Sushiro @ Tiong Bahru Plaza - Japan's Number 1 Kaiten Sushi Chain Opens First Outlet In Singapore

Japan's largest kaiten sushi chain, Sushiro opens its first outlet in Singapore at Tiong Bahru Plaza. Globally it has over 530 outlets in Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong. The Singapore outlet is the first in Southeast Asia, offering over 100 varieties of sushi and side menu selections, with prices starting from $2.20.

Sea Urchin Dry Ramen 3/5

During my visit, Sushiro was offering four new seasonal items for a limited period. They were Sea Urchin Dry Ramen ($8.50), Fresh Shrimp with Madagascar ($3.20), Sea Urchin & Roasted Beef ($3.20) and Scallop Tempura ($3.20).

Fresh Shrimp with Madagascar 3.5/5

While I like the unami creaminess of the Sea Urchin Dry Ramen, the portion is a little small for the price. I was worried the texture of the Fresh Shrimp with Madagascar would turn out slimy, but it was acceptable. In fact, if you can get over the barrier of its rawest, you would appreciate the natural sweetness of the shrimp.

Sea Urchin & Roasted Beef 4/5

Scallop Tempura 2.8/5

A unique pairing is the Sea Urchin & Roasted Beef. I didn't occupy to me that both items can go along. The combination is also rarely seen in local kaiten sushi restaurants. As for the Scallop Tempura, the pairing does not work for me. The idea of tempura on top sushi rice is a bit stretch for me. 

Salmon Roe Sushi 3/5

Tuna Sushi 3.5/5

With over 100 over selections in the offering, it is not possible to try everything. Hence I would recommend the Salmon Roe Sushi ($3.20), Tuna Sushi ($2.20) and Yellowtail Sushi ($3.20). They are Sushiro Japan's top 3 best sellers.

Sea Urchin Sushi 3/5

Besides the sushi, there are also side dishes which you can order from the tablet menu. Not to be used are items should as Shoyu Ramen, Chawanmushi with Scallop and Chicken Karaage. For dessert, they have Hattendo cream bun and pudding. Do save some space for these! They are so good.

While I am overwhelmed by the varieties available on the conveyor belt and menu, I find some of the sushi combinations have gone overboard. Unfortunately, I don't think every single ingredient can be made into sushi. That is why, if you realise I only gone for the more classic sushi items. Quality-wise, I think it still a notch behind some of incumbent kaiten sushi chain in Singapore.

Note: This is an invited tasting.


Sushiro
Tiong Bahru Plaza
302 Tiong Bahru Road
#02-118
Singapore 168732
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Nearest MRT; Tiong Bahru (EW Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 11am - 10pm

Direction:
Alight at Tiong Bahru MRT station. Take Exit B. Walk to destination. Journey time about 3 minutes. [Map]

Botany By Dazzling Cafe @ Robertson Quay - Signature Honey Toasts And Soulful Food

If you are a fan of Dazzling Cafe's honey toasts, you will be glad to know that you can still have them at the newly opened Botany by Dazzling Cafe at Robertson Quay. With the closing of Dazzling Cafe, the trio of Actress Julie Tan, her cousin Cassandra and childhood friend Serene have come together to create a relax space for bonding while enjoying a soulful meal, regardless if one is a meat-lover, vegetarian or vegan at Botany.

The Botanist Salad 3.5/5

For those that are looking for something light and healthy, there is the The Botanist Salad ($15). It comes in a blend of fresh greens dressed in homemade apple cider vinegar honey sauce. Add-ons such as almond flakes, smoked salmon, grilled chicken, pan seared salmon, pan seared steak and Impossible patty are available at an additional cost ranging from $3 to $7 for each topping.

Curried Cauliflower Soup 4/5

The Curried Cauliflower Soup ($10) is a vegan soup made with coconut milk and spiced with curry paste. The soup has a velvety and creamy texture, in which one can still bite into the blended cauliflower bits.

Homemade Hummus with Baked Nachos 3.5/5

A delightful snack on the menu is the Homemade Hummus with Baked Nachos ($12). Applauded to the homemade hummus doused with olive oil that goes well with the crispy baked nachos.

Otah Chips 3/5

It is quite common to see French fries or spam fries on the menu but Otah Chips ($13) is a first for me. I love my otah but the fried mackerel fish paste strips did not manage to wow me. I guess I still like the traditional otah more.

Signature Mentaiko Fries $15

Of course there is still fries on the menu. At Botany, they served an elevated version, Signature Mentaiko Fries ($15)  with mentaiko dressing topped with nori. Nothing unique but definitely an all time favourite to munch and share with a group of friends.

Taiwanese Chicken Bites 4/5

A more addictive starter is the Taiwanese Chicken Bites ($13). Love the used of marinated chicken thigh for the tender bite, complemented by the Taiwanese spice seasoning. This is great to go along with some beer and wine.

Mapo Tofu Rice Bowl 4/5

A very hearty and comforting rice bowl is the Mapo Tofu Rice Bowl ($18). The Japanese rice is paired with silken tofu cooked in Szechuan spices and minced chicken, topped with sous vide egg. I would prefer it to be more spicy but I can understand the need to cater for the wider group.

Signature Grilled Chicken with Balinese Salsa 4/5

Another rice dish on the menu is the Signature Grilled Chicken with Balinese Salsa ($18). A complete meal on a plate that comes with boneless chicken leg marinated with spices and a fried egg, paired with homemade balinese salsa. My advice don't miss out the delicious chicken skin, it was heavenly.

Uni Truffle Capellini 3.8/5

While I enjoyed the texture of the pasta for the Uni Truffle Cappelini ($28) topped with sea urchin and salmon roe, it was unfortunate the truffle was a tad overpowering, masking the appreciation of the sea urchin. Served chilled, this is actually quite refreshing.

Pan-Seared Barramundi 4.2/5

A dish that I would go back for is the Pan-Seared Barramundi ($26) with mash potato. The huge piece of pan seared barramundi is well cooked and justify for the pricing. It is paired with pesto sauce which highlighted the moist fish but not stealing the limelight.

Australian Grass Fed Ribeye 250g 4/5

For the meat-lovers, there is the Australian Grass Fed Ribeye 250g ($28). Nothing fancy but just allowing the succulent ribeye cut with black pepper sauce to shine . It also comes with butter mash and greens on the side.

Gluten Free Chocolate Cake 3.5/5

For dessert, we tried the Gluten Free Chocolate Cake ($9). A moist and soft interior with crusty edges for the chocolate indulgent.

Dazzling Cafe's Signature Honey Toasts 4.2/5

I have to admit that I have never tried the Dazzling Cafe's Signature Honey Toast ($18) and this is my first time having it. Not only is it pretty and instragrammable, it is actually very good. Definitely one of the better ones I have eaten. Other flavours available on the menu are dazzling classic, caramel macademia nuts, banana chocolate, strawberry lover and hazelnut chocolate.

I like the new space at Botany by Dazzling Cafe with its greenery and river facing. Food is pretty decent but in the competitive F&B stretch, I felt that it needed more character or theme to stand out.

Note: This is an invited tasting.


Botany By Dazzling Cafe
Robertson Quay
86 Robertson Quay
#01-03
Singapore 238245
Tel: +65 69514861
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Nearest MRT: Chinatown (DT Line, NE Line), Tiong Bahru (EW Line)

Opening Hours:
Sun-Thu: 9am - 10pm
Fri-Sat: 9am - 11pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Chinatown MRT station. Take Exit C. Walk to bus stop along Upper Cross Street (Stop ID 06171). Take bus number 51 and 186. Alight 2 stop later. Cross the road and walk to Four Points by Sheraton. Walk to the river. Cross the bridge and walk to destination. Journey time about 15 minutes. [Map]

2) Alight at Tiong Bahru MRT station. Take Exit B. Walk to bus stop at Tiong Bahru MRT station (Stop ID 10169). Alight 5 stops later. Walk to Four Points by Sheraton. Walk to the river. Cross the bridge and walk to destination. Journey time about 20 minutes. [Map]

Xin Cuisine @ Holiday Inn Atrium Singapore - A Luxury Chinese New Year Celebration

Xin Cuisine Chinese Restaurant at Holiday Inn Atrium Singapore will be launching its Lunar New Year 2019 Set Menu on 14 January 2019 and will be available till 20 February 2019.

Salmon and Tuna Yu Sheng

Fresh on the menu is the Salmon and Tuna Yu Sheng with Fish Skin and Kumquat Sauce ($78/$98) The tuna is seared on the surface which adds to its texture and bite. Order online before 31 January to enjoy a 20% early bird discount.

Xin's Barbecue Meat Platter

From Xin's Barbecue Meat Platter, I had a taste of their Roast Duck, Roast Pork and Soy Sauce Chicken, which also form their Trio Barbecued Meat Platter in the Set Menu. The roast duck was lean but the skin was crisp and meat was still quite tender. The pork is the one that many will dive right into it.

Double-boiled Matsutake with Hasma

Part of the set menu, Double-boiled Matsutake with Hasma is a clear soup that is deeply nourishing, a good respite for the body from all the rich celebratory dishes.

Xin’s Abalone Treasure Pot

Xin’s Abalone Treasure Pot ($288/$428) is apparently one of the most popular festive takeaways and is possibly one of my favourite Pen Cai so far, thanks to the well braised sea cucumber and collagen-rich fish maw. I also like that the roast duck has its crispy skin retained and not dumped in like a stewed meat. The second layer of vegetables comprises items like mushrooms and radish, were equally delectable.

Wok-fried Glutinous Rice

Something familiar and comforting, wrap up your Lunar New Year meal with their Wok-fried Glutinous Rice with Chinese Sausage and Preserved Meat. It is this time of the year that I truly appreciate the complex flavours of our traditional cured meats and how they could make simple rice taste so unbelievably good.

Mango Pomelo Sago and Niao Gao

One of the desserts served is a refreshing Mango Pomelo Sago with Dragon Fruit, accompanied by Deep-fried Xin’s Red Dates and Assorted Nuts Nian Gao. The Niao Gao is a healthier version - loaded with nuts, so each bite is not just empty calories but of good nutrients from the mixed nuts. I like the extra crunch and bite from the nuts but they tasted a bit too raw for my liking. A good old traditional Niao Gao, intense and gooey, might be more satisfying.

Festive takeaways will be available for order from their eShop (http://singaporeatrium.holidayinn.com/eShop) from 2 January to 17 February 2019. Enquiries and reservations can be made through xin.sinhi@ihg.com or 6731 7173.

Words and photos by Si An. A girl who is allured by travelling, loves the feel of freedom, smell of the rain and the aroma of fine coffee and food.


Xin Cuisine Chinese Restaurant
Holiday Inn Singapore Atrium
317 Outram Road
Singapore 169075
Tel: +65 67317173
Facebook
Website
Nearest MRT: Tiong Bahru (EW Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily 12pm - 230pm, 630pm - 1030pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Tiong Bahru MRT station. Take Exit B. Walk to bus stop at Tiong Bahru MRT station (Stop ID 10169). Take bus number 123. Alight 4 stops later. Cross the road. Walk to destination. Journey time about 12 minutes. [Map]

Konjiki Hototogisu Ramen @ Great World City - Exclusive Oyster Broth Ramen By Michelin-Starred Ramen From Tokyo

Just been awarded 2019 Tokyo Michelin Star, 4-time Tokyo Michelin Bib Gourmand listed Konjiki Hototogisu is on a roll with the opening of its 2nd shop at Great World City, Singapore. While its first outlet at Chijmes offers its award winning clam-based broth, Chef Yamamoto has decided to do something different for his second shop in Singapore, which is to create another soup base that is exclusive to it.

Oyster Shio Ramen 3/5

So what we have here is a ramen with the exclusive broth - Oyster Consomme, a consistency and flavour achieved by hours of slow cooking. With a few elements played out within a bowl of ramen, there is a way to enjoy Chef Yamamoto's ramen, as indicated in the menu of both outlets. Of course starting off would be tasting the pure oyster consomme first before you move on to the oyster oil, followed by the oyster paste and finally the garlic lemon butter. Both the oyster oil and paste were quite subtle in flavour and not as bold as I thought they would be. The unadulterated version Oyster Shio Ramen ($15.90) is sealed with a bright red roasted paprika which I thought was really the highlight of this ramen. Every now and then as I bit into it, it released a sweet smokiness that intrigued the taste buds over and over again.

Oyster Paitan Ramen 4.2/5

Oyster Paitan Ramen ($15.90) on the other hand, won me over with its heavenly creamy broth. At first taste, I was wowed by its depth of flavours - a little savoury, sweet, mixed with the mild fermented flavour from the miso from Nagano prefecture and most importantly, an underlining deep citrusy flavour that teased the taste buds.

According to Chef Yamamoto, the tricky part of getting the recipe right is balancing the intensity of the oyster. Dropping the unassuming aburi lemon slice into the ramen is indeed an instant lift to the flavours of the soup, and how well this acidic lemon slice harmonize with the creamy miso broth amazed me. Again, the ramen has Chef's signature on it - the dark red housemade sundried tomato, that imparts an intense tart sweetness into the soup in every bite.

Low temperature Char Shu is used. Although it was lean, the meat was tender.

Thick Belly Cha Shu & Soft boil Egg 4/5

I very much prefer the Thick Belly Cha Shu served with Soft Boil Egg ($4.90). The charred fats was delicious, as always. The egg may not look marinated but the sweetness and texture were definitely there.

Haru-yo-koi Whole Grain Noodles

Konjiki Hototogisu has one of the lightest ramen noodles, made with Haru-yo-koi Whole Grain Flour. That keeps your belly light even after a meal.

Chanwanmushi with Oyster Paste 3.8/5

Another way to appreciate the special Oyster Paste is through the Chanwanmushi ($5.90/$4.90 with Ramen purchase). The paste is concocted differently from that of the ramen. The oyster paste again was not too intense which is ideal for the delicate flavour of the chawanmushi. Creamy and smooth, it simply spread very lightly across every spoonful of the egg, and its flavours seemed to develop with each mouthful of it.

Fried Tofu 2.8/5

Gyoza 3/5

We had 2 other side dishes as well, Fried Tofu with Bonito Flakes ($4.90) and Gyoza ($4.90). The Tofu would have been tastier if the sauce was stickier to coat around the tofu. The filling of the Gyoza had a balanced mixture of chopped greens and meat but was a tad too saltish.

With so many ramen joints in Singapore, Konjiki Hototogisu's concept is probably one of the more prominent ones, especially so when each bowl seems to have Chef Yamamoto's unique touches on it.

Photos and words by Si An. A girl who is allured by travelling, loves the feel of freedom, smell of the rain and the aroma of fine coffee and food. Note: This is an invited tasting.


Konjiki Hototogisu
Great World City
1 Kim Seng Promenade
#01-143
Singapore 237994
Facebook
Website
Nearest MRT: Orchard (NS Line), Outram Park (EW Line, NE Line), Tiong Bahru (EW Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 1230pm - 3pm, 530pm - 9pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Orchard MRT station. Take Exit B. Walk to bus stop opposite Orchard MRT station (Stop ID B09022). Take bus number 16 or 175. Alight 4 bus stops later. Journey time about 12 minutes. [Map]

2) Alight at Outram Park MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk to bus stop opposite Outram MRT station. (Stop ID B06011). Take bus number 75 or 970. Alight 5 stops later. Walk to Great World City. Journey time about 12 minutes. [Map]

3) Alight at Tiong Bahru MRT station. Take Exit B. Walk to bus stop at Tiong Bahru MRT station (Stop ID 10169). Take bus number 5, 16 or 195. Alight 4 stops later. Walk to destination. Journey time about 15 minutes. [Map]

Tinoq Private Dining @ Tiong Bahru - Our Best Private Dining Experience So Far

Having checked out several private dining venues, our latest food hunt brought us to Tinoq Private Dining at the old Tiong Bahru HDB estate. The private dining is hosted by Tinoq Russell Goh. Many would have known him as a celebrity make-up artist. His recent work includes dressing up Constance Lau for the movie premiere, Crazy Rich Asians both in Hollywood and Singapore. In fact, during our dinner he was sharing with us that he was busy running around in the day getting her stuffs for the movie premiere next day.

Bakwang Kepiting 4.8/5

We started with the Bakwang Kepiting, warming up the stomach for the feast. The meatballs are big and juicy. These lovely meatballs are complemented by the robust and flavourful soup made from flower crabs, pork bones and dried flat fish. This is damn shiok that we asked for second serving.

Turmeric Rice 4.5/5

Before we arrive for our dinner, Tinoq did check with us whether we want Blue Pea Rice or Turmeric Rice for dinner. We decided to got for the latter and the turmeric was freshly plucked from Tinoq's garden for the rice.

Sotong Hitam 3.8/5

A dish I like since young is Sotong Hitam, I still remember how I like to drench my white rice with the squid ink gravy, covering the rice in a pool of black sauce. The version at Tinoq was good but I thought the gravy was slightly on the watery side. A little heat can also help to perk up the dish.

Rendang Minang Kerbau 3.5/5

Unfortunately I didn't quite enjoy the Rendang Minang Kerbau. I am not saying it is not a delicious dish but I prefer my chunky, melted in the mouth rendang. The version at Tinoq is more of pulled pork texture, with the aromatic rempah intensifying the flavour.

Chap Chye 4.2/5

The Chap Chye was cooked to a nice crunch and not too soft, absorbing the essence of the fermented bean paste. Noteworthy is the effort to tie the dried lily bubs into a knot. Traditionally that is what my grandma will do.

Sambal Telur 3/5

Probably my least favourite dish is the Sambal Telur. Lightly brown on the exterior, the eggs are sliced into half and top with homemade sambal, served together with some cucumbers.

Sweet Potato Leaves with Hai Bee Hiam 4.2/5

More commonly we like to cook our greens with sambal belachan but at Tinoq, the Sweet Potato Leaves is paired with Hai Bee Hiam. The combination is quite new to me but it works wonderfully. Totalyl enjoyed it.

Ayam Limau Perut 4.5/5

One of the crowd favourite goes to the Ayam Limau Perut. The chunky pieces of chicken are cooked to tender, immersed in a creamy piquancy gravy of tamarind, kaffir leaves and lime, flavouring the protein. How I wish there are some toasted bread for me to mop up the delicious gravy.

Char Siew 3.8/5

The Char Siew was sweet and tender but I would prefer more of the caramelized char on the exterior.

Ikan Assam Pedas 4.2/5

Steamed Thai Seabass 4.5/5

For fish lover, you will enjoy both the Ikan Assam Pedas and Steamed Thai Seabass. The Ikan Assam Pedas is very appetising with its sour spicy gravy. I even drenched my rice with the gravy. For the Steamed Thai Seabass, the cooking timing was so spot on. The fish was moist and paired so well with the sour and spicy gravy.

Ngoh Hiang 4.5/5

Another highlight at Tinoq is the homemade Ngoh Hiang. Deep fried to a delectable crispy exterior, the ngoh hiang is stuffed with minced pork, prawn chestnut and even sweet melon. This is one of the better ngoh hiang I have eaten for a long time.

Overall we feel think Tinoq has been our best private dinner experience so far. In my own term, Tinoq has the overall package. The food is homely and delicious, in addition Tinoq and his partner Dylan are excellent hosts. The private dining is priced at $100 for 7-8 courses. For our session, we had extra dishes.


Tinoq Private Dining
Blk 30 Jalan Klink
Singapore 160030
Nearest MRT: Tiong Bahru (EW Line)
For reservations, e-mail pasirpanjangboy@gmail.com or SMS 9338-6439