Saboten

Have always had tonkatsu at Tonkichi; this time we attempt a new outlet.

As with Tonkichi, you are served free flow of cabbage, miso soup and rice. There were 2 types of sauces for the cabbage - an orange peel sauce and sesame sauce. I personally preferred the former for its lighter and slightly sour taste.

If you are having the tonkatsu, you are given this mini bowl of sesame seeds to grind on your own and add it to the tonkatsu sauce.

I ordered the special set, which came with hire katsu, rosu katsu, ebi and cream croquette. I usually order the hire katsu because I do not eat the fats, but I seem to realise that the meat on the rosu katsu somehow tasted more tender and aromatic, although I still did not consume the fats. And sad to say, none of the miso soup I had locally can beat what I had in Japan.

The set came with green tea ice cream. Not too sweet, but still had a strong green tea taste.

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Ohsumi Shabu Shabu

Back to little Japan at Cuppage, this time to have shabu shabu.

We were given this seaweed-like appetizer.

In shabu shabu, the meat is cooked in konbu broth which is pretty tasteless in itself. So we have dips for the meat. From top to bottom, sesame sauce for any kind of meat, ginger sauce for pork and a vinegar based one for beef. Surprisingly, each sauce went very well with its intended meat.

Condiments to add to your sauce if you wish.

This was the beef in its beautiful red. However, it was not as tender as we would like when cooked.

The pork felt a little more tender, probably because it's more marbled. Note that we took the beef set, and this plate of pork was an extra order.

Came with an assortment of vegetables, tofu and konnyaku.

The pot which you cook your meats in.

The set comes with your choice of rice, ramen or udon.

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Nagomi

Nagomi located at Cuppage Plaza, serves fresh seafood flown in from Japan and imported Japanese liquors.

The place seats less than 30 persons. Basically, it's omakase style, meaning you allow them to decide your menu depending the seafood they have, although they will first enquire if there is any food that you do not eat. I did notice that some japanese diners were shown a japanese menu, but locals would do fine allowing your menu to be decided on your behalf.

You are served a small amount of appetizers - macaroni and tuna with mayonnaise on the left, and seasoned vegetables on the right.

Shoyu for sashimi, and the other one for oysters which I actually forgot to use. The small cup was for the sake that I ordered. You are given a tray full of sake cups and you choose a cup of your liking. My first time doing that so I felt a little sua ku and embarrassed for not knowing.

My sake served cold. I chose the smooth over dry.

First up was japanese tomato - sweet and juicy. Tasted pretty amazing with the salt.

My god! These have to be the best oysters I had in my life. My experience with oysters had been so-so, so I usually steer away. But these were the best - extremely fresh and succulent, with nary a hint of fishy smell.

Our sashimi platter, which the owner explained to us the kind of seafood served. Counter-clockwise from top left: uni, scallop, maguro, snapper, and I can't remember the last 2! The uni was really good, just like that ones I had in Hokkaido!

Can't remember what fish this was, but it had a very soft and fine texture inside. Went really well with the salt.

Braised pork belly. Well braised and sinful.

I remember the name of this one - Mehikari, a kind of solefish. This was steamed and light in flavour. I like the soft texture of the meat.

Grilled beef. Beef slices were tender and aromatic.

Lastly, we had chicken broth porridge, which was savoury and hearty.

The owner came over and informed us that this was our last dish and if we would like more food, but we declined.

Finally, for desserts we were served fresh peach from Japan. These were really sweet and juicy, the way you would expect Japanese fruits to be.

At $260 for 2, it is worth every single cent for the quality of the food. I think this is my best Japanese meal in Singapore thus far (Kazu serves yakitori, so that's of another category). Certainly worth coming back for more.

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Kazu Sumiyaki

The last time I was here, I did not have my camera. Finally, I have the chance to come back again. This is probably my fifth time here, but boy, is it still as good as ever!

Fresh, crisp raw cabbage for you to dip into the miso sauce as an appetizer.

Ordered a bowl of garlic fried rice to share. This has bit pieces of fried garlic in it, but does not leave an overly garlicky taste in your mouth. Overall, very aromatic.

Zuchinni Cheese. Extremely soft and cheesy, and went well with the slight tang of the mustard sauce.

Pork belly asparagus. The pork belly was very thin and wrapped well around the soft asparagus, and grilled till it was slightly crispy but still juicy.

Beef with cheese. Extremely tender pieces of beef, which give way to the oozing cheese in your mouth.

Chicken Tsukune balls. Well marinated and soft, with a slight aromatic burnt taste. On the right is grilled gingko nuts with salt. One of my favorites as it is something out of the ordinary.

Chicken skin. This was rather fatty. I think it would have been better if it had been more crisp.

Foie gras. I am no expert on foie gras, but I like the savoury and grilled taste to it. Feels rather fatty, but not too queasy to the palate.

Spicy beef balls. This is slightly different from the chicken ones as there is no sauce here. Slightly dry on the outside, but still soft and moist on the inside.

Sweet potato. This you have to order the moment you sat down, as you have to wait for this. Somehow, they cooked this till it was very soft, moist and tender inside. Sweet on its own, but adding the butter brought it to another level.

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The Baker goes BKK: Fuji Japanese Restaurant

Anyone who has been to Bangkok will probably know of this place. One of the Japanese sushi chains where you can get quality food at Bangkok prices.

We had a Maguro Tataki. Raw slices of tuna dressed in a Thai dressing which was rather spicy.

Ordered a deluxe sashimi boat; there were maguro, salmon, mackerel, octopus, crabstick and scallop. All thickly sliced and fresh. Even their wasabi was freshly grated, and was rather spicy. All these for only SGD30+. I think this would cost at least SGD50 back in Singapore.

California Roll.

We ordered a bento set, which came with grilled prawns and some asparagus as well.

Salmon rolls.

Fried chicken which was part of the bento set. This was quite aromatic and crispy.

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