KAZU

Been lotsa coverage on jap food lately, and I'm just about to add one more to the Fad gourmet collection.

My sis and I went to KAZU SUMI-YAKI Restaurant for grilled japanese fare recently. You can jolly well say its the jap-ish satay haven for yaki lovers.



The food was superb and the restaurant setting was cosy (small and packed like a typical jap eating house). It was a surprise because being tucked away in an obscure corner of Cuppage Plaza, I almost ran off even before taking the escalator to level 4 where Kazu was found.



The reason being Cuppage Plaza seemed abandoned, cold and deserted with Japanese KTV lounges and restaurant weaving the corridors like a movie about to go wrong...

But I'm glad I forged on!

There were some rather interesting starters. Cold jelly containing crab meat, roe and egg - that's unique. And cabbage with a sweet sauce for all - that can get addictive.



I loved all the artery-clogging stuff:
the grilled duck, pork with apple - you gotta order that, foie gras, oyster wrapped in bacon and the top shell that is as big as one's face!





Apparently KAZU attracts not only locals, expats, jap-drama-serial-esque businessmen and tai-tais, it also garners a loyal celeb following. I saw Lim Kay Tong sitting three tables away from me - and that's not all. The cashier counter had all the photos of actors who have patronised this authentic jap restaurant.

While it might seem inexpensive to order stick after stick of these japanese grilled meats, the bill could amount to alot, so be careful there.

Also, eat your fill if you so want to, but do not waste your money on desserts there. I guess if you specialise in grilled meats, you can't possibly ace your tiramisu department as well.



All in all, KAZU is a can-go and must-go for treating yourselves to a sumptious Jap yaki meal! A word of advice, please call to rsvp or you risk not getting a table. Seriously.


KAZU SUMI-YAKI RESTAURANT
No. 5 Koek Road
#04-05 Cuppage Plaza
S228796

- the Fad girl

Nihon Mura (The Cathay)

A few weeks ago, theFadpeople visited Nihon Mura (日本村) at The Cathay.

The restaurant has an interesting way of ordering the food.

First u go to the "food" section where there are many different ice cream sticks that represents the food available. You take the sticks you want, place it at the counter and go back to your seat and wait to be served. The only difference was that the sushi was on the rotating table. Sushi's were going for an amazing 99cents. Unfortunately, they didnt look very appetizing at all.

If you are looking for good and authentic japanese cruisine, than Nihon Mura is definitely not the place for you.

For the cheap price that was paid, the food can be considered to be of "acceptable" standards.

Personally I would only recommend having the Salmon Sashimi because nothing else that day tasted good to me.

TheFadchick had some Don (which i do not remember but i think it was Unagi) but I do not think she was impressed by it as well.

And the Cha Soba, pls... do not even order it... It was blend and hard... Must be the worst cold noodles i have ever tried.

TheFadgirl had salmon head soup. It looked impressive but didnt taste that good as well. U see 1 fish head but u only get half.. cos the other side of the fishhead is cut off and maybe being served on another table. Haha...

To sum things up, the 3 of us decided never to patronised the place again (unless we were really broke and craving for japanese).

Nihon Mura is located at

The Cathay
2 Handy Road
#B1-K2 to B1-07

Once again, theFadboy says hi with his post!

Shokudo - Pasta with a Japanese Twist...

There seems to be a sudden craze over japanese pasta and theFadboy decided to check out Shokudo @ Citylink... where they serve both Japanese Pasta and Pizza.


The decor of the place was not anything to shout about but the waiter and waitresses are very friendly and helpful. Our waitress seems like she jumped out of a Japanese comic, so eager to please and so willing to recommend.


I ordered the salmon/salmon roe pasta, I felt that it was too dry. Although the salmon was big and tasty, i just didnt feel the "japanese" in this pasta...

With a japanese style deep-fried calamari (that came with a wasabi mayo sauce), well, this was a disaster... the calamari felt like rubber and was difficult to chew... and for a few miserable pieces it was like 8bucks.. definitely not worth the money...

and my date had a bacon japanese pasta... as for the this, it really tasted like any carbonara that from pasta mania. There was nothing special about it, except for its name..

I must say that it was a really disappointing trip. Apart from the excellent service that was provided, there is nothing left to praise about the place. Perhaps the next time I should try Waraku Pasta instead.

In case i was being bias, this is another review that i got from Yum.sg.

I might sound really mean but i felt that the $55 that i paid would have been better donated to NKF. I do not recommend that anyone visits this place, unless you wish to be proven wrong..

This not recommended place was visited by theFadboy (don't sue me!)

dolphins' tavern

i was reading lifestyle on sunday, and i realised that for mother's day, dolphins' tavern is having a promotion for citibank cardmembers where moms get to dine for free. since ive been there before, thought i could share my experience there and some pictos!



i went with corina and doreen, 2 of my best mates from the sixsomes. rina went there for her cousin's bday and decided to share the joy and brought the 2 of us there!


we ordered a set dinner and 2 mains, as it would be more value for money that way.

for the set dinner, the starters...

we had some bread, salad and mushroom soup. the girls speculated that the soup came freshly out of campbell cans.

and reenie looks ready to dig in.


following shortly, the mains came along.

rina and i ordered the ribeye steak. the steak was delicious, and the meat was tender. the portion was pretty decent too!



reenie ordered seafood pasta - with prawns and mussels. likewise, the portion was so huge that reenie couldnt finish it.



after we finished the mains, the dessert was served as the third-parter of the set dinner, which was vanilla ice-cream - which i didnt take any picto, since everyone knows what vanilla ice-cream is.

the place is quiet, it's prolly cos we went there on a weekday night. however, i guess one reason could also be its location - jalan selaseh? i havent heard of that before. its pretty inaccessible if you dont have a car and its pretty well-hidden in the estates. who would have imagined that there would be a western restaurant inside the estate? but i must say the interior is pretty cosy and also, the servers are helpful.

the price is pretty reasonable - with 1set dinner and 2 mains - the bill came up to 95bucks. hope this helps some of you to consider where to bring your lovely moms for mother's day!

dolphins' tavern
22 jalan selaseh
opening hours: 11am to 11pm daily

-tfc-

Shokudo

Facing the rest of the world at the end of the newly added wing of Raffles City basement is Shokudo.

Shokudo. The name itself vaguely sounds like "Shiok-udo", hence from the first moment, might have already appealed to the palettes of many jap-food-aficionados here in Singapore.

Think Marché, think Vila'ge, then think about the glorious world of fresh Japanese sushis and sashimis we often see portrayed on blogs and tvs. "No artificial flawourin. All fresh-o," screamed the intimidating chef in the typical wooden hut restaurant, with a towel tied around his head, single-mindedly moulding his sea urchin rice ball.

This, ladies and gentlemen, might be a sin to many orthodox Jap-food-connoisseurs, but to the avid Katsu curry and Yakitori fans, this has to be marriage made in fast food heaven! You queue for your food, they swipe your card, and you will wait for the chefs to whip up your dinner right there and then. And the waiters will swoop down on you the moment you finish your meal - and clean the table.



Design of the eatery is just like the many types of food being offered - the word is "Assortment". Like a funfair with many stations for one to play games and sit on rides, this is your playground. There are many sitting areas with various themes from modern chic to traditional wooden hut setting.





What should we eat?



Well the Fad boy will tell you that $5 for 5 gyozas is too expensive. And there's nothing spectacular about it anymore than you going to Cold Storage and buying a pre-packed frozen version.

My katsu curry was just so-so, but it was hearty and the sweet curry sauce is not too salty. The crepe was more like pancake and it was too thin. The banana-chocolate (What chocolate??) toppings totally overwhelmed the crepe.

What a small world!
It was a day of serendipity. Not only did I bump into an old time buddy, Peiyong, I'd also met a bunch of sec school/JC mates who were all in the school Judo team, Mingli, Caroline, Hui xian and one of my good friends, Xinyi. We are actually all connected, from Peiyong to Xinyi and I'd leave you to wonder what the connection is :)



We asked the girls if they like Shokudo, and they did. The concept was good for gatherings, and they like the food.



As usual the Fad people had our own fun while munching away, either sneaking a shot at one another, or self-posing in front of the cam. (But we were working hard, okay!)

At the end of the day, I was glad there's a Marche concept, express Jap food eating house where I can add to my potential gathering list. But the thought of paying some exorbitant price (relatively speaking) for not so supreme quality Jap fare might take a little coaxing of my wallet and the sceptical mind for me to make Shokudo a frequent hang out.



Shokudo Japanese Food Bazaar

Raffles City Shopping Centre
252 North Bridge Road #B1-44E
Ring-ring: (65) 6837 3793

- the Fad girl