The Sushi Bar Normal Chirashi Don

Hweecat meow.

I've been pigging out with Cat so much (and getting caught up with work) that I have accumulated a backlog of posts. Time to start completing my posts! :P

Since our first visit to The Sushi Bar at Far East Plaza, I have wanted to make a return visit to try more items in the menu. As we were hungry and craving for some really good salmon aburi sushi, we decided to visit The Sushi Bar again last Friday. To ensure that we will not leave hungry this time, we ordered a Normal Chirashi Don (S$24.90) in addition to a plate of the must-order Salmon Aburi Roll (S$14.90).

Normal Chirashi Don

The Normal Chirashi Don is of such premium quality that we felt it was well worth the price! It comes with 3 thick slices of salmon, aburi salmon, tuna, swordfish, yellowtail and scallop, and topped with ikura (salmon roe). What we really like about the Normal Chirashi Don is that premium cuts of sashimi were chosen for the chirashi don. We were especially impressed with the tuna in this chirashi don, which tasted fresh and succulent, unlike the tuna served in most restaurants which usually tastes mushy (and hence not so pleasant to eat). The sashimi-rice ratio seems to be about 2:1, such that we have just enough rice to eat with the sashimi without overpowering its taste. If the Normal Chirashi Don is already so impressive in terms of quality (and definitely one of the best chirashi don in Singapore), I can't imagine how much more "premium" could the Premium Chirashi Don be!

Salmon Aburi Roll and Normal Chirashi Don

We like how the Salmon Aburi Roll tastes just as 'shiok' as the one we had on our first visit. So far the quality has been consistently great. (:

From our two visits to The Sushi Bar so far, we are impressed with how the chef could serve Japanese food of premium quality consistently at fairly reasonable prices. The portions are generous, yet leave us feeling hungry for more. We feel that it's better than Itacho Sushi in terms of food quality and freshness, yet just a little more pricey. Would we visit The Sushi Bar again? Cat doesn't feel a pinch of regret after paying the bill, so the answer is: yes. :D

The Sushi Bar

14 Scotts Road

#04-28

Far East Plaza

Opening Hours:

Mondays - Thursdays 12.30 - 3pm, 5.30 - 9pm

Fridays - Saturdays 12.30 - 9pm



E'spuma Lab

Update: The guys at E'spuma Lab have decided not to continue their lease at PoMo. ):

Hweecat meow.

Cat usually does not particularly like fine-dining. However, today's post involves a casual diner at PoMo which uses fine-dining culinary techniques in its dishes - at wallet-friendly prices! Think gastronomic techniques like sous vide and espuma at hawker prices.

E'spuma Lab seems like one of those 'atas' (i.e. high-class) diners at first glance. Situated near the entrance at level 1 of PoMo, it has a very clean look with sous vide and espuma equipment at the shop front. What attracts Cat most is the price of its food offerings - you can get a decent Western fusion set meal with a bowl of soup and ice lemon tea/coffee/tea for less than S$10 (for most items)! 

Ever since we discovered E'spuma Lab in early May, we usually drop by for a fuss-free dinner after frequenting the Ya Kun Kaya Toast branch at PoMo. Since then, E'spuma Lab has been officially launched with a media tasting, and has since expanded their menu to include more pricey items such as salmon and steak (and not forgetting changes in dish presentation).

The Cream of Mushroom with Sautéed Shiitake (S$3.80 ala carte, served as part of set meal) is smooth with a strong taste of shiitake mushrooms. There used to be some shrimp and crisp bits in the soup; nevertheless, the soup tastes consistently good on our visits. For ala carte, the soup is served with mini French baguettes.

Mushroom Soup (on first visit in May)

Mushroom Soup as part of set meal

The Sous Vide Eggs (S$3.80) comes with two options: Sautéed Mushrooms and Smoked Norwegian Salmon. The eggs are cooked perfectly soft with runny yolk, demonstrating the advantage of the sous vide technique in cooking consistency. The Sautéed Mushrooms Sous Vide Eggs are topped with puffed wild rice and truffle crumble, providing some complexity in texture. In short, heavenly.

Sous Vide Eggs with Sautéed Mushrooms

The Smoked Norwegian Salmon Sous Vide Eggs are topped with crispy salmon skin and ginger shoyu. The smoked Norwegian salmon wasn't fantastic, but we like the crispy salmon skin as it tastes light and not too oily. A pity that we were served the wrong order on that particular visit and the poor young chef accidentally served our eggs with a broken yolk.

Sous Vide Eggs with Smoked Norwegian Salmon

We also tried some of the mains as part of the set meal. Our personal favourites are the E'spuma Potato Foams (S$6.80 ala carte) which come in three options: Curry Chicken, Beef Rendang and Sautéed Mushrooms. The potato foams are also served with mini French baguettes.

You might ask, why eat foam for dinner? Well, treat it as if you are eating something similar to mashed potatoes, but a little more smooth. The texture of the potato emulsion is very rich and soft, yet does not cloud the flavour of the toppings. In fact, the potato emulsion is excellent with Curry Chicken! :D

Curry Chicken with E'spuma Potato Foam (on first visit in May)

The other mains we tried are the Spaghetti with Swedish Meat Balls and E'spuma Caramelised Onion Sauce (S$6.80 ala carte) and Fragrant Rice Served with Pan Seared Sous Vide Chicken Breast and E'spuma Pesto Sauce (S$6.80 ala carte) (which was replaced with spaghetti as they ran out of rice on that particular visit, and which I conveniently did not take a photo of). These two dishes aren't spectacular; the meat balls were dry and the chicken breast merely tasted acceptable, but we liked the espuma sauces.

Spaghetti with Swedish Meat Balls and E'spuma Caramelised Onion Sauce

Our verdict? E'spuma Lab has done a pretty good job of introducing fine-dining gastronomy to the masses with Western fusion dishes. With decent fine-dining offerings at surprisingly wallet-friendly prices, even Cat wouldn't mind multiple visits. :D

E'spuma Lab
1 Selegie Road
#01-20/21
PoMo

Opening Hours: Mondays - Saturdays 11am - 9pm

P.S. Glossary of some gastronomic terms used:

Sous vide is a method of cooking food sealed in airtight plastic bags in a water bath or in a consistent temperature lower than conventional cooking temperatures, in order to cook the item equally and retain moisture.

Espuma is the Spanish term for foam or froth that is specifically created with the use of a siphon bottle. This molecular gastronomic technique allows for creation of foams without an emulsifying agent and hence achieves an unadulterated flavour of the ingredients used.

Koh Grill & Sushi Bar Shiok Maki

Caution: This post contains multiple appearances of the word "shiok" and may cause involuntary stomach growling and salivation. Viewers are advised to read on a full stomach. :P

Hweecat meow.

Cat and I love salmon aburi sushi tremendously since the first time we tried it at Sushi Express. The melt-in-the-mouth sensation of raw salmon seared at the top...it just feels sooooo shiok! :P

(For non-Singaporean readers who don't know what "shiok" means, the Coxford Singlish Dictionary provides a pretty good definition.)

So, how shiok is the Shiok Maki at Koh Grill & Sushi Bar? We decided to order one plate of Shiok!!! Maki (S$16.80) (1st gen) each to see if this local sushi creation lives up to its name and hype.

Shiok...Maki!

Our plates of Shiok Maki look sinfully delectable when served from the counter bar. Imagine avocado and grilled unagi rolled into seaweed and round sushi rice, topped with thin slices of aburi salmon, drenched with some form of cheesy mentai dressing and piled with loads of tobiko roe. That's Shiok Maki for you. :P

Advantage of sitting at the counter bar: You see how your sushi is being prepared.

The moment the Shiok Maki entered our mouths, we could feel the shiok feeling of the salmon aburi as the maki disintegrated and melted in our mouths. It wasn't exactly consistently melt-in-the-mouth for the aburi salmon - we could still feel the salmon texture for some pieces of maki - but still decent. What wins me over is the addition of avocado to the maki, which contributed to the shiok taste of the maki without being fatty in an unhealthy way. (:

Overall, I would say that the Shiok Maki at Koh Grill & Sushi Bar isn't as shiok as we thought (we have tried better aburi salmon in Sushi Express, though not all the time), but the combination is indeed delicious and the maki is fairly consistent. Is it worth the price? Surprisingly yes, considering the quality. ;)

Koh Grill & Sushi Bar
435 Orchard Road
#04-21
Wisma Atria Food Republic

Opening Hours: Daily 11.30am - 10.30pm

P.S. As the 2nd gen Shiok Maki contains shrimp and Cat does not like shrimp, we only tried the 1st gen Shiok Maki for this visit.

Cat eats Hokkien Mee again at Eunos

Cat just had a wonderful breakfast / lunch / brunch at my Hokkien mee stall. It was delicious and totally value for money. Best of all, I took away all the prawns and sotong for that extra eggs and less seafood cholesterol and toxins, in doing so justifying eating more eggs. Besides, it's still early in the morning now.


Cat returned home totally full and realizing that reduced oil in any sort of zichar is always a great idea.

Remove the prawns and sotong, add more eggs to this...

In the mean time, Cat wants to write a chilli crab policy about eating crabs with Hweecat, because Cat does not really like crabs, esp not peeling them, but Hweecat loves them.

1. In general only one crab will be ordered, I do not eat crabs in general.

2. You may either peel the crab for me, or eat it all up yourself, take it as I am pampering you, but remember do not try to "offer" or "force" me to eat the crab by my own peeling. Exception, the crab roe or eggs, I will definitely help myself.

3. The chilli gravy with mantou or rice is what I am interested in. The main reason for me to eat chilli crab is this.

Chilli crab, perfect with fried mantou.

4. It sounds like I am giving you all the nicest parts which is not worth it for me when the bill comes. It is true, but I am not exactly so noble; the logic is, I take it as modern marketing strategy. I am interested in the sauce and not interested in the crab. I take it as I am paying for the fact that there is now someone to eat the crab for me. You see, previously I never ordered chilli crab cos there is nobody to eat the crab, so it is still worth it for me; this is modern marketing strategy, in the absolute and relative value of things.

5. As crabs are seasonal, please time your crab escapades properly so as to minimize costs. They are after all still rather expensive, whether in season or not.


Comments from Hweecat: Cat brought me to the above-mentioned Hokkien mee place in Eunos for lunch. It's actually the famous Kim's Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee along Jalan Eunos. This version of Hokkien prawn mee is drier and not too bad, though I prefer my Hokkien prawn mee to be a little wetter. Very generous with fried lard.

Anyway, Cat and Hweecat are planning a food excursion to feast on chilli crab. Any recommendations? (:

Katsudon at Ginza Bairin (ION Orchard)

Hweecat meow.

As our friends and loyal readers would know, Cat typically enjoys cheap and plentiful food and hence would rarely (if at all) introduce up-budget food to anyone. Cat had a rough day at work last Friday and was having cravings for donburi while at ION Orchard. Hence, he suggested having Katsudon at Ginza Bairin which he said was quite decent. Since any up-budget food that Cat considers decent would have to be really good food, I decided to give Ginza Bairin a try.

After much pondering, we ordered a bowl of Special Black Pig Katsudon (S$18.90 ala carte) to share, thinking that we could get cheaper snacks elsewhere if the portion is not big enough for two persons. After much waiting, we were finally served our Katsudon in a black bowl.

Special Black Pig Katsudon

The Special Black Pig Katsudon is special as it comes with a half-boiled egg on top of the tonkatsu (pork cutlet), which is already cooked with soft creamy egg. The half-boiled egg added more flavour to the Katsudon when the yolk is burst and mixed together with the tonkatsu and rice. Black pig (Kurobuta) loin meat is used for the tonkatsu, which tastes sweeter compared with typical tonkatsu. Although the black pig tonkatsu tasted juicy and tender, I feel that it could be a little bit more crispy (though frankly speaking, my sore throat wouldn't mind tonkatsu which is slightly soggy with creamy egg and sauce).

In short, Ginza Bairin at ION Orchard serves one of the best Katsudon in Singapore. The Special Katsudon is great for egg-lovers who love having egg yolk seeping through their katsudon for the extra taste. As the Donburi (including Special Katsudons) cost below $20, I can understand why Cat considers Ginza Bairin to be worth a visit. (:

Some honest comments by Cat: Cat would like everyone to note that I do not really like katsudon in general, due to their high energy content and processed nature, so this is a true exception.

Ginza Bairin

2 Orchard Turn

#B4-39/40/41/42

ION Orchard

Opening Hours:

Daily 11am - 10.30pm

Sushi Express - Giant Scallop!

Hweecat meow.

Today I'm going to write a short post about Sushi Express in Singapore. Cat and I are fans of Sushi Express; we visit any nearby Sushi Express restaurant whenever we feel like having some affordable sushi and seafood! :P

Sushi Express, also known as 争鲜 (zheng1 xian1, meaning "vying for freshness"), is a popular brand name in revolving sushi restaurants and aims to provide fresh and quality dining at affordable prices. It seems that the Taiwan brand name philosophy holds true in its Singapore branches, as the restaurants usually see long queues during dinner times.

The key attracting factor is that each plate is charged at a standardised price of S$1.50 each. This really helps speed up the decision process on which item is value for money; no more mental acrobatics over coloured plates! :D What is even more awesome about Sushi Express is that it's now the Giant Scallop season - and you can grab a plate of whole Giant Scallop for an unbelievably cheap price of S$1.50! *throws confetti*

Giant Scallop...yum!

The big and juicy Giant Scallop is a really satisfying treat. Drenched with teriyaki sauce at the side, the Giant Scallop tastes really sweet and fresh. Yummy! :P

Orange roe scallop and white roe scallop

There are two types of Giant Scallops which we spotted: the orange roe scallop and the white roe scallop. I prefer the orange roe scallop as the orange roe is sweeter than the white roe, but sometimes only the white roe scallop would be available.

As the availability of Giant Scallops depends on their supplier, there are limited quantities of Giant Scallops per day. The next time you visit Sushi Express, do look out for these juicy affordable scallops! :D

P.S. Cat and I tried having 4 Giant Scallops each before; we ended up having insomnia / feeling unwell. As scallops may contain toxins, do consume these delicious Giant Scallops in moderation (even though S$1.50 per giant scallop is indeed value for money)! ;)

The Sushi Bar Salmon Aburi Roll

Hweecat meow.

Today's post shall be relatively short and straightforward, just like the food place that I'm writing about. The Sushi Bar is located inconspicuously at level 4 of Far East Plaza. Nevertheless, this hole-in-the-wall Japanese sushi bar sees hungry crowds in the evenings.

Cat and I visited The Sushi Bar to try their signature salmon aburi roll. At 5.15pm on a Friday evening, we managed to get seats for two. We ordered the Salmon Aburi Roll (S$14.50) and Scallop Mentaiyaki (S$13.90) to share, as we thought that 8 pieces of salmon aburi roll with a plate of scallop mentaiyaki would be enough for both of us. How wrong we are!

Scallop Mentaiyaki

Scallop Mentaiyaki is pretty impressive. Imagine thinly sliced fresh scallops, topped with mentai and garnished with fish roe at the side. Perfect appetiser!

Salmon Aburi Roll

One word to describe the Salmon Aburi Roll: Shiok! The salmon is so well torched that I could feel it melt in my mouth in one bite and not feel guilty about it. After having 4 pieces each, we were left feeling hungry as it is just not enough to satisfy our tummies! In short, definitely one of the best salmon aburi rolls that we've had so far!

The Sushi Bar serves one of the best salmon aburi rolls in Singapore. However, prices tend to be mid-range, so we probably won't be visiting that often unless we have serious cravings for the salmon aburi roll. We'll probably also order 8 pieces of salmon aburi roll for each of us, if we have the money. Gotta pay more for sushi of such high quality, no? *shrugs*

The Sushi Bar

14 Scotts Road

#04-28

Far East Plaza

Opening Hours:

Mondays - Thursdays 12.30 - 3pm, 5.30 - 9pm

Fridays - Saturdays 12.30 - 9pm