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Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Watami Casual Japanese Restaurant @ The Star Vista, Singapore

Bromance buddies and fellow girlfriends had another dinner meet-up recently at The Star Vista, this time round being my second trip to this newly-opened mall at Buona Vista. The shops are pretty much opened for business, so if you have not stepped foot in here, why not plan a dinner outing and chill out with your family or friends? Eateries are in abundance in The Star Vista and they even boast about "The Star Performance Arts Centre" which includes a 5,000 seat auditorium equipped with the state of art technology, outdoor amphitheatre and even a private rooftop garden.

Check out my food review on Itacho Sushi.

After an hour long queue at approximately 8.20pm, only then we were seated into the restaurant. I understand that it was a Friday night and that queues would be more or less unavoidable, but the management could have been better and it is clear that they were shorthanded - seats were empty with used dishes and cutleries from the previous diners piling up on the table.

Kushi Moriawase (S$13.80) - assorted array of finely grilled skewers which consist of chicken thigh meat, two sticks of nankotsu (chicken cartilage) with chicken breast, bacon-wrapped mushroom and spring onions. My favourite amongst all is the nankotsu. Bite into the lightly marinated breast meat and soft crunch of the bone - Yummy! The other various skewers fared normally, as I would prefer them to be slightly more glazed and robust in flavours, such as Shin Kushiya's.


I recommend the Tonpeiyaki (S$8.80), pork belly and cabbage wrapped in omelette-style drizzled with cheese, mayonaise and sweet sauce. The complex combination of so many flavours and textures was just simply mouth-watering and delectable. Anyway, this dish reminded me of tako balls (maybe because of the similar garnishes).


Watami has this deluxe set meal for 4 (S$129.00), which includes a variety of food items, such as appetizers, salads, sashimis and side dishes. For more information, please click here. 

Sashimi Mori 3 - three kinds of assorted sashmi consisting of shrimp, salmon and scallop. The shrimp meat brings along a sweet distinctive taste with a soft chewy crunch, however the salmon and scallop was not fresh with a slightly slimy texture.


Irodori Chirashi Sushi - warm Japanese rice topped up with freshly diced assorted sashimi, seaweed, refreshing cucumber strips and crunchy roes. Personally I do not like the idea of having ginger and wasabi in my sashimi-don, so I took them out. Beautiful combination of colours, flavours and textures.


Chicken Katsu Tamago Toji - chicken cutlet with scrambled egg sauce is delicious as well. The batter was nicely crisped, while the interior remained succulent and juicy with the right amount of fat to meat ratio. Dip into the sweet egg sauce to enjoy a bite of heaven.


Tempura Moriawase - deep fried prawns and assorted vegetables were nicely fried, unlike Itacho's.


Sukiyaki Nabe fared normally, with nothing much to rave about.


Wafu Touban Steak was my favourite amongst the food items. The lightly-seasoned beef was tender with a nice thin layer of fat. I love it when you can DIY the steak and cook it to your preferred doneness. It also comes with two types of sauces - sweet and soy sauce, but one could definitely eat them wholely by itself.


Generally a nice place to have your weekly makan sessions with your family or friends.

Just a friendly tip - arrive early and skip the dinner crowds, you surely do not want to spend an hour queueing up. But if you happened to stuck in the queue, why not get some Taiwanese desserts from next door first?




Watami Casual Japanese Restaurant

Tel: 6694 3643

Opening Hours
Daily: 11.30am - 10pm

#02-16
1 Vista Exchange Green
The Star Vista