Nanjya Monjya Japanese Restaurant

Woohoo, finally found a better-than-average okonomiyaki restaurant in Singapore! Nanjya Monjya may be located in Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel, but prices are not exorbitant at all. Mostly Japanese clientele and staff, that’s assuring. Appetisers, fried food, and a bewildering selection of okonomiyaki and monjayaki to choose from, which means I took ages to study the menu haha.

One of the daily specials was a fluffy crab omelette doused with a sweet-sourish sauce, so good that it made us all reluctant to share, heh. While the guys had the gyoza, I opted for konnyaku skewers. Bland on its own, luckily rescued by the accompanying savoury black bean sauce! Okonomiyaki was the highlight imo, cooked to order, hot and pleasantly light-tasting. We ordered three variations and wolfed them down. No monjayaki because the style is too wet and runny, I prefer the cousin. Another reason why I like this place is that they use grated yam instead of flour for the tororo okonomiyaki, and let me replace the squids (by default) with prawns. Approved!

Kani Tamago ($14++)
crab omelette

Yaki Gyoza ($12++)
pan-fried dumplings

Konnyaku Dengaku ($9++)
konnyaku skewers, black bean sauce

Buta Modan ($17++); Mentaiko Dama ($18++)
pork belly okonomiyaki, yakisoba; pollock roe okonomiyaki

Tororo Dama ($20++)
grated yam okonomiyaki, prawns

Nanjya Monjya Japanese Restaurant
#01-03/04/05 Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel
390A Havelock Road
6738 7177

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The Tsujiri Lady

I’m super impressed with Tsujiri!! Service first, cake second.

So what happened was we decided to get O-maccha ice blended (mine with green tea soft serve!) to go since the smaller-than-small café was full. But while picking up the drinks, we spotted this cake below.

Black sesame roll cake with kinako cream ($5.40).

Last piece left? Oh yes, definitely mine!

It was wrapped in a transparent plastic box and then me being fickle-minded as usual, I changed my mind and wanted to wait for a table instead. A Japanese couple was hogging the table beside them with their bags so we “ahem” them and had seats within 5 mins, haha. K took a proper plate from the staff so that I could photograph the cake and this lady came up to ask whether she can plate it for us cuz for in-house diners, whipped cream and red bean paste will be served together. Impressive! Very kind and observant of her; I can just imagine how many people will look the other way with that “why bother?” attitude. What’s even better is that she’s a Singaporean (not the Japanese staff at the counter)! I feel comforted that Singaporeans are still capable of winning service so kudos to you, the Tsujiri lady!

And the cake? Delicious, of course!

Tsujiri
#01-14B, 100AM
100 Tras Street
6543 6110

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Maki-Crazy @ Koh Grill & Sushi Bar!

Are you ready for the next big thing??

Shiok!!! maki ($16.80+)

Heads up everyone, it looks like Shiok!!! Maki (the three emphatic exclamation marks on the bill makes me laugh haha) is set to be the latest die-die-must-eat after the massive Lao Ban craze. Queues are already getting ridiculously long at Koh Grill & Sushi Bar (though I can’t fathom why since reservations are as easy as ABC) and the waiting time can hit an hour or more! Personally, I won’t queue so long for Shiok!!! Maki but to each his own.

Crappy Maki ($18+)

I’ve written about Shiok!!! Maki before, but that was the naked version. This time round, I experienced the full impact of the Shiok!!! Maki!!! (Heh, this is the first post with so many exclamation marks!) After two orders of said maki, I think I know why it’s so shioooook! Fabulous textures aside, the secret is to drench the salmon and unagi roll with creamy mentai mayo and then pile on the tobiko roe like there’s no tomorrow. It’s as unauthentically Japanese as can be, but it’s tough to resist and not love like! Ahhh, if only it’s served warm!

Kazen Maki ($15+)

It’s a shame if all the focus is only on Shiok!!! Maki, since some of the other makis on the menu are also quite (to borrow one of my BFF’s LOL phrases) “up there”! Like the Crappy Maki, with smoky aburi swordfish contrasting nicely with crispy soft-shell crab. Or the Kazen Maki, an asparagus roll topped with fresh maguro. And thanks to The Sushi Bar’s superb century egg tofu, I was game to try the Pitan Maki, which sadly ranks last on our list of “Koh’s favourite makis”.

Pitan Maki ($16.80+)

Though Koh’s is not all about makis, it should be imo. Cuz the rest of the ala carte menu has more misses than hits. The grilled salmon belly and fried salmon skin were good nibbles, but then again these are fatty salmon belly and fried food we are talking about. Pretty hard to screw up. Can’t remember much of the other stuff on our table. So forgettable.

Clockwise from top left: salmon skin ($4+); yaki udon ($10+); grilled salmon belly ($15+); enoki buta skewer ($3+); salmon sashimi ($8+); grilled pumpkin ($3+); unagi egg hotplate ($12+).

Koh Grill & Sushi Bar
#04-21, Wisma Atria
435 Orchard Road
9180 3805

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The Sushi Bar, My To-Go in Town!

Had our usual salmon aburi roll ($13.90) and soft shell crab salmon aburi roll ($15.90); tried the california temaki ($3.90) and spicy tuna maki ($3.90); loved the silky homemade century egg tofu ($4.80, below)…

Oh yes, yet another satisfying meal at The Sushi Bar.

The Sushi Bar
#03-89, Far East Plaza
14 Scotts Road
9625 0861

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Meii Sushi

We had the misfortune of having one of the worst sushi (in recent memory) at Meii Sushi. Uninspired, bland, pricey, enough said.

Sushi set ($48+), tamago sushi ($6+), maki roll ($20+). Oh, and “cover charge” of $5+ comprises of a small bowl of edamame once seated.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Meii Sushi
#02-54, International Plaza
10 Anson Road
6220 3466

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Maccha House

The price is right, the quality is good, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more satisfying twist-and-turn of green tea soft serve elsewhere in town!

Welcome to the Maccha House.

Maccha Soft Cream Latte ($5.49+)

Green Tea Soft Serve Ice Cream ($2.49+)

Maccha House
#B1-40, Orchard Central
181 Orchard Road
6636 5830

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Tsujiri: Tokyo VS Singapore

I decided to stop being lazy and unearth the photos of Tsujiri in Tokyo!

Over there, the parfaits were larger than life, elegantly served in tall sundae-ish glasses, and lavishly loaded with castella sponge cake, soft serve, kanten jelly, red bean paste, chestnut and mochi. Very very delicious, well worth the hefty price tag of around ¥1,500 (approximately $20) each. Tsujiri parfaits are not the best I’ve had in Japan, but will do nicely. We had a few savoury dishes too, not bad but skippable. Just focus on the parfaits, love!

1-8-2 Higashi-Shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo

In Singapore, the parfaits are halved the size of the originals in Japan, sadly. Of course, prices are adjusted downwards too, making these sweet treats affordable for all. Tried, tested and approved both the green tea and vanilla soft serve, which were creamy and smooth, great stuff! The chiffon cake was a tad dry, not much of an issue once coated with the ice cream though.

Oh ya, I’m quite bothered by the presence of corn flakes in these “Singapore-style” parfaits. Not just here, but at St Marc Cafe too. I’ve tried countless (about 2-3 per day on average, no joke) parfaits at authentic traditional teahouses in Japan, mostly Kyoto (Gion Komori and Gion Koishi are some of my favourites!), and never once did I come across any corn flakes in them, hmmm…

From right to left: O-maccha Chiffon Cake Parfait ($7.50); Vanilla Shaved Ice ($7.50).

Tsujiri
#01-14B, 100AM
100 Tras Street
6543 6110

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Nana’s Green Tea Cafe –> Giveaway!

So.

A couple of months ago, I was lamenting how far out west Nana’s Green Tea was. Now, it has moved from JCube to the new wing of Plaza Singapura, a remarkable improvement in terms of accessibility for us easties!

BUT.

I was devastated (drama mama, I know haha) when I saw that my favourite galettes have been axed from the new menu, nooooooooo!!! I checked with the staff; it seemed like those wonderful buckwheat crepes were not selling well (why why why!!) in JCube, hence an overhaul of the menu, sigh.

In order to cater to us Singaporeans, Nana’s is serving a wide range of “proper” Japanese food, from donburi and udon to sushi rolls and salads. I was given free rein to pick whatever I wanted to try so please see below for my choices. All of them, with the exception of unagi don (I love unagi so I don’t care whether it’s recommended or not; I just want it) are proudly stamped with triple stars “best recommended” on the menu. And all of them, with the exception of salmon carpaccio (which was an easy dish to love), are decent and safe (read: average).

Okie, to the good part: desserts and drinks. These are a must at Nana’s! You can skip the main courses for all I care, just don’t leave without trying the green tea beverages and parfaits! That’d be real sad, since Nana’s is a pioneer of Japanese cafe dealing with matcha (think: “Japanese Starbucks”). Both the matcha azuki shiratama latte ($9++) and roasted hoji-cha latte ($7++) are perfect thirst quenchers, the type of semi-healthy drinks I don’t mind having every day! No pictures of them since I take ugly photos of drinks, yikes. Matcha shiratama parfait and matcha anmitsu have essentially the same ingredients; just that the former looks more impactful, induces more of that “wow I need to eat that!!” feeling.. That said, give me either one of them and I’ll be a happy girl!

Nana’s Green Tea, can you please bring back the galettes soon? Pretty please with sugar on top?

Salmon Carpaccio ($8.80++)
fresh salmon, daikon sprout, sesame salad dressing

Salmon & Maguro Don ($15.80++)
soy marinated tuna, salmon sashimi, Japanese rice, mayonnaise

Ebi Fried Curry Udon ($14.80++)
udon noodles, fried prawns, Japanese curry

Unagi Mabushi Don ($16.80++)
grilled eel, Japanese rice, nori, sesame

Matcha Shiratama Parfait ($11.80++)
kanten jelly, matcha syrup, vanilla soft serve, matcha ice cream, red bean paste, mochi, whipped cream, corn flakes

Matcha Anmitsu ($8.80++)
matcha ice cream, red bean paste, mochi, kanten jelly, brown sugar syrup

Yay, to those of you who have persevered through my longer than usual long post, here’s a giveaway for you! Nana’s Green Tea has launched a special lunch set at an affordable price of $13.90++, featuring a complimentary matcha latte and a main course of your choice.

All you have to do is like Nana’s Facebook page and share your favourite matcha drinks/desserts (or what you’d like to try or anything you’d like to tell me, I’m flexible shhhh don’t let the organisers know) by leaving a comment below before 31st January 2013.

I’ll randomly select 5 winners for this giveaway and each winner will win a complimentary lunch set of their choice. Good luck!!! : )

Terms and Conditions:

• Voucher must be redeemed by 15th March 2013
• Valid from Monday to Friday, 11am to 2.30pm
• Voucher must be presented to the staff upon ordering

Big thanks to Alisa and Melvyn from Publicist PR for hosting lunch and sponsoring this giveaway!

Nana’s Green Tea Cafe
#03-80/82, The Atrium @ Orchard, Plaza Singapura
68 Orchard Road
6684 4312

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Hoshino Coffee

Can anyone tell me whether the pancake souffle (circled below) at Hoshino Coffee is as solid (in urban terms) as it looks??

It’s the only thing I really really wanted to try at Hoshino but alas, it’s already sold out by the time we devoured the mains, sob! Lesson learnt: MUST order everything at one go right from the start. Due to miscommunication, we also ended up with zero dessert cuz the kitchen closed without processing our orders.

Emo~

Hoshino Blended Coffee ($5.80++)

Iced Matcha Latte with Softee ($9.30++)

“Fuwa-Fuwa” Hoshino Souffle ($15.80++)

Hoshino Spaghetti with Eggplant, Bacon, Shimeji, Sausage ($14++)

Lobster Bisque Soup Spaghetti ($15++)

Hoshino Coffee
#03-84, Plaza Singapura
68 Orchard Road
6338 3277

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Ryoshi Sushi Ikeikemaru

Itacho has been sorely neglected by us lately as there’s a slew of new Japanese restaurants to try out these days!

One of which is Ryoshi Sushi Ikeikemaru, a new conveyor belt sushi restaurant at Liang Court. With coloured sushi plates varying from $1.80++ (green) to $6.80++ (black), the price range is Itacho-ish value for money.

I’d say go for big salmon, literally big long slabs of fresh salmon sashimi atop a small mound of rice; aburi salmon, the seared version of the aforementioned; kanimiso, a duo of crab meat and unappetisingly grey but deliciously rich crab paste gunkan nigiri that’s rather rare in Singapore but oh-so-common in Japan; daimyo anago, a must-order whenever we spot it on any menu; mentai dashimaki, made-to-order juicy tamago stuffed with briny yet creamy seasoned cod roe; and my favourite at Ryoshi: negitoro, minced fatty raw tuna that’s extremely ooh la la soft~

There’s a separate laminated menu featuring the fresh catch of the day (or maybe week?) and we tried the aburi sawara from there. So-so spanish mackerel~ Can’t remember much of the chawanmushi (infer: forgettable); toro bincho (albacore belongs to the tuna family) is a poor naive substitute for chutoro, much less the real deal (read: otoro); and surprise surprise, I’m far from crazy over the unagi (usually I am!) cuz the silvers of thin glaze-grilled eel are too ridiculously thin. Skip.

Top left, clockwise: chawanmushi ($3.80++); aburi sawara ($3.80++); big salmon ($2.80++); toro bincho ($4.80++); unagi ($2.80++).

Aburi salmon ($2.80++)

Negitoro ($2.80++)

Daimyo anago ($6.80++)

Mentai dashimaki ($5.80++)

Kanimiso ($3.80++)

Ryoshi Sushi Ikeikemaru
#B1-48, Liang Court
177 River Valley Road
6337 1022

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