ramen for Dar. So will only pop by if we are in the vicinity.
Aoba Hokkaido Ramen Vivocity
1 Harbourfront Walk, #01-104/105
Vivocity
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Kyo-Nichi Japanese Ramen
Sushi Tei at China Square was crowded as usual, so we chose to go to Kyo-Nichi instead! Dar strongly recommended that place, as she had been there before. The lunch set was reasonably priced at $12.80++ and consisted of a drink, a ramen and an appetizer.
For the appetizers, we decided to order Potato Croquette and Prawn Rolls to share. They were generally quite nice, though a bit oily.
Ben was attracted to the Chicken Karaage which the adjacent table ordered and said that he would definitely order the next time round. As for the drinks, we chose our fave Heaven & Earth Green Tea :)
Look at our yummy ramens! The collagen-laden broth was quite good (especially for our complexion), and most of the ladies around us seemed excited about the broth!
Ben’s choice: Spicy Chicken Ramen
Apparently, this is not spicy enough for Ben. He kept talking about how spicy Beppu’s ramen was.
Dar’s choice: Corn Ramen
Overall, the portions were generous and the set was certainly value-for-money. Although the service staff mostly hailed from China, the service was quite efficient and they were generally quite polite. Certainly worth a try if you’re in the area and if Sushi Tei is too crowded.
Kyo-Nichi Japanese Ramen
China Square Central #01-31/32
Opening hours: 11.00am to 9.30pm
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Ichiban Boshi Marina Bay Link Mall
Ichiban Boshi is a Japanese restaurant chain in Singapore with many outlets in Singapore. Given that Dar had not tried Ichiban Boshi before, Ben decided to bring her there for our 10th month-sary dinner :)
Service staff was very polite and attentive. We started off the meal with Ice Green Tea for both to quench our thirst.
The menu at Ichiban Boshi is very comprehensive, making it hard for Dar to decide what she wanted.
Hotplate Assorted Mushrooms
Knowing how much Dar loves mushrooms, Ben ordered this to whet her appetite. She really enjoyed it as she polished every bit of it.
Dory Fish Roll
Ben recommended this - the dory was fried to perfection and provided a crispy texture to the sushi. A fusion between Japanese and western, it’s a must try.
Cheese California Maki
A unique rendition to the usual California Maki, the outer cheese layer was slightly grilled on the side and served with bonito flakes. Nice.
Unagi Egg Sandwich
A must-order dish for Ben everytime he goes to Ichiban. Luckily Dar stopped him, or Ben would have ordered a few plates of this. Die die must try!
The Marina Bay Link Mall outlet provides a cosy setting, especially after office hours. We’ll definitely be back. Good food that is easy-on-the-wallet.
If you haven’t been to Ichiban Boshi, what are you waiting for?
Ichiban Boshi
Marina Bay Link Mall
8A Marina Boulevard
#B2-14/15
Opening hours: 11.30am to 10.00pm
Website: http://www.ichibanboshi.com.sg/
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Genki Sushi
After a long KBox session with friends, we headed to level 3 of Orchard Central for dinner. Ben & Dar was excited to try out their iPad ordering system. The place was small and seats were limited, so we had to wait a while before getting our seats!
Moshi moshi? Is that my Chawanmushi?
It was real fun seeing the train zapping in and out from the kitchen. Haha my dear Dar was fascinated by the delivery toy train on the sushi belt :)
Yippee the toy train delivering our handrolls :)
Disappointing tuna handroll that was microwaved before serving :( and Ben had problems trying to remove the wrapping for Dar!
The sushis:
California Maki
Eggy Tamago
The Others:
Ben’s favourite vegetable kakiage - he was all praise for it!
Dar’s Favourite: Ice Cream Mochi
The food was decent but there are very limited choices especially for Dar :( Will only head there if we run out of things to eat.
Genki Sushi
181 Orchard Road #03-02
Orchard Central
Opening hours: 11.30am to 9.30pm
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Ministry of Food (MOF)
After much shopping around City Hall, Ben and Dar led their friends to MOF for a break and for the hungry friend to have her second round.
Ben & Dar felt the need to order more since there were four and so they settled for a Matcha Mixed Imo, which was vanilla ice cream topped with matcha sauce and the highlight was the fried yam and sweet potato.
Dar was initially apprehensive about the fried stuff going with the ice cream as it went against her idea of cold and sweet desserts. However it turned out to be surprisingly good. Once again, Ben made a good recommendation!
Ministry of Food
3 Temasek Boulevard, B1-40/41/42
Suntec City Mall
Opening Hours: 11 am to 10 pm daily
Website: http://www.ministryoffood.com.sg
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Watami
On the last day of work, Ben & Dar went out to celebrate a friend’s birthday. Being the first to reach, they had more than enough time to peruse through the menu before deciding what to eat.
If you have not been to Watami, you may want to be aware that Watami service staff practice half-kneeling when taking your orders as half-kneeling is part of traditional Japanese culture. Dar was not used to their service staff kneeling before her xD
Ben & Dar shared a Seafood Stone Rice which was to their liking. Especially the tomato sauce. The prawns were crunchy just the way Dar likes it :)
Kani and Hotate Cream Croquette
The accompanying dip added a refreshing tinge to the oily croquettes. However, Ben felt that the croquette was too creamy for his liking and felt jelat after having two.
As usual, dear Ben was still hungry and thus ordered a Chicken Karaage. A fan of karaage, he has tried several versions of it. He commented that the batter was just right and the chicken was juicy! Warning: Do not attempt to finish this on your own!
The restaurant is rather cozy and suitable for a gathering with friends. Furthermore, prices are affordable and food is decent. However, sometimes it may be hard to get the attention of the service staff with the restaurant separated into different sections. Hence, do not expect too much for customer service.
Watami
252 North Bridge Road #B1-06/07
Raffles City Shopping Centre
Opening Hours: 11.30 am to 10 pm
Website: http://www.watami.com.sg/
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Yaki Yaki Bo Teppanyaki Restaurant
After our tea break, Ben & Dar continued walking around nex trying to find something special to eat. And since both Ben & Dar was in a mood for teppanyaki, we decided to bring Ben’s Mummy to Yaki Yaki Bo! We realized that Yaki Yaki Bo is actually part of the Ichiban group of restaurants.
We ordered two Seafood set lunches to share and the first course was salad:
The salad sauce was tangy but the vegetables was too raw for Dar’s liking. Ben and his mummy couldn’t finish the salad anyway.
And we changed the plain white rice to the garlic rice for a $2 add-on and it was super tasty, much much nicer than the Sakae Teppanyaki’s rendition. And even for Ben who is not a fan of rice, he ordered one bowl for himself and savored every last morsel.
The seafood set included salmon, scallops, prawns and sotong:
The scallops were huge and juicy, nicely grilled on the outside yet tender on the inside. The grilled prawns remind me of the ones served on the seafood platter in Manhattan Fish Market. Yum!
Check out the salmon! It is steamed in a japanese soya sauce which makes it uber good and at the same time it serves to neutralize the oily feel of the teppanyaki dishes. The sauce goes especially well with the garlic rice!
The Chawanmushi is decent, though a bit watery, served in a onion peel which serves as a bowl. Ben prefers the chawanmushi at Sushi Tei :)
Even though we went during non-peak hours, the service was rather slow and Ben had problems getting the attention of the service staff. Oddly the beansprouts was served last, long after we had finished our garlic rice.
On top of that, we ordered a Okonomiyaki to share cos Ben thought that two set lunches wouldn’t be enough:
The okonomiyaki is similar to what Ben & Dar has tried elsewhere at Botejyu and feels that it is not particularly special.
Overall, Ben & Dar likes the food there but find their service too slow. Probably because of the nature of the way they cook the food on the spot. Advice: Come only if you are prepared to have a LONG lunch!
Yaki Yaki Bo
#B1-78 nex
23 Serangoon Central
Opening Hours: 11:00am -10:00pm daily -
Ajisen Gourmet Town
We were shopping in NEX and couldn’t decide on a place for lunch, so we settled for Ajisen Gourmet Town instead. In case you can’t find the restaurant, it is located near Fairprice Extra. Ajisen Gourmet Town is a Japanese food hall concept by housing various brand names such as Botejyu and Ajisen Ramen to offer a variety of Japanese cuisine such as ramen, okonomiyaki and teppanyaki etc.
We ordered two Iced Green Teas as we usually would when we go to a Japanese restaurant and we were appalled :( It was so awful that Dar had to order another drink!
We were apprehensive about the quality of the food after the incident but it turned out better than we expected.
Dar ordered her favourite Crayfish Ramen as usual and the soup was decent.
We also ordered a Seafood Yakisoba. The sauce was quite good but Ben commented that the dish was not that fantastic, probably because the dish was not as piping hot when it was served to us.
Dar strongly advises that if you’re looking for the same variety, you should try the Japanese Gourmet Town in Vivocity which offers a scenic view on top of the better quality food. And if you haven’t tried the Crayfish Ramen, Dar strongly recommends it as she thinks it is the best ramen in Singapore!
Ajisen Gourmet Town
23 Serangoon Central
#03-06/07
NEX Mall
Opening Hours: 11.30am – 10pm Daily
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Kazokutei
Ben and Dar had spotted this new Japanese restaurant and noted the long queues especially during dinner or weekends, so they decided to try it! As it was a Tuesday evening, the restaurant was quite empty!
Ben loves their exquisite menu and exclaims how it looks like a photo album!
The decor was simple, but had this family-restaurant and cosy feel to it. However, the restaurant was quite small and cramped, and could probably only seat about 30-40 people.
Now for the food. Ben ordered the Chicken Nanban Omu Rice ($9.90) while Dar ordered the Fried Prawn Omu Rice ($6.90). We love how the omu rice was accompanied with fries yum yum! Portions were quite huge and Dar almost couldn’t finish hers!
This homely and cosy restaurant is suitable for omu rice lovers! Ben loved the omu rice so much that he almost wanted to lick the plate clean! Dar, however, feels that it can be quite unhealthy and should be eaten only occasionally!
Kazokutei
9 Bishan Place
Bishan Junction 8 #02-34/35/35A
Opening hours: 11.30am to 9.45pm
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Ministry of Food Nex
Ben, Dar and Ben’s mummy were looking for a lunch place around Nex and they decided to settle for Ministry of Food since Ben’s mummy was craving for stone rice!
Dar was spoilt for choice after looking at the variety of the menu! :P
The air-conditioning at MOF@Nex was particularly strong and hot green tea would be the best drink to order! Dar forewarns that you should bring a sweater along if you’re afraid of the cold!
Stubborn Ben still insisted on ordering an Iced Green Tea
Kani Mayo Inari ($3.20). Ben loves the sweet beancurd (inari) and how you can choose the fillings according to your preferences.
Tori karaage ($4.00 for 3 pieces). Ben had high expectations especially after having Sushi Tei’s, and he was really disappointed.
Ebi tempura ($13.80). Ben felt that the batter could have been lighter, and raved about the ones he had at Ikoi.
Cod fish stone rice ($12.00). Ben’s mummy’s favourite. The stone rice was superbly fragrant, especially with the sauce given. We love the do-it-yourself concept where you can add more sauce to make it more flavorful and constantly stir the rice to prevent it from charring.
Salmon sukiyaki set ($19.80). The soup tasted rich and flavorful, and was filled with various ingredients such as enoki, beancurd, carrot, leak, cabbage, mushrooms. However, the pan was slightly shallow such that the soup may overflow when it is boiling!
Mango Dragon Roll ($13.80). The dragon roll was decent, but nowhere compared to Sushi Tei’s. The mango slices were very thin and weren’t very fresh, plus the layer of rice was too thick!
Finally dessert time! Ben decided to order a Sesame Sundae ($6.80) and Dar loved the black sesame ice cream and the accompanying black sesame sauce!
Macha Imo ($6.80). Once again, how can Ben do without his matcha imo? The smooth soft serve, coupled with the green tea sauce and red bean paste was a heavenly combination! Not forgetting the deep fried imo (sweet potatoes) which went excellently well with the cold soft serve!
Some hits and misses, but the variety at MOF is undoubtedly better than its other competitors! To be on the safe side, you’d probably want to stick to stone rice and its desserts!
Ministry of Food Nex
23 Serangoon Central
#02-04/05/06 Nex
Opening hours: 11.30am to 10.30pm
