Rakuzen - Food Bloggers Lunch Outing

Since their opening 2 years ago, Rakuzen offers unique and innovative dishes, not only catering Japanese cuisine but also Asian-Japanese fusion. Finely detailed wooden decoration and stylishly designed, Rakuzen is set to provide Japanese food lovers an alluring ambiance and enhance their dining experience.

Watami @ Ion- Highly raved, little surprise

Located at Ion Orchard, this Japanese casual restaurant sure stirred up a big hoo-ha. Long queues could be seen especially in the evening. The ambience was not bad and the wooden decoration in the restaurant was indeed distinctive.

We were there around 6pm and were lucky that there wasn’t any queue at all. Highly enthusiastic and friendly staffs greeted us and led us to our tables. The service provided was really commendable. Napkins were handed out to us individually and drinks filled up promptly. We were astonished that the staffs actually knelt by the side of our table to take our orders. You will not experience this kind of service at all either in Ichiban Boshi or even Sushi Tei.

Sashimi Deluxe ($13.80)

This sashimi platter consists of salmon, tuna and hotate (scallops). We had many complaints about the salmon and tuna sashimi. The size of the salmon and tuna sashimi was probably half the size you find in Sushi Tei and they were not very fresh, with a slight fishy smell. Fortunately, hotate sashimi tasted better. It was fresh, fat and juicy, with a slight sweetness. Absolutely heavenly!

J's & A’s rating: 3/5 for salmon & tuna sashimi, 4.25/5 hotate sashimi

Kani & Hotate Cream Croquette ($5.80)

This golden crispy ball was delicious! The cream exploded into your mouth when you bite into it. But there wasn’t any sight of kani and hotate chunks. (A: I would prefer to eat croquette full of kani or salmon flakes)

J's & A’s rating: 4/5

Irodori Sushi Grandeur - scallop, seafood salmon & eel ($10.80)

The sushi here was pretty ordinary. The rice was dry, sticky yet still crumbly which caused the ingredients to fall off very easily. The fillings inside each sushi is the same, except tt the toppings were different.

J's & A’s rating: 3/5

Tompeiyaki ($6.80)

Omelette with sliced pork and cabbage, this dish took the longest to arrive. The egg was dry and thin, with the sides slightly burnt unlike the ones in Shokudo or Waraku which are thicker, sweeter and more fragrant. Nothing special for the sauce too.

A’s rating: 3/5, J's rating: 2.5/5

We did not order any dessert this time round because the food did not impress us. We know there were many good reviews of Watami but the quality of their food failed to meet our expectations. Nonetheless, the service here was praiseworthy.

Watami Japanese Restaurant

#B-23 Ion Orchard

2 Orchard Turn

Singapore 238801

Tel: 65099366

http://www.watami.com.sg/

Chikuyo Japanese Cuisine

Since we were young, Old Airport Road Market & Food Centre has been our frequent makan place. Each time we visit there, it brought back all our childhood memories. Remembered the times where we used to buy our clothings from the shops on level 2 and thereafter, we would head down to the food market to have our meals. But as we grow up, we started to stray away from the food centre as we can find better clothings and food from the shopping malls. This evening, we decided to head back there for our meals.

A: I've been craving for Unagi since last week! And decided to order my unagi bowl from Chikuyo, they serve yummy unagi!

For only $5.50, you get such a huge serving of unagi! The unagi was well-grilled and soft. The teriyaki sauce was nothing special, pretty much the same that you can find in other Japanese restaurant.

Janelle ordered the Cold Soba Noodle with Unagi ($7.50). Though it was slightly pricy, it came with a generous portion of soba noodles! The soba noodle was definitely better than Ichiban Boshi. It was very springy!
(J: I would prefer the soba and the sauce to be more chilled though.)

There are 2 japanese stalls near Chikuyo but if you observe, most people will order their food from Chikuyo. Try it and you'll know why! But we would recommend you to try out the unagi, we tried salmon and chicken before but felt that unagi still tasted better. Quality food, generous portion and reasonable price!

J's & A's rating: 4/5 Unagi and Soba Noodle

Chikuyo Japanese Cuisine
Old Airport Rd Market & Food Centre
#01-89