Age Ya

Presented in a two-tier wooden lunch box, Age-Ya’s Hana Bara Don ($22) was real pretty and perfect for a light meal. The top layer being the assorted cubes of sashimi embellished with ikura, tobiko, edible flowers, microgreens and lots of savoury pink shaved Kamaboko (cured fish surimi, if I am not wrong). The other is the flavoured rice. A pleasant surprise, the short-grain rice was very moreish with cucumber, crunchy tempura bits, burdock root and (I believe) small chopped Takuan. The different diced fish (I saw tuna, salmon, swordfish?) tasted real sweet and fresh. And the soft, fluffy texture of the sweet Tamago squares really hit the spot. But what made the meal extra special was the well-seasoned miso soup which came with bits of fish! Can’t wait to be back to try their Kaisen Don~

One place that we had been walking by rather often around Far East Plaza at Orchard would be Age-Ya. Age-Ya is quite a recent addition to the mall, taking over the former premises of the now-defunct Happy Geprek there. Age-Ya is one of those eating establishments that seems to stand out from the many F&B stores which are located at Level 5 of the mall; whilst the shop occupies a regular-sized unit, the modern Japanese eatery just looks rather different from the simpler, old-school eateries such as that of New Station Snack Bar and Hainanese Delicacy 海南美味佳肴 that is located within its vicinity. Seating capacity is pretty limited here; there are a mix of a few counter seats and a few dining tables, though the dining tables would be mostly fit for groups of two to four pax. Being a rather earnest and down-to-earth set-up, Age-Ya is run by only two chefs and one wait staff; and based on some online sources, it turns out that one of the chefs that is behind the counter is no other than Chef Kevin Wee — formerly from Kaunta, he was also the very same chef who is behind other now-defunct concepts such as that of House of Chirashi that was at East Village, as well as that of Chirashi Sora previously at The Venue Shoppes. With that said, it also means that Bara Chirashi and Chirashi items can be found on the menu of Age-Ya, as well as Sashimi, Sushi, Temaki and Maki items — this would also be aside from their other specialty items such as that of ala-carte Tempura dishes as well as a variety of Tendon. Do also expect other non-Tempura dishes being served up at Age-Ya; that includes appetisers and ala-carte dishes such as Fugu Mirin Boshi (i.e. Dried Puffer Fish), Ika Geso Karaage (i.e. Fried Squid Tentacles) and Agedashi Tofu — just to name a few. Beverages available at Age-Ya includes Japanese Hot Tea, canned drinks, lime juice, and some choices of beer.

We have been following through Chef Kevin Wee’s previous establishment since his days at House of Chirashi and it is needless to say that we wouldn’t consider ourselves having made a visit to Age-Ya if we did not go for one of the items off the Bara or the Chirashi sections of the menu here. Each order from the Bara, Chirashi, and Donburi sections of the menu also sees a complimentary bowl of soup being served up along with the dish. Having skimmed through the menu at Age-Ya, we decided to settle for the Hana Bara Don which is listed on the Bara section of the menu here. The Hana Bara Don is described on the menu to feature plenty of elements — this includes that of assorted cubes sashimi, edible flower, micro greens, tempura bits, Furikake (i.e. Japanese rice seasoning), Kamakobo (i.e. cured surimi), Sakura Ebi, Ikura, Tobiko, Tamago, cucumber, Gobo (i.e. Burdock Root), and Shiitake Rice. Coming in a two-tiered bamboo bento box, the section containing the cubes of assorted sashimi comes above the section that contains the Shiitake Rice. Lifting open the lid containing the cubes of assorted sashimi reveals a really colourful dish — something that has since become pretty recognisable as Chef Kevin Wee’s work especially for those whom have previously visited House of Chirashi and Chirashi Sora.

Digging into the Shiitake Rice, it became really obvious why they had seemingly went the way to separate the cubes of assorted sashimi from the Shiitake Rice in the Hana Bara Don; the Shiitake Rice is being served warm here — serving the assorted cubes of sashimi here on the top would have caused the sashimi to have been warmed up by the Shiitake Rice, causing a less-than-ideal experience to the entire dish. The Shiitake Rice comes all warm with the Japanese short-grain rice being all sticky and moist; slightly earthy with bits of bouncy mushroom studded in between for flavour — a little similar to the Truffle Rice served at Chirashi King Kong without the truffle flavour. Going straight for the assorted cubes of sashimi, it seems that the Hana Bara Don featured a mix of salmon, tuna and amberjack sashimi — all of the diced cubes of sashimi, cucumber and Tamago being of almost equal proportions; well-sized enough for one to enjoy the flavours of the various elements in one mouthful with just a good proportion of rice. The diced cubes of assorted sashimi were especially fresh, while the cubes of Tamago provided a soft, fluffy texture with a hint of sweetness that runs at the back of the tongue. The diced cubes of cucumber on the other hand provided a refreshing crunch in between all of that which is going on in this section of the bento box that it is served in, while the inclusion of other elements such as the Sakura Ebi and Tempura Bits added a crispness and an umami note that helps to add yet another dimension of texture and flavour to the dish — something that is very associated with the Bara Chirashi and Chirashi Donburi that Chef Kevin Wee is known to serve up. Even the accompanying Miso Soup comes laden with goodies here; not only did it carry a deep earthiness that one would associate with the fermented soy beans, but it also comes with loads of kelp that added a umami burst of flavours as well as melt-in-the-mouth salmon belly that is just simply sublime.

Apart from their Hana Bara Don, we had also given the Tendon a try at Age-Ya. It is needless to say that Age-Ya’s strongest suit would be in their Bara and Chirashi offerings however, though its efforts in serving up a good bowl of Tendon should not be undermined. For one, the Tendon does come with Japanese short grain rice that is all pearly and flavoured with Furikake that is sprinkled on the top — the item also coming with 3 pieces of Tempura Ebi, as well as 4 pieces of vegetables; the vegetables being served in our Tendon being tempura carrot, tempura pumpkin, tempura lotus root and tempura eggplant, which are all lightly drizzled with tempura sauce over the top. The highlight for us for Tendon would be the Tempura Ebi, considering how it comes with fresh Ebi that is naturally sweet without feeling particularly old and mushy — definitely something that we enjoyed over the other elements though all of them are well-executed without being greasy whilst the batter encasing the tempura items were light, airy and crispy. With Chef Kevin Wee being at helm dishing out his iconic Bara Chirashi and Chirashi offerings at Age-Ya, folks whom have had missed his Chirashi and Bara Chirashi creations would probably know where to head to to get their cravings fixed. As usual, his Bara Chirashi and Chirashi offerings spread across a really wide price range here the lowest priced from the Bara / Chirashi sections of the menu would be the Salmon Bara / Aburi being priced at $12++, while the priciest item would be the Kyo Kaisan Donburi — one that features Bluefin Tuna, Ohtoro, Bafun Uni, Ikura , Chef Selection Premium Sashimi at $65++. In terms of the Tendon selection, the lowest-priced would be the Yasai Tendon features 8 pieces of vegetables at $10++; the Tendon we had opted for being priced at $14++. With such affordable prices and such strong items being served up, Age-Ya is a rather wallet-friendly option for some great value-for-money Japanese fare at Orchard without breaking the bank that is also slowly getting discovered — we would recommend making a reservation before heading down. A spot to keep an eye as it slowly gets uncovered; somewhere to make a visit soon for those who are keen!