Ryoshi Sushi Ikeikemaru @ Liang Court, Singapore

I love eating food. Food that is not only appetizing for the stomach, but for the eyes too. The Japanese, I did say, hold great pride in the preparation and presentation of their cuisine. Take a piece of salmon sushi for example, although seemingly simple, what's hidden behind it is years and years of practice and experience, resulting in a show of delicate knife skills and worksmanship turning the simplest ingredients to delectable, yet beautiful dishes.

 

And Ryoshi Sushi Ikeikemaru is an example of that. Located at the basement of Liang Court, this newly-opened Japanese restaurant is recommended by one of the friends and sure, why not go for it?

 

Their sushi are categorized into different range of prices from S$1.80 to S$6.80. Ingredients are imported from Japan at a regular basis to ensure only the freshest and most authentic is served to customers.

 

Aburi Cheese Ebi (S$2.80) is one of my favourites among the many. The fresh shimps topped with seared mozarella cheese is real irresistible.

 

Top seller - Ebi Avocado (S$2.80) tasted amazing as well. Soft avocado flesh with succulent shrimps, drizzled with mayonaise and topped with roes is probably one of the best creations the Japanese came out with.

 

Chutoro (S$5.80 for 1 pc) - Fatty Tuna sushi is incredibly soft, unlike salmon sashimi, tuna doesn't melts that much in contact with the tongue. However, this piece of prized cut has just the right density of meat and fats. I wouldn't recommend dipping this beauty in condiments, but just savour the fresh, original taste itself.

Big Salmon (S$2.80 for 2pc) - what can I say other than beautifully rendered salmon slices that melts one's heart. I had never had salmon sushi with such a big slab of fresh sashimi, this was my first and it was good, real good in fact.

We also had Peiyi's favourite Tamago (S$1.80), Tuna Corn (S$1.80), Namagaki (S$4.80) - raw oyster sashimi, and Aburi Salmon (S$2.80). For the salmon, it was a tad too raw, I prefer Genki Sushi's rendition better.

 

Quite the staple when we are eating Japanese cuisine, we ordered their steamed egg custard, Chawanmushi (S$3.80) as well. Their version is very much softer than the usual and breaks upon the slightest contact, try imagining traditional tau huey (soy beancurd). Tasteful and delicious - I recommend this.

Assorted Tempura (S$10.60) done right. Delectable, crunchy shrimps and vegetables deep fried nicely. For some reasons, I don't eat the tempura with the sauce given, well.. Maybe I love the crunch more.

Takokara (S$6.80) - Deep fried octopus was quite a disappointment. It was too hard and chewy.

Dorayaki Ice Cream (S$4.80) - Soft Japanese sponge cake with crispy fillings topped with Vanilla Ice cream is a must-try. It comes in a nice warm temperature which goes just well with the cold counterpart.

 

I managed to get some Warabi Mochi (S$5.80) - Green Tea Rice Cake from Peiyi's sister, Eliza. Their version was just nice and not heavily flavoured, somehow I wished there could be some green tea ice cream in the mochi itself. But, take my word for it when I tell you it goes super well with the ice cream and red bean paste.

 



Ryoshi Sushi Ikeikemaru gave me a pretty positive experience, as it promises a wide range of fresh, delectable sushi and other assortments to be served daily. Besides that, it has definitely set a certain standard for Japanese restaurants that I will be visiting in the future.

 

 



 

 

Ryoshi Sushi Ikeikemaru

 

Tel:  6337 1022

 

Operating Hours:

Daily 11am to 9.50pm

 

117 River Valley Road

#B1-48

Liang Court





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

Itacho Sushi @ The Star Vista, Singapore

Located at the basement of a newly-opened and award-winning architectural landmark "The Star Vista", Itacho Sushi is one of the restaurants that one can hardly missed with its distinct Japanese set-up and ambience. My friends have been raving about this particular sushi restaurant, so when I had the chance to visit The Star Vista a few weeks back, I decided to have my virgin experience at Itacho.

They were having this yellowtail festival promotion back then, so we ordered one each for the four of us. It comes in five assorted topping - Original, Sea Salt, Citrus Junos Sauce, Black Truffle Sauce and Black Truffle Oil, which comes at a steal at S$1.90 each. I had the yellowtail sashimi paired up with the black truffle sauce, it melts slightly in contact with the mouth and tasted smooth with a less chewy texture. The truffle sauce tasted quite "earthy" with a faint floral touch.

Six sushis when we ordered four. We returned the two that we did not ordered.

Next up, we ordered some individual sushis to our own preferences - Roasted Duck Breast (S$1.50), Roasted Squid Leg (S$1.20) and Crab Stick (price unavailable). Tasted decent but the roasted duck was good.

Salmon Lobster Salad Roll (S$3.60) ganished with spring onions was decent as well, however I barely tasted the lobster as the salmon taste was too overpowering. Another downside was that this sushi was too filmsy - it breaks apart too easily.

Shrimp Spring Roll (S$3.00 for 3pc) was disappointing. Cold, hard and tasteless. The mayonaise sauce helps little in saving this dish.

We also had the Whole Sea Eel (S$6.50). It is slightly different than your usual unagi sushi, this sea eel has a softer and less chewier texture, and tasted less oily as well. My father likes it hence we ordered another after wolfing down this piece.

Deep fried Shrimp Gyoza (S$2.40) and tempura (which comes with a bowl of udon) were both dissatifying. Gyoza tasted cold and the meat fillings was one of the lesser ones I have ever seen. I was then wondering if this dishes were rejected or done wrongly, and now being re-served to our table.

The tempura on the other hand was done half-heartedly as well. The batter was over-fried and the eggplant tempura was done up wrongly. It should be cut at an angle, not complete vertically.

Curry beef udon was acceptable, with the beef meat and noodles cooked just nicely.

Throughout this dinner, we were waiting for my bowl of beef udon, and despite after 3 to 4 dishes that were being served wrong to our table, they still couldn't get it right. Service lapses, maybe? But 3 to 4 times? The service staff, and even the branch manager apologized and offered us desserts on the house and the beef udon that was not served, free-of-charge. In the end, I just asked for their un-derserving service charge to be waived.

"Itacho" in Japanese means chief chef and this title was awarded to the most sublime position in the restaurant. However, I felt that this outlet falls short. Apart from the few decent dishes, most of the food were purely disappointing, and not worth the bucks. It shouldn't be even called Itacho. I had never been to Itacho Sushi before and the food and service has already left me a bad impression.

Itacho Sushi

#B1-12
1 Vista Exchange Green
The Star Vista

Genki Sushi @ Orchard Central, Singapore

Talking about technology, Genki Sushi has one of the most innovative ordering methods. Each table is equipped with one iPad preloaded with their very own application, which you order your food directly from the device. Your dishes will be delivered promptly right to you in a mini shinkansen (bullet train) on it's "railway track". After unloading your food, one then pressed a button to send the carrier back to the kitchen. How cool is that, I have to admit that I was pretty amused and mesmerized by the cute trains.

 Don't know how to use their "GenkiPad"? Do not hesitate to approach one of their staff.

One of the must orders are the Salmon Triple Flavor (S$3.80) and Shrimp Triple Flavor (S$3.80), which consists of the key ingredients done in different ways. My favourite among the three is the ones which are seared briefly and topped with black pepper, which adds an additional kick to the sushi. There is also a similar version for the crab as well (S$3.80).

Seared Salmon with Pollack Roe (S$2.30) is nicely seared with a faint burnt fragrance, but Peiyi was complaining about  the lack of roes (or it's either the roes got melted when it was seared.) The salmon meat is soft and melts slightly in your mouth.

Their Steamed Egg Custard (S$2.30) is soft and silky, and packed with a reasonable amount of fish cakes, mushrooms and crab sticks. The downside is that the steamed egg lacks in flavour, it doesn't have the distinct eggy flavour.

Japanese Chilli Pepper to the rescue!

Feeling a need to eat something more, we ordered the Oyaku Don (S$5.80) - deep fried chicken chunks with a nice layer of fat in thin batter, paired with strips of sweet onion and runny omelette, and served along with a good bowl of Koshihikari rice, planted by the Japanese in Vietnam. I could really do with more eggs though.

One of my favourite is their free-flow of Japanese Green Tea (S$1.50), which you do-it-yourself, by mixing the green tea powder with hot water. Needless to say, you can adjust how strong is your cup of tea according to your preference.

Genki Sushi adds on to my list of favourites, and I'll definitely be back for more economical, yet authentic and quality Japanese food.

Just a conclusion tip - be there early or skip the peak hours. We were there at about 8.45pm on a Saturday, and we had to wait for approximately 20 - 30 minutes.

Genki Sushi

Tel: +65 6238 0900

Opening Hours

Sun – Thu: 11.30am – 9.30pm
Fri – Sat & PH: 11.30am – 10pm

181 Orchard Road

#03-23

Orchard Central