[Singapore Restaurant] New Menu at Saboten Dining at IMM

Fans of Japanese food, particularly Tonkatsu (deep-fried breaded pork or chicken cutlet), wouldn't be unfamiliar with Saboten, the largest Tonkatsu chain in Japan.  In total, it has 500 branches worldwide.

 

 

The IMM outlet in Singapore has recently unveiled a brand new dining concept by adding greater varieties to the menu including shabu shabu and teppanyaki set meals, starting from $14.90.  A total of 18 new set menus have been introduced which includes Salmon Sashimi and Halibut Katsu set.  The variety there is rather overwhelming.  It really took me a while to decide what I'd order and I decided that I shall keep to my favourite deep-fried breaded shrimp and pork cutlet (Teriyaki Chicken and Tenderloin Katsu Gozen).



The starter items, chawanmushi (aka tea-cup steam or egg custard) and cabbage salad, was really good.  The steamed egg custard was  served warm, soft and smooth which tasted like silken bean curd.  The cabbage salad was so finely shredded that it didn't feel too thick and raw.  A simple yet so delicious dish mainly because of the house concoction of the goma salad dressing too.  Goma salad dressing is a mayo based dressing with sesame as it's main ingredients.

Here's my Teriyaki Chicken with Tenderloin Katsu Gozen complete with a piece of deep fried prawn and griddled prawn.  The advantage of the Saboten set meals is that you get to savour a variety of dishes.  My favourite from this set meal was the deep fried prawn and Katsu.  Coated with the house-made bread crumbs, the prawn and katsu was really crispy at the outer layer while the meat remains tender and juicy.  The bowl next to the rice comprises fragrant roasted white and black sesame.  We are supposed to grind the sesame using the grinding stick provided.



When the sesame has been finely grinded, add in the tonkatsu sauce, made from a variety of fruits and vegetables.  Together, this fragrant sauce makes the tonkatsu an amazing dish!

Saboten at IMM is a cosy and contemporary restaurant suitable for business lunch, family and friends gatherings.  The service staff are attentive, knowledgeable and polite.


Saboten Dining
2 Jurong East Street 21 #01-19
IMM Building
Singapore 609601
Tel: 68983432
Opening Hours: 11am to 10pm (Last order at 9.30pm)
FB: https://www.facebook.com/saboten.sg

Getting there: Take the MRT to Jurong East Station.  Exit from the station and go towards the direction of Westgate (shopping mall).  Free shuttle buses are available from the pick-up/drop off point at Westgate between 10.30am to 10.30pm daily at 10 to 15-min interval.  The ride to IMM from Westgate takes about 5 mins.

Green Pumpkin Bakery (Japanese Bakery)

 

Love these kawaii-looking bread.  They are too adorable to be eaten.  On the hindsight, I guess not only the kids will love such innovative creations, adults would be attracted to try the different types of buns too.  Have you ever seen crocodile buns, monkey buns, elephant buns or doggie buns?  At first glance, I would the filling was crocodile meat.  After reading the description, then I realised that the name was given because the bun is in the shape of crocodile.  Haha...

 

Green Pumpkin has a bakery as well as a café at Nex.  If you need just to grab and go, the bakery would offer you the "quick" solution.  If you would like to sip a cuppa, the "slow" option is available.  The café has interesting drinks that do you normally cannot find at our regular cafes like Starbucks or Coffeebean.  You can get a more authentic North Asia type of drink such as Yuzu Latte, Matcha Latte ... and I am secretly wishing that there would be Pumpkin Latte or Sweet Potato Latte only *wink*

 

Address: Green Pumpkin Japanese Bakery

 23 Serangoon Central
#B1-80 nex
Singapore 556083
Tel: 66347437

Green Pumpkin Japanese Bakery Café
23 Serangoon Central
#B1-K1 nex
Singapore 556083
Tel: 66347990

Website: http://www.greenpumpkin.com.sg/

Chicken Katsu Curry @ Haato (Ridgewood Close)

It's really been a while since I went to Haato at Ridgewood Close for lunch.  I ordered my usual favourite - Chicken Katsu Curry.  It was a pleasant surprise to see a change in the food presentation, which really enhanced the appeal of this dish.  The curry is served in a separate small pot.  Previously, the curry was served on the rice which sometimes makes the rice soggy.  And now, served in a separate pot, I can scoop the amount I like. =)  The chicken katsu is still as tasty.

Haato did not serve miso soup previously but now, it comes with the Chicken Katsu Curry.  Kudos!

http://www.haato.com.sg/haato/index.php

5 Ridgewood Close Unit G1
Tel: 6464 9607 / Fax: 6464 9507
Opening hrs: Mon - Fri 11am - 10pm (last order at 9.30pm for hot food & 10pm for others)
Opening hrs: Sat & Sun 9.30am - 10pm (last order at 9.30pm for hot food & 10pm for others)

Spicy Miso Ramen @ Sushi Tei (Holland Village)

With my lack of appetite these days, it is sometimes difficult to decide what to eat.  Every food portion looks huge, enough for a full day's intake.  Decided to go for something soupy and not too heavy.  The Spicy Miso Ramen was the right choice.  Adding a little more chilli powder makes the soup perfect.  While some may think that it is worth paying a few bucks for instant noodles, but really, the ramen from Sushi Tei is springy and doesn't tast like those instant ramen from supermarket.

MOF (Ministry of Food)

You can find green tea latte at Starbucks, you can find green tea gelato at Haato (and at many other Japanese ice cream outlets).  But, have you tried combining both in a beverage?

This is truly my preferred combination - green tea latte and green tea gelato =)  *drool* Has anyone tried this combi at other places, besides MOF??

Soft Shell Crab Tsukemen @ Ajisen

Ajisen has recently launched Tsukemen, a type of Japanese noodle similar to ramen but the noodles are served dry with the ingradients (in this case, with soft shell crab).  There is a separate bowl of soup, which we are supposed to dip the noodles.  The soup is made from seafood/pork broth which appeared to be a little salty and oily.  For those who prefers their soup to be less salty, just add in some white-coloured soup.

The noodles were a little dry but tasted alright after dipping into the soup.  However, the soft shell crab was not as crispy than I'd like it to be.  The crab sticks were fresh and juicy, the most satisfying ones I've ever tried.

The ala carte item costs $12.  Topping up to $15.80 would give you 1 drink and 1 side-dish such as fried tofu or fried chicken or fried prawn etc.  Besides soft shell crab tsukemen, on the menu is also cha shu tsukemen which costs $1 less.

Hokkaido Milk Ice Cream (MOS Burger)

Latest dessert added to MOS Burger's menu.  Besides green tea, there is also mango and chocolate flavour. The green tea flavour ice cream comes with red bean.  Personally, I've like it to be a little milkier.  But generally, the ice cream isn't too bad.  $2.95 per cup (ala carte) or get 20c off if purchased with a meal.

Ginza Bairin (ION)

Ginza Bairin (Japanese website: http://www.ginzabairin.com/)

2 Orchard Turn

#B4-39/40 ION Orchard

Tel: +65 6509 8101

Everyone has got their plate of tonkatsu (deep-fried breaded pork cutlet) and they look really yummy.  The outlet, which originate from Tokyo Ginza, has a strong japanese ambience, from its simple wooden chairs to its deco.

It operates with a fast-food concept ie.  queue up to place order for your food, place the number stand on your table and the waiter will serve the food when ready.  During dinner time, the restaurant, which is not small, is packed.  So, the best thing you could do is, get 1 person to find a seat in the restaurant while the other queue up to place food order.

However, I gotten give the delicious tonkatsu a miss this time round as I wasn't feeling too hungry for the pork fillet.  Instead, I ordered a potato salad and a croquette.

I always love japanese potato salad and this one looks simply "pretty" and yummy.  Loves the pieces of potatoes and carrot bits.

The brown sauce at the background was meant for the croquette.  Except that the croquette was a little too oily and a little costly ($2.50), I have no other complaints about it.

I shall be back again for its tonkatsu another time.  Together with a cup of cold green tea, the meal costs $9.90.

Shimbashi Soba

Shimbashi Soba at Paragon
290 Orchard Road
#B1-41 Paragon, Singapore 238859
Tel: 6735-9882 Fax: 6735-9883
Business Hours: 11:30 am to 10:00 pm

If you've ever been to the food paradise basement level at Paragon, I'm sure you'd not miss the crowd outside a Japanese restaurant (Shimbashi Soba) watching how the chef makes the soba from scratch... right from the machine sifting the soba (or is it buck wheat) flour, to kneading the dough, to cutting the noodles that are as uniform as you imagine.  Every strand of noodle is cut to precision, same thickness and length.

The thought of eating the freshly made soba got the better of me...it was also because that buck wheat was supposedly a healthier choice compared to other forms of noodle.  I decided to part with $20 bucks to try out this soup soba with tempura, which I requested for all ebi.  The menu came with an assortment of tempura.  I was pleased that there was no additional charge for the change since some where in the menu mentioned that the chef had specially selected a particular type of prawn for the soba.

My soba set came after 15mins later.  Waiting time was considered reasonable since it was a weekend dinner time.

With the hype about how good the soba taste and for the price I was paying, I did have come expectation.  It had imagined it to be as good compared to one which I tried in Japan.  To my great disappointment, both the soba and tempura did not meet my expectation...  Firstly, the soup wasn't pipping hot and the soba lacked the chewiness.  The tempura prawn was a little soft and did not seem to be as fresh as it should be.  The tempura coating wasn't that crispy as well....Unfortunately, I wasn't impressed at all.  It was quite a disappointment considering all the rave reviews around....or perhaps I should give the cold soba a try the next time.

Ichiban Sushi Japanese Restaurant @ Plaza Singapura

Ichiban Sushi Japanese Restaurant

Plaza Singapura #06-05 /06

68 Orchard Road

Tel: 6837 0113

Sun to Fri: 11.30am -10.00pm

Sat & PH Eve: 11.00am -10.30pm

This Japanese casual dining restaurant is one such popular place that if you're there for dinner at 7pm, be prepared to queue for 30-45mins to get seats.  If you're there with a big group of people, be sure to join the queue early if you can.

This time, I tried the Half Curry Udon.  This is good if you aren't feeling very hungry to gobble down a full-meal.  The curry standard is acceptable.  It comes with chicken chunks and the usual japanese curry ingredients mainly, potatoes and carrots.

Price is equally reasonable at $6.90. 

Unfortunately, it is the only half-portion item on the food menu.  If you arent a fan of curry and not feeling very hungry, you can select other ala carte dishes such as gyoza or sushi. Would be great if they had a greater variety for the half-portion dishes.  Alternatively, check out Curry Favour located at Stamford House.

Saizeriya @ Liang Court

Saizeriya

Liang Court #02-22

Originating from Japan, this family restaurat serves pasta, pizza and grilled dishes.  The dishes are reasonably priced with pasta starting from $7+.  BUT, food quality is just very average. 

The cabonara (above) comes in a relatively big portion BUT there's no egg.  It was just a plain pasta with cream sauce and a few pieces of fatty bacon.

For the drink, it is quite worthwhile, if you opt for drinks set.  You get free flow drinks for $2+.  Selection of drinks include soft drinks, flavoured tea and coffee (espresso, mocha, cappucino). 

Overall, you can get a decent meal with $10 but do not expect any fantastic food standard.

Fiesta Cheese Cake (Ichiban Sushi)

Kudos to Fiesta Cheesecake for coming up with single portion cheesecake. Though I would very much like to indulge in the entire full-size cheesecake, it is really too much to finish all of it within 3 days.

$2.10 available at Ichiban Sushi Restaurant (AMK Hub).

************

This is the full-size fiesta cheesecake.  It is very light in taste, unlike Amercian cheesecakes where it is rich in cheese.  Each cake comes with a plastic knife.  The amazing thing is the cake will not stick on the knife.  Very easy and hassle free.  An ideal food for potluck =)

Costs $8.80. Available at Ichiban Sushi restaurants.

Osaka Town

Osaka Town

252 North Bridge Road

#B1-72/73/74 Raffles City Shopping Centre

Singapore 179103

Tel: 63365363

Discovered a new Japanese Gourmet Town at Raffles City.  I guess due to limited shop space, it is only enough for Osaka Town.  The okonomiya looks yummy.  Okonomiyakis are japanese pan-cakes filled with shredded cabbage and pork or other ingredients. The pancake is covered with savoury brown sauce and mayo.

I watched the chefs through the window panels who were pan-frying the okonomiya and the pancakes just look irresistable.

This is the Sakura Ebi Okos.

The pan-cakes are about 15cm in diameter and served on a hotplate.  They can be cut into quarters (similar to pizzaz) so that you do not need to lift up the entire pancake when eating it.

The okos looks better than it taste.  Pan-cake floor, cabbage, ginger and a few shrimps are about all the ingredients that make up the okos.  After a while, it gets a little boring, and it might be a better idea to share it with another person.  The brown sauce wasn't quite enough to savour the entire pancake, so is the mayo.  If you're some who prefers stronger taste, then you'd probably need to ask for extra brown sauce.

There is a promotion going on and the okos costs $9.80 (usual price is $12.80, I think).  Even for this promo price, I would prefer that they serve a small prices and make it less pricey.

Marvelous Cream (City Link)

Marvelous Cream

#B1-04, City Link Mall,

One Raffles Link, Singapore 039393

TEL: 6238 1683

Originates from Japan, this is its first franchaise outlet in Singapore, located at the end of City Link near the exit to Suntec City. Its 2nd outlet is at ION Orchard (B4-81/82/83).

With its pretty and attractive facade, it is difficult to miss the shop.

What's interesting is that, you get to see the ice cream chefs doing up your ice, mixing your choice of premium ice-cream with toppings and whipped cream on a ice marble top.  There are 28 ready creations available or you can "customise" your own creation.

The toppings are irresistable... check out the cookies, sponge cake cubes, fruits, macaron etc.

You can an option to have your ice-cream served in cup or waffle cup or waffle cone or chocolate waffle cone.  I chose to have mine in a waffle cone.  Ta-da!

The ice-cream isn't too sweet and not as creamy as it looks.  It melts quickly under Singapore's warm climate.  At $6.90, it is a little expensive for an ice cream cone, but I think I will be back to try out some of the other creations when my craving comes.

Other than ice-creams, dessert lovers can also check out other pretty cakes in the shop.

The Pasta Shop

The Pasta Shop

Changi Airport T3 Departure/Check in Hall North

Mezzanine Level, #03-43/44, Singapore 819663

Tel : 6242 6378

Another Japanese food chain under Sakae Sushi.  As the name suggests, The Pasta Shop serves pasta cooked in Japanese style aka Wafu style.

What do you do when it is dinner time (6pm) but you had lunch at 1pm, toast bread at 3pm and tao sar bia at 4pm?  The food looks too tempting to resist... and so I ordered a main course + salad for sharing.

Salad and asparagus pasta looks interesting enough.  It came with some thin seaweed pieces sprinkled on the pasta.  At first, the pasta tasted rather ordinary... but somehow, it got more delicious as we started eating.  The salmon was fresh and serving portion was quite generous.

I am normally not a salad lover, but I would strongly recommend this Tofu salad.  It is so delicious... 

Excluding drinks, total damage for the 2 dishes (incl taxes) was abt $28.

There is citibank credit card promotion where you can get 100% rebate (round down to nearest $10).

Haato (Ridgewood Close)

Am once again back at Haato for lunch after a long while... ordered the Chicken Katsu Don and it was really really delicious. Love the round, fat Japanese rice cooked with soy sauce, topped with a thick piece of deep fried cutlet and covered with a layer of egg. It was just too good for a $7.50 meal. I had a very satisfying lunch.

Check out our earlier postings on Haato here, here and here.

Tampopo Restaurant

My second visit to Tampopo and still not impressed by the food. Tried the black pig cutlet the first time round and the black pig shabu raman this time.

Service was efficient, the ramen was served within 10mins after we had placed the order. However, it was disappointing as the soup was not piping hot as I had expected. Some say, blame it on the aircon which was going at full blast. I wonder if the aircon was also going at full-blast in the kitchen as well?!

The only saving grace was the thin kyushu ramen which was springy and plain delicious. The ramen was supposed to be spicy but I thought it was less "potent" than expected.
 

Tip : Making reservation is a MUST to avoid long wait.

Waraku Casual Dining Restaurant [Closed]

Waraku - Heeren Branch

260 Orchard Road

#05-04 The Heeren

Singapore 238855

Tel: 6834-1123

(http://www.waraku.com.sg/index-sin.html)

Was quite surprised to find that business at the restaurant level was rather quiet on a weekday night. We were given a choice to choose our seats, despite reservation made...

The cosy restaurant is a suitable place for small gatherings. They also offers a while selection of Japanese food. I ordered the Gindara Kaminabe (Codfish Hotpot), $12.80. There are 3 choice of soup base to choose from (Miso, Wafu and Chige) and I opted for miso soup base.

Besides the codfish, the other main ingredients include mushroom and cabbage.

If you prefer something hot and soupy, hotpots are always a good choice.

Sushi Tei @ Holland V

Spicy Kimchi Miso Ramen was on the October promotion menu at Sushi Tei.

The ramen had lots of kimchi and seaweed, and I suspected there were lots of garlic in the kimchi. Sushi Tei managed to maintan the ramen quality and quite refreshing to have korean & Japanese fusion food.

Nihon Mura - YCK Stadium

Nihon Mura is another Japanese family restaurant under the Suki Group. Not too long ago, the outlet took over a seafood (round) restaurant next to YCK Sports Complex. Why round? Go take a look for yourself and you will know. In fact, Suki Group has been expanding quite rapidly as far as I can see in which they also took over another restaurant just less than 200m away from Nihon Mura, and opened the Sakura International Buffet Restaurant.

Went there on a Friday evening and had no problem getting seats since the restaurant is tucked away in a quiet corner of AMK. What had attracted me when I stepped into the restaurant was the 4 layer sushi conveyor belt, that blurred my eyes, with sushi moving left and right. The reflection on the side of the conveyor did not help at all. While I do not think that 8pm was considered late, the sushi selection was already very limited and they had stopped making fresh ones.

Since I was there for the 1st time, the waitress explained how we should go about ordering our food as no menu was provided. WHat we had to do was to bring our "pen holder", exit the restaurant from a side door and there a array of menu was on display. There were ice cream sticks beside each menu and we just had to pick up the corresponding ice cream sticks and place them in the "pen holder". Something quite innovative, ya?

After we have made our selection, just pass to a counter and return to our seats. One down side to this is that either someone needs to stay back and watch our barang barang or leave the barangs on the table and run the risk of losing our valuables.

Food quality wise - not for fussy diners. Expectations had to be adjust for $0.99 sushi, $4 agedashi tofu (4 pieces) and $6.90 soft shell crab.

Frankly, the dipping sauces were pretty good but the hot aren't quite piping hot. Perhaps the air-con was too strong? But ya, the rice dishes are served in hot stone bowl, I will probably give it a try next time.