Excellent Yakiniku @ Omakaseya Azmaya on 15Jan2015

wagyu karubi

wagyu karubi

See also update on 23.1.2015.

bought some S$10 for S$20 qoo10 coupons, so went with wife to omakaseya azmaya yakiniku for dinner on 15.1.2015. 🙂 restaurant is tucked away in one corner on level 2 of robertson walk, 11 unity street. restaurant was crowded. service was disorganised & totally ineffective (i basically had to walk in & out of the room to get our orders delivered after waiting for 30mins after ordering with nothing happening). the japanese guy did make some effort to deliver “jap-level” service though the gap was enormous.

omakaseya azmaya yakiniku

omakaseya azmaya yakiniku

yakiniku grill

yakiniku grill

they used a drip grill exactly same as what i had at home. i had not used that lately as we did more of teppanyaki with the hot plate. this was inferior to the recessed smokeless charcoal grill at aburiya. also w/o the powerful ventilation suction, we came out after dinner smelling of bbq all over.

wagyu sirloin

wagyu sirloin

wagyu sirloin

wagyu sirloin

wagyu sirloin

wagyu sirloin

wagyu sirloin

wagyu sirloin

fortunately the kagoshima wagyu sirloin was excellent. it was priced at S$65++ for a steak that looked >120g (maybe 150g), so at 50% off, it was really very good c/w (say) kagoshima wagyu sirloin i had recently at mikuni, my favourite restaurant.

wagyu karubi

wagyu karubi

wagyu karubi

wagyu karubi

& the wagyu karubi (beef ribs) was also excellent. the wagyu sirloin thankfully came last so w/o direct comparison, the wagyu karubi was really very good, very marbled & flavourful. just look at the top photo makes one salivate. ^^ if the wagyu sirloin was heavenly then this was 1/2way to heaven. ^^

wagyu karubi + belly pork

wagyu karubi + belly pork

belly pork

belly pork

belly pork

belly pork

belly pork

belly pork

leek

leek

the pork belly was surprising poor & tasteless. this is really odd as the sister restaurant down the road, azmaya (shabu shabu) serves an excellent tasting pork belly. fortunately the leek was an excellent dip & condiment & the pork (S$16) tasted pretty ok with the dip. there wasn’t much on the menu that we liked other than the few meats. we love the complete meal experience at aburiya because it has the kimchi chigae & the bibimen that we like very much. here the meat was superior for the price but no kimchi chigae & my wife was not keen on bibimbab (they did not serve bibimen).

omakaseya azmaya yakiniku

omakaseya azmaya yakiniku

omakaseya azmaya yakiniku

omakaseya azmaya yakiniku

after dinner we learned that we could actually get 50% discounts for all food items at our next visit. while for a complete meal experience i would go back to aburiya, this is a good alternative venue & an excellent place for very good wagyu yakiniku (of comparable standards to the average yakiniku in japan). i should be going back shortly with some friends. c.h.e.f andy

Expensive Mediocre Teochew Porridge @ Lim Joo Hin Eating House on 16Jan2015

teochew porridge dishes

teochew porridge dishes

went with sis & b-i-l to lim joo hin teochew porridge at bukit ho swee for lunch on 16.1.2015. 🙂

had not been here like forever, maybe 10years? reason is i always feel that teochew porridge is ultra expensive for nothing food. well, today was no exception, just a confirmation, so in a sense i was not overly disappointed since already expecting it to be so!

strange psychology!

bhs teochew muay

lim joo hin teochew muay 潮州麋

place was bright & clean. not crowded yet at 12pm.

servers were rude & unhelpful, not rude in talking to you but rude in mannerism & ignoring you.

mullet 乌鱼

mullet 乌鱼

mullet 乌鱼 was still moist so soft. this not the usual style, her bun 鱼饭 or teochew chilled cooked fish should be cold & dry. meat was sweet & nice dipped in taojeo (bean paste), overall just average. unlike cold crab, we can do this easily at home ourselves.

braised duck

braised duck

braised duck was ok average. my own braised duck though is a lot better, more “pang” i.e. tasty.

"kor" her -method of braising fish

“kor” her -method of braising fish

“kor” her -this method of braising fish is rarely seen nowadays. the fish tasted like sardine (likely was) which was very different fish from the ones my grandma made 50yrs ago. the dish was just slight sour due to the sour dried veg, i think, which made it very appetising.

cabbage

cabbage

bhs teochew muay

lim joo hin teochew muay 潮州麋

bhs teochew muay

lim joo hin teochew muay 潮州麋

leek

leek

the vegetables were nice, especially the leek & “chiu kuay”, a gourd (my sis added 2 veg dishes later – “heng chye” spinach & “chiu kuay”).

3pax lunch cost S$47.40 for eating almost nothing. i am never coming back – well, maybe another 10yrs! ^^

c.h.e.f andy