japanese 🍣

A surprising find of superb value - the katsudon set ($15++) comes with salad, miso soup, chawanmushi and dessert of the day! The katsudon was tender with a crisp batter, silky eggs and savoury onions beneath. A hearty spread of great quality.

Opted for something unconventional and ordered their signature yuzu shio ramen ($15.90++)! The citrus flavour predominates, with an undercurrent of savoury soup. The noodles were a little hard; the meat and egg mediocre. Much preferred the flavour and texture of the dry ramen with dipping sauce!

Opted for something different this time - the maguro tataki don ($15) exceeded my expectations! The tuna is, of course, not as fresh or fatty as you’d find in a premium restaurant; but had a strong flavour and was nicely seared along its edges. A simple dish seasoned only with salt and pepper!

The sanuki beef egg udon ($11.20) is by far my favourite item at Tamoya!! The thick chewy udon absorbs the slightly sweet, umami soup very well. The beef is thinly sliced and very tender! They are extremely flavourful and perfect when dipped in egg yolk.

The soup of this black garlic tonkotsu udon ($10.80) can not compare to the richness of most ramen joints, but it was sufficiently flavourful! Didn’t like that they used pork belly instead of the usual charshu as it was rather fatty and tough. The udon itself is very good though, I love how chewy it is!

Scrolled through the reviews and.. I never knew this store had been around for so long?! Snagged lunch one day whilst in the vicinity! It offers great value - the portion and flavours are really decent for its price! The rice bowls are all below $10. Found the katsudon ($6.90) a little dry, but the egg was nicely done. Personally preferred the teriyaki chicken and beef shabu!

Takeaway certainly pales in comparison to dining in the actual restaurant, but the food travelled surprisingly well! The saba shioyaki teishoku set ($14.90+) was packed into a bento box, with furikake served in a separate sachet. The rice remained fluffy with the lightest hint of rice vinegar; with lotus, edamame and potato on the side. The mackerel was fresh and lightly salted, providing a clean flavour that paired well with the other components! Was pleasantly surprised at the size of the fish given. The meal would be complete with the usual bowl of miso soup, but unfortunately they don’t serve that for takeaway.

Unknowingly stumbled into a ramen joint with many accolades - a Michelin star in Japan, and it rests amongst Singapore Tatler’s best restaurants! We opted for the ajitama ramen in tonkotsu ($13.80++) and kurobishio ($14.80++) soup. The firm noodles were served with a thin slice of marbled char shu and a flavoured egg! The tonkotsu was a tad too salty and thick, but certainly bursting with flavour. The kurobishio was extremely fragrant, given the use of handmade garlic oil. Upgrades to set meal are free on weekdays, so we got our bowl with hot wheat tea and a choice of sides. We opted for the gyoza and chicken karage - both really impressed us! The dumplings were filled with high quality meat and served with a punchy chilli sauce. The karage was extremely tender, its meat encased in light batter that tasted exactly like soft shell crab. Would be happy to make a return visit!

The spicy ramen ($12) adds a local twist! A dollop of chilli is added to the tonkotsu broth. I found it a little too spicy, but the others really loved the added flavour of dried shrimp!

Gangsta Ramen is famous for its individual dining booths, but they are perhaps under-utilised - most diners came in groups on a Friday evening, and had to wait for limited seating! They were also severely short staffed with just one chef and one server, resulting in quite a long wait. The miso ramen ($12) was nothing out of the ordinary with a thick pork-based broth. The noodles had a good bite but meat was a little tough! We came with a chope voucher and had the gyoza and chicken cutlet as sides!

Despite being its namesake, the choices of soba available under burpple Beyond is painfully limited, to the point that we decided not to use it. The mori soba ($9) is a simple meal. The noodles were firm and complemented by the dipping sauce.

Had the Yakiniku Don ($14.90++) - the options for Burpple’s 1 for 1 are limited, so this was our lunch pick. The meat was a little chewy but I liked that the sauce was well balanced and complemented by the sweet onions! Best part would be the huuuge portion.