Very Good Chirashi Don Set @ Sumiya on 13Nov2014

Posted on November 13, 2014 by chefquak

S$18.80 chirashi don set

in search of good chirashi don. 🙂

today fundonate friends met to discuss some matters. decided to meet for lunch at sumiya, level 12 orchard central on 13.11.2014.

i thought it might be the previous kuirya penthouse location, & it was. anyway sumiya is owned by the same RE&S group, which owns kuriya dining & also ichiban boshi, kuishinbo etc.

S$18.80 chirashi don set

ponzu salad

chawan mushi

S$18.80 chirashi don set

the photos of the lunch set, in particular, the chirashi don looked exciting. & it was.

it came in a set with chawan mushi (not so good), a ponzu salad, pickles, miso soup & a mochi, quite similar to ginza kuroson. 🙂

the chirashi don was excellent. 3 fish (salmon, maguro & hamachi) cube-cut sashimi & heaps of ikura (salmon roe), tobiko (flying fish roe) & avocado. the sashimi were very fresh & sweet. the cube cut made it looked like bara chirashi. this were quite big cubes though, really good sashimi. vinegared rice was very good too.

2 other friends ordered anago don & fish of the day (maybe amadai?). forgot to take photos.

12 pieces amaebi S$14.80

they had this 12 pieces amaebi for S$14.80, so i had to order it. 🙂

there was a shelling fee of $5 if we wanted it shelled. we of course decided to D-I-Y! 🙂

i never knew amaebi looked kind of anaemic & unappetising with shell on. but they were good, very fresh & sweet when shelled & eaten, like any good amaebi. 🙂

overall i was very impressed & would certainly come back for more.

this S$18.80 chirashi don set was definitely superior to the S$25 barachirashi don set at flying squirrel (no comparison i think), better than the S$17.90 chirashi don lunch set at tonkichi (also no comparison).

i couldn’t decide if this was better than the S$20 chirashi don set at ginza kuroson! i think both were equally good, and though kuroson had better quality cuts, this one at sumiya was really very enjoyable.

with tatsu, though it was not quite like for like, but as an overall dining experience, i think this set was more enjoyable than the S$40 expensive chirashi don at tatsu.

compared with chikuwatei & momoya, this quantity was smaller, but hey the flavours & freshness were better even. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Quality + Great Value Alacarte Buffet @ Zen on 21Jul2014

Posted on July 21, 2014 by chefquak

salmon sashimi

bought 2xS$33.80 groupons & went with sis to zen at ue square for ala carte lunch buffet on 21.7.2014. 🙂

normal lunch buffet is priced at S$42++pax. i had also taken their lunch sets starting from S$16++pax (but some years back) & they were pretty good. quality of food & cooking had always been good here.

for the ala carte buffet, the main event was the wagyu shabu shabu. there was also pork & whole array of jap dishes. only set back was the lack of good sashimi other than salmon for the buffet. you could order them as additional ala carte orders & they were at good discounted prices too e.g. what looked liked a very good 10 piece sushi set was going for like S$18. i wouldn’t order that while i was having a alacarte buffet lunch though.

aburi salmon sushi & maguro susghi

aburi salmon sushi

the salmon sashimi was good, probably about chikuwatei & momoya standard. anyway these days many places served good salmon sashimi. the aburi salmon sushi & maguro sushi were both good but the rice was so huge you could not order more w/o leaving the rice. anyway i set aside the rice for later dishes like the kimchi buta & ebi ika basil dish. 🙂

kaki hoba yaki

breaded oyster

both the broiled oysters & the breaded oysters were good. we did not order additional as could not finish so much food!

also ordered 2 pieces ebi tempura (forgot to take pictures). good too. flour a bit much. we did not add orders.

steak

unlike the sister restaurant en japanese dining bar, they did not serve beef carpaccio, but the wafu steak was really very good, very tender & sweet.

thai style basil prawns & squid

kimchi buta

the 2 thai & korean dishes showed the quality of cooking here. kimchi buta was just ok but with lots of pork & belly pork. the basil prawns & squid was very good, the standerd of a good thai restaurant. i kept my rice for these dishes. 🙂

zen at UE square

shabu shabu

wagyu for shabu shabu

kutobuta pork belly for shabu shabu

10306771_10152553056884494_4685666459049624998_n

vege set for shabu shabu

for the main event wagyu shabu shabu, the beef was excellent. perhaps azmaya was better. hard to tell, but this was very good anyway. 🙂

it came in 1/2 & full portion (200g). we had the full portion for 2pax but could not add more. we also ordered 1/2 portion belly pork. it was just 6 slices & it was very good. we just could not add more.

unagi chahan

decided to take 1/2 portion of unagi chahan to share. it was still very large portion & we took about 70%. it was very flavourful with unagi pieces but no better than a good fried rice at imperial treasure or crystal jade lamian xiaolongbao.

tofu cheese cake

creme brûlée

also shared a tofu cheese cake & a creme brûlée. both were good. creme brûlée a bit sweeter & we did not finish it.

the normal weekday lunch buffet price is S$42++pax & dinner S$52++pax. still ok i guess if you take a lot of beef. the S$33.80nett groupon deal was of course superb value. 🙂

just to add that the service was overall good. not always the most attentive, but very polite friendly when they served you. ice water was free unlike other places (tajimaya does not serve tap water & charges S$5.90 for 1 litre bottled water), so the S$33.80 groupon was all we paid.

c.h.e.f andy

Great Value Sushi & Sashimi Bento Dinner @ Momoya on 6Jul2014

Posted on July 7, 2014 by chefquak

tempra & udon set

went to friend’s house in the east again to watch wimbledon finals between djokovic & federer on 6.7.2014.

we decided to go another place for dinner. we had been going to east coast lagoon food village the last few times. 1 friend suggested momoya at jalan pari burong.

S$17 sashimi & sushi set

S$5 sashimi upsize – 9 pieces

must say they have very good & inexpensive sets here. momoya also serves ala carte buffet, S$31++pax for lunch & S$35++pax for dinner (same buffet menu).

1 friend ordered the tempura & udon set. the tempura moriawase included 3 prawns, i guessing 1 fish & 2 vegetables. i tried 1 prawn, it was ok, the batter just average not so great.

another friend & i ordered the sushi & sashimi set. there were 12 pieces of sashimi – 4 slices each of salmon, maguro (tuna) & hamachi (yellow tail). salmon was very good, comparable with sun with moon at wheelock & might be better than or about same as chikuwatei. hamachi & maguro were quite standard, probably about same as chikuwatei not as good as sun with moon wheelock. the 6 pieces of sushi were pretty good quality – salmon, maguro, kajiki, eel, amaebi & ebiko. the set included soup & chawamushi (very average not great). at S$17++ for 12 pieces of sashimi & 6 pieces of sushi of above average to good quality, it was really good value for money.

we added 2 upsized portions of sashimi. this was same as the sashimi in the set except that there were 3 slices each so total 9 pieces sashimi for just S$5.

i would say the sashimi was about comparable with chikuwatei so S$17 set for 18 pieces was a much better deal than the S$25++ chirashi don at chikuwatei, and adding the upsize 9 pieces sashimi, it was just S$22++. the sashimi were good enough that greedy me enjoyed the overdose of 27 pieces for just S$22++. the S$20++ chirashi don set at ginza kuroson offered better quality sashimi but portion wise would be 1/2 this mount.

i would do this again when visiting my friends in the east.

c.h.e.f andy

So Very Nice 4pax Family Dinner @ Mikuni on 23Jun2014

Posted on June 25, 2014 by chefquak

oysters – S$28

dinners at mikuni are always so very enjoyable. see recent post on a wonderful mikuni dinner on 31.3.2014.

we were there again on 23.6.2014. this time we ordered the chirashi don, oysters & golden prawns, in addition to the usual.

the oysters were good. at 50% discounts, it was S$14 for 3 pieces. the ones we had recently at chikuwatei was better but more ex – 2 large ones for S$22. 🙂

chirashi don – S$90

the chirashi don was so, so very nice. this must the best in singapore or anywhere for S$45++ after 50% feed at raffles (FAR) discounts. 🙂 needless to say, it was far, far better than sun with moon or chikuwatei. not only there was uni, 2 pieces of chu toro, & a huge botan ebi, all the other cuts like salmon, tai, hamachi, hotate were so sweet & fresh & so very many. 🙂

it was kind of a late discovery for us, as we dined quite a bit at mikuni but we tend to take the cooked food rather than sashimi.

botan ebi – S$42 for 3

we had the usual botan ebi sashimi (S$42 for 3 pieces) & had the head deep-fried.

sous vide octopus tempura – S$30

& we all loved the sous vide tako kari kari age.

cold sake – S$50

the sake was ex… S$50 & only 25% discount.

golden prawns – S$40

& the golden prawns (basically teppanyaki large prawns with lots of mayo) was really good! each of us had about 5 prawns, so there must be 20 pieces. we took very little mayo but this mayo taste was very good. 🙂

lobster uniyaki – S$48

the lobster uniyaki today was below the usual standard. i had always liked the lobster but somehow this time the lobster meat did not have the usual bouncy fresh texture. couldn’t say it was bad but c/w the golden prawns, it was substantially poorer.

kagoshima wagyu konabe – S$48

& the kagoshima wagyu konabe was as good as ever.

the bill came to S$239nett for 4pax (c/w S$205 for 4pax at chikuwatei & such huge guff in quality of food). excluding the sake, it would be S$195nett or S$165++ for 4pax, really good deal. 🙂

i think i gonna go back just for the chirashi don. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Superb Sashimi & Unagi don Set @ Sun with Moon Wheelock on 22Jun2014

Posted on June 23, 2014 by chefquak

sashimi moriwasse for 2 = S$29.80

my wife & i were in between meals & decided to have “tea” (more of 2 meals dinner & lunch into 1, save time, money, calories..haha) @ sun with moon at wheelock. this is becoming our favourite restaurant. 🙂

we were not really interested in their tea menu. likely we were not the only ones so they provided full meal sets in their “tea” menu.

sashimi moriwasse for 2 = S$29.80

sashimi & unagi don set = S$34.80 (addition chawanmushi S$3.50, salmon sashimi S$3)

sashimi & unagi don set = S$34.80

i was already thinking of the sashimi at sun with moon after the not entirely fulfilling chirashi don dinner at chikuwatei on 17.6.2014, so 1 ordered a sashimi & unagi don set S$34.80. we did not want to have 2 sets so we added another sashimi moriawasse for 2pax at S$29.80.

(P.S. subsequently i had dinner at momoya on 6.7.2014 & it was 1 of the best value sushi & sashimi bento).

the sashimi moriawasse that came with the set had 9 pieces c/w with the ala carte sashimi for 2 (only missing 1 ama ebi & 2 slices of hotate in comparison) , and cost S$5 more. i would consider both quite reasonably priced & vis a vis each other. 🙂

as i mentioned on my post on chikuwatei, the salmon sashimi were sweeter, tastier here. the cut was also quite thick but perhaps just somewhat thinner c/w chikuwatei. the kajiki (swordfish) was a lot sweeter & there were ama ebi & hotate (missing in chikuwatei). for me it was a lot more shiok here. we also added a salmon sashimi side (3 thinner slices for S$3) & a chawanmushi (S$3.50). 🙂

sashimi & unagi don set = S$34.80

the set also came with the unagi don which i liked, side dish (vinegared unagi which my wife liked), soup, pickles & a drink.

we also added 1 small green tea parfait S$6.80.

there was a 15% card discount for ocbc, however it only applied to the ala carte order. since i had the members card (cost S$20 & you get back S$20 in points for redemption) which entitled to 10% discount for the whole bill, which came to S$82nett. its somewhat more ex c/w chikuwatei which was an overdose (not complaining!) of average to just above average thick cut sashimi for a S$25++ chirashi don.

c.h.e.f andy

Oysters & Chirashi Don @ Chikuwatei on 17Jun2014

Posted on June 17, 2014 by chefquak

japanese oysters = S$22 for 2

my daughter & jh bought dinner as return treat for my wife & i ‘lombang’ aka enjoyed collateral benefits. 🙂

they suggested chikuwatei, and now thinking back the last time i went there was 3yrs+ ago. these few days i had been thinking of going to chikuwatei again so the time was most fitting.

(P.S. subsequently i had dinner at momoya on 6.7.2014 & it was the best value sushi & sashimi bento, quality equal if not better than chikuwatei & much better value)

not sure if there was any change of ownership but the service was very much better. the lady taking charge at the front counter, showing us to the table, gave good recommendations and was not pushy. the oysters she recommended were excellent. when she was clearing the dishes at the end of the meal she tipped over my wife’s sake cup. later she came back with a full cup of sake. i guess we could have reasonably asked for that too but we did not, & did not really expect it. 🙂

chirashi don = S$25

teriyaki chicken = S$10

japanese oysters = S$22 for 2

we ordered 4 chirashi don for 4pax, 2 servings of oysters (4 oysters), teriyaki chicken & a 250ml house sake (S$16).

i was much looking forward for the chirashi don as i had not taken here for so long. in fact i was slightly disappointed. the helpings were just as large – 5 slices of salmon, 3 maguro, 3 kajiki, 2 hamachi & 2 tamago (egg), with a heap of ikura. rice was good, ok not the best. the salmon was not so sweet (2 of the 5 were sweeter). i thought that the salmon sashimi i had at sun with moon wheelock as a S$3 side dish for 3 pieces were better! the kajiki & maguro were also not very sweet, the hamachi was a bit sweeter. the ikura added a slightly salty, flavourful touch to the vinegared rice.

i guessed overall it was not too bad but a bit underwhelming for me & kind of below what i expected. if i were having just sashimi, the S$20 chirashi don lunch set i had recently at ginza kuroson was a lot better quality, but that was lunch. if i wanted combination then the sets at sun with moon would be more attractive than this.

must add though that the oysters were quite large & excellent, juicy, tasty with no metallic taste, very enjoyable. the teriyaki chicken was good too, though not really food i would order.

probably won’t come here too soon unless there are some other specials or promotions.

c.h.e.f andy

	Nicholas B on Below Expectations – Cir…
	chefquak on 8th HCA 3 Dishes 35pax Lunch f…
	chefquak on Good Claypot Liver & Zicha…
	Christabel on Good Claypot Liver & Zicha…
	Sasha Blackwell on 8th HCA 3 Dishes 35pax Lunch f…
	Kelly on Grandson 1st Month Celebration…
	chefquak on Grandson 1st Month Celebration…
	Kelly on Grandson 1st Month Celebration…
	Singapore Food Blogs… on Belly Pork Alio Olio and Mala…
	hyacinthus on Teochew Fried Crayfish with Eg…

c.h.e.f

cook.hangout.eat.fun

Tag Archives: chikuwatei

Very Good Chirashi Don Set @ Sumiya on 13Nov2014

Quality + Great Value Alacarte Buffet @ Zen on 21Jul2014

Great Value Sushi & Sashimi Bento Dinner @ Momoya on 6Jul2014

So Very Nice 4pax Family Dinner @ Mikuni on 23Jun2014

Superb Sashimi & Unagi don Set @ Sun with Moon Wheelock on 22Jun2014

Oysters & Chirashi Don @ Chikuwatei on 17Jun2014

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this: