Tokyo Ekiben (Paya Lebar Square)

Paya Lebar Square’s Cantine food court Har never been a place that particularly caught our attention in the past whenever we are looking for a spot to dine at around the Paya Lebar area — that being said, the Cantine food court had recently been through a round of revamp that gives it a brand new look. The food court definitely looks less tired and worn out, with a whole new layout which differs from what it used to be pre-renovation; there also seems to be some sort of effort being placed in the curation of the stalls operating within the food court — with interesting tenants like Kim Dae Bak Korean Restaurant serving Korean cuisine, as well as Flips N Dips that serves up western cuisine. Tokyo Ekiben is the stall they serves up Japanese cuisine here — it is also worth noting that the stall is being operating by Muslims behind the counter. Tokyo Ekiben’s menu does comprise of several items that are typical of Japanese cuisine stalls located in food courts that are run by other operators all across the island — think Donburi as well as Bento items. That being said, what stands out for Tokyo Ekiben that makes them a little more unique than other Japanese cuisine stalls around is how their menu also features items such as Okonomiyaki, Taco Sushi and Oyster Party — not an entirely new concept considering how we are aware that Kenji Taco Sushi at the Kopitiam food court in Northpoint City actually Carrie’s those items, though such fare is still considerably unheard of in the local food scene especially in a food court setting.

Since it was the Taco Sushi offerings that got ourselves fairly intrigued to make a visit down to Tokyo Ekiben to give them a try, it was needless to say that our attention was placed on the various items being listed in the Taco Sushi category of the menu whilst skimming through the menu to see what they have to offer. We did notice that there are some rather interesting variants of the Taco Sushi being offered at Tokyo Ekiben — this includes the Kabocha Korokke which the menu describes as “Fried Prawn Taco Sushi”; with all being said, we still went ahead with the tested-and-proven variant that is likely to be the safest variant of all that they have to offer. The Spicy Salmon Taco Sushi unfortunately bears an erroneous description that seems to be copied over from the Mentai Prawn Taco Sushi (the description being “Mentai Prawn Taco Sushi”); that being said, we did observe elements such as lettuce, corn nibs, sesame seeds, Takuan (i.e. Japanese yellow pickled radish), cucmbers, diced salmon cubes, mayonnaise, spicy mayonnaise and sushi rice that are all encased in between the fried Nori (i.e. Japanese seaweed sheets).

One could observe the preparation process from the counter — these are apparently flame-torched after assembly that gives it an “aburi” sort of vibe. We were glad that they used unflavoured Nori for the taco shell — this also meant that the Taco Sushi here comes with a more balanced saltiness as opposed to those that uses flavoured Nori sheets that are more snack-like in nature (think Tao Kae Noi); one can indeed observe the brown batter that covers part of the seaweed that also keeps its curved shape to hold everything that is in between. The Japanese short-grain rice that lines the bottom of the deep-fried Nori comes slightly sweetened with vinegar; the flavours being what one would expect out of typical sushi rice. The mix of mayonnaise was supposed to make the lettuce gel with the deep-fried Nori and whatever else were to come above it, though we did feel that it wouldn’t have been too different if they used the spicy mayonnaise that is being topped off on the diced salmon sashimi anyway. Various elements in the mix like the lettuce, corn nibs and Takuan; adds a bit of bite and a crunch for a more wholesome feel. Meanwhile, the cubes of raw sashimi could be said to have come with a decent quality — we aren’t exactly expecting top-notch quality especially considering the setting and the price tag which we are paying for, and this turns out to resonate well with the price tag quoted. The spicy mayonnaise carries evident notes of Sansho peppers, though should also be suitable even for those whom have lighter tolerance to spiciness. At $9.20, the Spicy Salmon Taco Sushi is the highest-priced Taco Sushi offering at Tokyo Ekiben; the more affordable options are priced at $6.90. Given the rarity of such items all around, we would say that Tokyo Ekiben’s range of Taco Sushi is worth giving a go for the curious especially if one were to be around Paya Lebar looking to settle for something a slightly out of the ordinary.