Satsuma Reprise

The last time we were at Satsuma was more than 3 years ago, and it was only a late Friday night at work that brought us back there for a very late dinner recently. We were pleased, however, to discover that the quality was as good as we remembered. The only problem was that everything came too quickly, and that we didn't have enough time to finish one dish before moving on to the next, which to me, is pretty important for an izakaya where you want the breadth and space to enjoy one dish without worrying about the next one getting cold. We gave this feedback to our (very friendly) server, so let's hope they take it on board.

The usual starter of fresh veggies with miso dip.  

Looking nice and colourful up close

Mixed mushrooms with garlic and butter. Yummy but not so good once cold.

Fried rice with seaweed and octopus. Yummy, but not so good once cold.

Short rib skewers - one done medium to the husband's liking, the other medium-well to my liking. Excellent.

Grilled chicken wings were as good as we recall. Crispy skin with moist meat. Top marks.

Chicken thigh and tsukune - these were fairly standard. But not nice once cold (you're getting my drift).

This was fabulous- mentaiko tofu baked with cheese on top.

Perhaps the yummiest dish of the evening. But not good once cold.

We also had a grilled fish - I can't recall what this was, but I think it was a spanish mackerel since they had run out of yellowtail. Decent, fresh, but perhaps not the best fish for grilling.

Grilled squid- plain, decent, but not nice when eaten cold.

All the dishes came out in the space of about 20 minutes, which was crazy since the 2 of us were struggling to identify which could be eaten cold and which dishes absolutely had to be eaten hot. The table also ran out of space. This was a perfectly good, yummy, high-quality izakaya meal that was marred by the memory of rushing to finish the food, which was a pity because dinner set us back $150. Hopefully things get better next time round.

Daikokuya - our favourite new ramen place

We only happened to chance upon this place at Robertson Quay because it was almost 2.30pm and almost every other Japanese restaurant in the area was already closed. We used to eat at Menya Shinchan - the previous tenant - quite a bit, but had not ventured much to Robertson Quay in the past couple of years. Until now, with the discovery of Daikokuya drawing us back.

It was only after doing some searching on the internet did we realise that there are other branches of this ramen chain, which wasn't all that new to Singapore. Although I've never been to the Paragon or Raffles City branches, I think this particular shop is slightly different, since I can't find the things we ate on their menu listed in their website. 

I can't recall what the dish is called, but there are 2 main types of ramen being sold at the Robertson Quay outlet - the Tsukemen that you dip into a very thick soup, and another more conventional type that is served in soup. 

We had the gyoza to start with - this was pretty good. Hot and crispy on the base, and soft and juicy inside.

On my first visit, I had the conventional noodles-in-soup version with all the extra toppings - I think this cost almost $15. The soup stock was fantastic - described as pork and fish stock in the menu, it was really rich, flavourful and best of all, not too oily.The chashu was very tender, and came in thick meaty slices. The tamago was perfect, with the soy flavour infused in the white and a perfect molten yolk.

 The noodles were firm, chewy and cooked just right.

My next trip, I went for the Tsukemen - this was even better than I expected. Somehow, having the noodles out of the hot soup probably helped to retain the chewy texture so much better.

The soup was extra rich since it wasn't entirely for drinking, but they also had plain broth on standby in case we felt like diluting the soup.

Highly, highly recommended. Better than any other ramen restaurant in Singapore, methinks, and second best ramen experience we've had all year, losing out only to Ippudo in Tokyo. 

Website: http://www.daikokuya.com.sg/index.html

Shirokane Tori-Tama

Shirokane is a neighbourhood in inner-city Tokyo that is popular with expatriates, so I assume that this restaurant must have had its roots from the area. I've not bothered to go do research on the history of this restaurant, but I'm sure that it can be found online.

To the food. This place probably has the best quality yakitori in Singapore, comparable in flavour and taste to the yakitori joint in Naka-Meguro that my husband and I have declared as probably the best we've ever eaten. However, we ordered quite a lot in Tokyo and the total bill was only S$100 including drinks, which was amazing value for money in our opinion.

I was there with 2 girlfriends on a weekday night and the place was absolutely packed, which is always a good sign. A better sign is realising that you're a minority race in a restaurant that is packed with their own kind. I was really pleased.

We started with a salad - can't recall what it was, but it was nice. Pleasant. Refreshing.
Tsukune - one of the rare versions in Sg where they actually have cartilege minced into the meatballs.

Chicken hearts - not a fan, sadly.

Thigh meat - this was really juicy, tender and tasty.

A close up

Chicken soup - very pleasantly mild and soothing.

Nankotsu - probably my favourite chicken part. Nicely done.

I can't remember which meat part this was, but it was just as good as the thigh.

Mushrooms were okay.

Asparagus was nice.

Pork neck was amazing. Succulent, soft, juicy and very tasty

Okra- this was not too bad

The chicken wings were really, one of the best I've ever eaten - second only to the Naka Meguro branch. Super crispy skin with super juicy meat.

And ended off the meal with a seaweed ochazuke. Lovely.

The meal wasn't cheap, but it was certainly good. I think it cost around $80 per person including drinks.

#01-02 Robertson Walk, 11 Unity Street. Tel: 6836 5680

Brasserie Wolf Restaurant Week Reprise

I've finally managed to get to the Restaurant Week meals, and there's still so many meals that I've skipped because there simply isn't enough time to blog about them all. Anyway, this year's Restaurant Week was a very stable affair for us, because we weren't that keen to try new restaurants, especially those with the star requiring an extra supplement of $15 or $20. We loved Brasserie Wolf last year, and so we went back there this year for yet another $35 3-course dinner. We ordered each of every item on the set menu, which meant we got to try everything.

I had the foie gras with cherry sauce - this was a very decently-sized serve (in fact on the generous side), and the foie gras was done perfectly with a seared outer skin and a lusciously soft inside. The cherry sauce complemented the foie gras very nicely. It was a wonderful beginning to our meal.
The husband had a portobello mushroom with salad and goat's cheese - he wasn't too big a fan of the cheese, but he said the mushroom was okay.

I had the coq au vin with mashed potatoes. This was pretty good - very country homestyle with root vegetables and a rich flavour that could only come from hours of stewing. I was hoping that they would have had the boeuf bourguignon they served last year, but this was a decent alternative.

The husband had a pan seared red snapper, which I didn't try. He said it was okay (poor fellow).

He perked up when the dessert came, and declared it the best Baked Alaska he had ever eaten. Finally a dish that made him happy - hurray!

I had the classic profiteroles - the vanilla ice cream was quite well done.

All in, it was a very enjoyable meal (for me at least) and because of the value for money factor, I'm definitely going to make reservations again during the next Restaurant Week.

Brasserie Wolf

This is a rather outdated post but one that I still want to write because it was such a pleasant dining experience. We made a couple of Restaurant Week bookings, and were careful to stay away from the celebrities where extra dining premiums were added - that kind of made the discounts seem meaningless. Brasserie Wolf didn't, so that was right up our alley.
The restaurant wasn't all that full, which got me a little concerned.
I had the foie gras terrine. This was a little too rich for me - after about 5 mouthfuls I started struggling. That's not to say it wasn't good, but perhaps my palate may have changed with age.
The husband had the pan seared scallop on a sort of ratatouille. He loved it. So did I! The scallops were seared just right and had a lovely sweetness.
The husband ordered the mushroom and garlic risotto which was very flavourful. A bit too much garlic for me though.
I had the best boeuf bourguignon I think I've ever eaten. It was sweet, flavourful, rich, warm, and oozing with flavour. I loved the mashed potatoes. Everything about this dish was perfect.
He had the chocolate martini which I thought was ok.
My lemon tart was pretty good though : )We loved the fact that we had scored ourselves a brilliant 3-course dinner for $35, with good quality food of sufficient quantity. We'll definitely be back.

80 Mohamed Sultan Road The Pier at Robertson #01-13 Tel: 6835 7818

Opening hours: Lunch from 12 noon – 2.30 p.m (Mon – Fri, All day on Public Holidays)Dinner from 6 – 10.30 pm (Sun –Thurs), Fri, Sat & Eve of Public Holidays 6 – 11 p.m.

Dinner at Aburiyatei

This is a post that I started writing 2 weeks ago, but have been working way too hard ever since. I was in China for a week (more posts on that to follow), and wasn't able to post anything from there since they've banned blogger.

We had a really good dinner at Aburiyatei before I left for China. So far, we've always been coming for the occasional nibble and drink izakaya fare, and not for a full meal. Since both of us were stressed and tired and in need of a good meal plus alcohol to lift our spirits, the husband suggested trying their dinner set ($75 for 2 people), which we had seen on previous visits and thought was really good value for money compared to the a la carte menu.

First up: edamame

And a salad - we got to choose any salad from their menu.

The starter of fresh veggies and miso dip....really nice! Did a good job in whetting the appetite.

Edamame and draft beer - who could ask for anything more

The Seiniku Balsamic, or the chicken thigh with basalmic sauce. I was initially apprehensive about the basalmic sauce, but to my surprise it balanced the chicken very nicely, perhaps even better than the traditional sweet sauce.

Seiniku shio, or chicken thigh with salt.

Chilli powder. It's surprising how a little bit of spice can make everything taste better!

Naganegi, or Japanese leek. Probably the least exciting part of the menu.

Shitake mushrooms with shio (salt). The leek and mushrooms come with the option of shio, tare and basalmic, and we decided to go with the safest option.

The original menu has liver, which we don't eat, so I managed to swop it for nankotsu (cartilege) which the husband doesn't eat, but which I absolutely love. Some places in Tokyo cook it without any meat attached; but I liked the little bits of meat which made the chewing more interesting.

Negimatare (chicken leek with tare). By this time we were starting to realise that we were on a really good run - the chicken was consistently fresh, tasty and tender, no matter how it was cooked.

Teba shio, or chicken wings with shio. A definite winner. Crispy, well-cooked, not too oily and really really good with beer.

Tsukimi, or burger with half boiled egg dip.

The meatball/burger had a very interesting flavour and texture, and the egg dip was excellent.

You also get to choose either rice or chasoba - the husband went with the soba

...and I went for the rice (ontama gohan). A warning though - get the rice served upfront, otherwise you end up with a bowl of plain rice, a half boiled egg, and nothing else to eat it with. Like I did.

The egg was good though. Brought back good memories of Sushi Yoshida's set lunch starter.

Ice cream was a choice of green tea, sesame and one more boring flavour (either chocolate or vanilla). The green tea ice cream was very nice and mild, while the sesame was also pretty good.

The dinner came up to just below $100, including 2 alcoholic drinks and taxes.

Aburiyatei reportedly gets their free-range chicken from a farm in Johor, and the quality of food at the restaurant is evident in both the freshness and cooking. Nothing was burnt or undercooked. The only extremely minor gripe I have with this place (and this is only after thinking really hard) is the service - the waiting staff are attentive, but young and relatively inexperienced. But they are keen, pleasant and polite, which is good enough for me.

Aburiyatei Yakitori
60 Robertson Quay
#01-10 The Quayside
Tel: 6836 5370
Open for dinner until late.