japanese 🎌

📍: Paya lebar
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saw this on tiktok and queued 40min to try it 🤡 and i was pleasantly surprised by this recommendation! how it works is that you order a set, which consists of your meat of choice and a bowl of rice in a hotpot (?) thing, and this comes with a free flow salad bar. best part was that it was suuuper affordable. we got the dried atka mackeral set (~SGD19.90++) and miso marinated black cod set (~SGD25.90++) - both fish were extremely flavourful. the dried mackeral was huge and though it contained a lot of small bones, the fleshy meat and it’s tenderness made up for it. the miso black cod on the other hand was sooo tender and silky and so nicely charred i instantly fell in love 😍 both fishes were amazing and i would get again. now, the salad bar was 💯 too (although a bit salty)!!! my favourite dishes was some black fungus salad as well as the coffee jelly……just heavenly. not the cheapest place but for the quality i would definitely queue and pay again 💸
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OVERALL: 4.75/5

📍: Changi airport
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trying out this michelin star ramen place for the first time! here’s the 𝐊𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐨 𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐤𝐨𝐭𝐬𝐮 𝐬𝐨𝐛𝐚 (~𝐒𝐆𝐃𝟏𝟑.𝟖𝟎++) which was infused with a black garlic oil - super fragrant and i love that the noodles aren’t too soft and mushy. the broth was tasty and thick too! down side is that it only contained 1 sad slice of pork which was not the softest but average i guess. i also topped up with a ramen egg (+SGD2) and it was well marinated just that the yolk wasn’t really flowy,,,,,a bit like the 7-11 eggs lol. overall it was alright but the noodles and soup are defo better than average tho!
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OVERALL: 4/5

📍: City hall
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chanced upon this restaurant and decided to go for the 𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐩 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐠𝐲𝐨𝐳𝐚 (~𝐒𝐆𝐃𝟏𝟓.𝟗𝟎) and i’m sorry to say that this is the inferior version of the din tai fung fried rice😩. the rice wasn’t as fragrant and also not so much wok hey, but it passes as a fried rice la. the pork was ok too. for the gyoza, it was flavourful but a bit too salty for me. but maybe bc i’m a steamed dumplings person 😛
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OVERALL: 3.5/5

📍: Novena
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Was around the area so decided to try out this place! A classic ramen joint - nothing too fancy but not shabby at all. I got (one) of the cheapest ramens here, their 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐢-𝐮𝐦𝐚 𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧 (~𝐒𝐆𝐃𝟏𝟐.𝟗𝟎++), which is essentially their signature ramen (forgot the name) minus the egg 😂 The ramen was pretty standard for a restaurant ramen - springy noodles and tender cha shu, and I liked that it wasn’t tooo salty. But I think it’s rather expensive: I only got 1 piece of meat and their ramen egg costs $2 more 😢 It’s a rather popular place though especially with families haha I think come here when you’re balling 💸
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OVERALL: 3.5/5

📍: Serangoon
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Buta don (~SGD12++): Simple pork bowl, which during lunch time came with miso soup as well. My friends quite liked it but I found the food pretty average? Perhaps the more expensive dons might taste better, but for this dish, I felt like my grandma can cook something similar 😛 It’s palatable and not bad at all though, so it’s a decent place for a quick lunch. :-)
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OVERALL: 3.5/5

📍: Bedok
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Toroniku Uobushi Tonkotsu Ramen (~SGD13.90++): Super gao ramen broth with a lovely umami flavour 🤩 Definitely not for the faint hearted because it’s pretty salty, but very worth it’s price! The pork cheeks were heavenly as well - soft, melty with a slight charred taste. Will be back! 👍
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OVERALL: 4.75/5

📍: Novena
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Taiwan mazesoba nagoya style (~SGD13.80++): Think this is the first time I’m trying a dry ramen like this! Sorta like a Japanese ba chor mee with a little bit of spicy kick. Pretty good, although I wish the noodles could have been a bit chewier. Price point wise it’s a liiitle steep but I think it’s worth a try 👌They also have free flow miso soup and a free upgrade of noodles, so I think it’s pretty alright :-)
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OVERALL: 4/5

📍: Somerset
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Salmon Kaisen Don (~SGD10++): Haven’t been here in a loooong while and I’m glad to be back! The rice stood out to me as it wasn’t just plain white rice but garnished with tasty seasonings. The salmon was good too :-)

I would also recommend their truffle fries (~SGD12.90++), whereby they used legit truffle & not the spray. Remember to swing by during lunch time if you can for the SGD10 bowl deals 🤪
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OVERALL: 4.5/5