Tatsuya - Winter Special

Sorry I've been MIA-ing again - had the yuckies exam ever! Hope I pass (crossing all my fingers toes arms legs and eyes)!I went back to Tatsuya again (and I must say that a very interesting thing indeed happened while I was going to park). I enjoy eating all the seasonal dishes (sounds so Japan hour!). Previously when I went to Tatsuya, it was autumn so there was special green ginko nuts, chrysenthemum flower and mushroom tempura, now it's winter so there's oysters (and lots of maguro (tuna))! Since we couldn't afford (and didn't want to spend on) the $38 fresh oyster (for one piece only!), we decided to have the simmered oyster with Japanese yam ($15++).

It's a plump very fresh oyster and a pretty big piece of yam simmered in a not so salty stock, and it's topped with lots of grated radish. The yam is very tasty, not mushy or sticky and cos it's soaked in the oyster gravy, it's really sweet and nice.

I shall just write about my very drama parking experience on Friday with this black nissan sunny driven by a middle aged woman (alr around 40 yrs old also wanna play childish games - nvm v fun I also like to play :P) I never knew that someone else in a 1.6L car could zoom up the Taka slope as fast as me! or even faster! (since I don't drive slowly up carpark slopes either) and it's 5 storeys somemore! omg!

Anyway, what happened was that I got stuck behind a lorry because there was a long jam behind the loading/unloading bay at taka. I wanted to turn left cos we were both rushing for time so I decided to park at taka (my 2nd time parking at taka). So I got stuck behind this lorry and this stupid blacknissansunny horned me so loudly and so many times! cos she stupidly got stuck behind me too! Seriously, whats the use of horning if i can't do shit about it? I'm stuck too lor! Such a lousy driver get stuck behind me also! bah!

Anyway, we both went into the taka porch, but I took the 2nd entrance (cos I wanted to beat the taxi que), but somehow, I ended up being at the same place as the blacknissansunny. She was damn mean and wanted to squeeze me out of the que, AND she BANGED THE E Class Merce infront while inching forwards!!!!!!!! (there is karma man!) Cos she was being nasty and wanting to squeeze me out! Damn funny! If only I had whipped out my camera in time! The look of horror on her face was priceless - totally worth my getting horned!!

But the merce didn't realize it, and so it happily went along and went up the taka carpark. If i were the black nissan sunny, I'll definitely run away, either turn out or go into the basement carpark, but she's so dumb she actually went up too! So I decided to follow them cos I wanted to go and purposely tell the merce driver that she banged him!

And so I was zooming up after her, and she went to L6 when the Merce went to L5. Damn funny! Can you imagine the suspense - not knowing if the merce reported her to the police!! I'll definitely sprout at least 20 strands of white hair worrying if I banged a car and ran away!

The most incredible part - the merce driver didn't even want to report her! WHY!!! Bet he does some underground business o_O

Of course, this adrenaline pumping incident whet our appetites for a delicious Tatsuya lunch. Yums!

Tatsuya
270 Orchard Road
Park Hotel Orchard
Level 1 Lobby
#01-05
Singapore 238857
Tel 67371160

Tatsuya Sushi Omakase

Sianz I am having major sushi craving especially for another lovely platter of sushi omakase from Tatsuya [which I cannot afford at this point cos I just spent ALOT of money changing my wheels and tyres! But looking at my new tyres (which have little 'hairs' on them cos they are very very new and smelling the fresh rubber makes me v happy every morning before I go to work!! I think it nearly makes me as happy as when I drink my gong cha on the way to work!)]

I think sushi omakase is best eaten at the sushi counter, but since it was a family dinner, we sat on a table for 4. Makes the sushi omakase half as exciting, but the sushi was awsome.

There's sushi with caviar, sushi with goose liver :D, otoro (fatty tuna belly - the best part of the tuna!), aburi (flame grilled) salmon belly, anago (sea eel), cockle (which is so freaking fresh not like those dirty little cockles we get in char kway teow, and nearly as fresh as the cockles I had in Hokkaido!). Gave away my prawn cos I will most definitely get an allergy reaction (mega saddenning raw prawns are so lovely but if I eat it I will most surely not be able to taste anything else!) and a lovely raw tako (octopus) which is fantastic compared to the horrendous rubber tasting cooked ones we usually get.

Sigh need to satisfy my sashimi/sushi/raw food craving soon!! I want to eat more raw octopus, cockles and tuna! And I wanna eat fresh oysters in ponzu sauce... I think I am just hungry and I should go and sleep before I get more wrinkles and turn into an old hag...

Btw, my dining experience at Tatsuya was somewhat marred by this irritating snobbish waitress when I have more time I shall blog about the Kaiseki and her annoying substandard service. But for now, before I sleep I shall think happy sushi thoughts...

Tatsuya

Goodwood Park Hotel

68874598

Tatsuya

Tatsuya is pretty much out of my reach at dinner time. Fortunately for me, there's lunch sets. Went there with Julie after the mid posting test (I know it was v long ago but I haven't got time to blog). It's v shuang to have someone to decide on the place to try - very tiring thinking of where to go next... In my post-test blur-ness, I managed to order the most unworth it set - the barachirashi. Actually, I was agonizing for very long over 3 different sets - one which had sushi and unagi and tempura, the other which was the lady's set (cos of the cold udon!!) and the sushi set. But then I have no idea how come I decided on barachirashi. It's the worst dish to take if you want to sample what the restaurant has to offer cos it's all the odds and ends and little itty bitty pieces of chopped up fish :(This is my barachirashi set, which costs $28++. Of course, the fish was fresh delicious and generous. The chef also grated some citrus (some green lime lookalike) peel over the dish. I really didn't like the citrus thing but it was grated all over my bento and the chawanmushi. But I suppose for people who don't mind citrus fruits, the taste adds a refreshing zing to the meal. The salad dressing was so fantastic that we even ordered another avocado salad just to be able to eat more dressing. This is Julie's Sushi Bento ($30.90). The sushi and maki were fantastic, but the tempura was less than spectacular. I would definitely order this or the bento set with udon the next time I come here. Up to this day, I never knew that Califonia Maki could taste so good! Actually, Califonia makis bring back happy memories - it's the first sushi that I ever ate :D I used to go to Tiong Baru Plaza and buy a pack of 2 huge califonia makis from the Japanese stall in the food court (I doubt it's still there cos it's been over 12 yrs).

The califonia maki has just the right amounts of rice, and the rice is just sticky enough so that the whole thing doesn't crumble apart on it's journey to your mouth, and it tastes just right - glossy, sightly sticky and not overly vinegared. This is the best califonia maki I've eaten :D

Avocado Salad $15
Somehow, the salad which came with my bento tasted better. I found this too salty (see all the brown sauce at the bottom) but I suppose that it's pretty interesting with lots of kelp (?) at the bottom. It's also garnished with some crispy tempura-batter like thing (probably the stuff that floats out when you cook tempura?) which gives it an interesting texture.

As always, I usually tell myself to take a picture of the restaurant before I start, but once I step in, I'll be so preoccupied with studying the menu that I forget. I hope I'll be returning for lunch soon! I want to try more spectacular sushi!

Tatsuya
270 Orchard Road
Park Hotel Orchard
Level 1 Lobby #01-05
Singapore 238857
Tel 67371160

Tatsuya (again!)

Went to Tatsuya (again) because wp wanted to go (for the queerest reason ever! :p). After reading ice's post on the ginko nuts and edible(!) autumn leaves, I wanted to try it, but we decided that the Autumn Special Tempura had more things, so naturally, we could try more :D

Autumn Tempura for September ($22) which had lots of delicious autumn vegetables, like the deliciously sweet and creamy pumpkin, Japanese sweet potato, (green) ginko nuts, 2 types of mushrooms, a chrysenthemum flower (which I can't really taste, but it was soft and delicious), and a special Japanese chilli (which I didn't eat).
Yummy mushroom - very big and juicy.
We both had the Ladies Set Lunch($26.80++) which actually, is quite alot (I was very full after it). I ordered this cos I die die must eat the salad, as the dressing is insanely delicious and savoury. It comes with sashimi, their famous stamped tamago (egg roll), kakiage (deep fried vegetables) which had prawn bits inside, chawanmushi, miso soup and cold udon.

Actually, I was thinking it was such a waste to call it Ladies set lunch - then the guys won't eat it? They're knocking out half the population alr! It's not as if it's very light - it's very substantial and I was pretty full after it. Full enough so that I didn't even look through the dessert menu.
I was tickled to find that they made the quail's egg 'stand' by cutting a 10cent coin sized hole into a turnip/white carrot. And the top of the egg is perfectly sliced off - I wonder how they do it! The inaniwa udon was delightfully chilled (it was a very hot day) and the noodles were slippery and smooth. Though I much prefer my udon to be fat and chewy, it's an interesting change - reminds me of thin hor fun.Of course, counter seats are the best as you are treated to a visual display of the chef's skills, especially interesting during the lunch hour crowd. Sushi chefs making perfect little pieces of sushi rice and slicing sashimi and flaming (reminds me vaguely like diathermy smell). Yum!

Bookings for lunch is highly recommended - you don't want to be relegated to the bar counter right at the entrance, or into the sweltering heat at their al fresco corner.

Tatsuya

270 Orchard Road

Park Hotel Orchard

Level 1 Lobby

#01-05

Singapore 238857

Tel 67371160

Wasabi Tei

Ok ok so this is for the Matsuo supporters, - I say Wasabi Tei is better. Seriously, I believe that it's a conspiracy amongst all the floggers -how can Matsuo be better than Wasabi Tei???? It's so good that Jane and I , who are chronic late wakers (and don't do anything before 12noon if we can help it), hate queueing (I really can't stand queueing for anything such a waste of my time and my life), hate dirty looking places, hate bad service and generally all the qualities that dining at Wasabi Tei possesses, would make an effort to wake up (relatively) early on a holiday, brave the horrible downpour and go to Far East Plaza (we don't even like going there) to eat Japanese food.
Complimentary Starter - it's some vegetable thing with chicken (Wasabi Tei does not serve pork) and dried tofu, which is served piping hot. It's slightly salty and sweetish, and a great way to start the meal since the chef is a one-man-(slow)-show and is a Nazi and the food takes quite a while to come.
Chawanmushi ($5) - The first time I came, I didn't order this since it was a whopping $5 - but nearly everyone around us ordered it! This time, since I made such a great effort trudging down, I made sure I tried it. It's the most ingredients I've seen stuffed into a chawanmushi ever!
Apart from the prawn hanging out of the chawanmushi cup, there's lots of fresh mushrooms. The egg itself is freshly steamed - it's only poured into the cups once your order it, and subsequently steamed. The egg is extremely wobbly and smooth.
This is what's at the bottom of the cup - some jelly-like thing (Konnyaku perhaps?), half a prawn, crab meat (I think it's the surimi fish crabmeat).And for the first timers here, I strongly recommend that you try the Chiraishi Don ($20). The ingredients are dependent on what's in stock, and today we got a really fat scallop. It was extremely fresh, juicier, larger and more glistening that Matsuo's. The salmon sashimi is so much thicker, fresher and fattier than Matsuo's. Matsuo's quality is just slightly above Sushi Tei. Wasabi Tei's quality is on par with Akashi.
This is the thickness of the salmon sashimi, it's the thickest that I've seen out of Japan.
Tuna and Mekajiki (sword fish) sashimi - thick, fresh and delicious.
This was from the previous time I went to Wasabi Tei - we had 4 pieces of salmon, 3 pieces of mekajiki, 2 pieces of hamachi, 2 pieces of tamago and an extremely fresh uni. All for $20. How can you beat this value???? This picture's courtesy of Julie cos I didn't bring my camera. Watermelon, which comes with the lunch set (along with miso soup).
The previous time I was here, my friends ordered the Salmon Teriyaki Set ($15 with miso soup, rice and watermelon). It was burnt on the outside, but for $15, it was a huge huge slab of salmon, and it was extremely fresh and juicy. Unlike those aneroxic dry salmon pieces you find at other places, this one was meaty and full of flavour. In fact, my friends were at first very unhappy with their dismal charred salmon, but once they started eating it they changed their minds.
My Califonia Maki ($6)from the previous visit too, I over ordered (had the chiraishi set as well as this). Though it won't rival Tatsuya's incredible Califonia Maki, it's still pretty good despite being a bit messy.
This is the Nazi chef himself - he looked real virulent the last time I visited, but then again, if he was, they wouldn't get an A for cleanliness? This was taken from outside the door, where I was queueing for really long. He cooks everything himself, and only makes if when you order. He's pretty scary (when he converses with his female helper) and he doesn't talk directly to the customers. Only the lady does the talking, and she looks very grimm. If you ever come here, do bring good and cheerful company!

Be prepared to wait quite a while for your food.A for cleanliness.
Wasabi Tei has these really particular set of rules - you have to order everything at ONE time, or they'll charge an excess of 20% for the second time you order (dunno about the 3rd and 4th times - do they increase it to 30 and 40% respectively? Or do they just do a First Thai?)

The restaurant is like a hole in the wall and only has 12 seats, hence all the rules. If you don't make it to the first seating, the second seating takes real long since you'll have to wait for the people before to finish eating. Since they have a mere 12 seats, at least one dish must be ordered per seat, and if your whole group of friends haven't arrived, you're not allowed to sit. They charge $2 for any drink (green tea, mineral water, canned drinks etc) but there's no additional GST or service charges.

This is the second time I've been to Wasabi Tei, and I'm extremely happy to say that the freshness, quality and the volume of fish is as good as my previous visit. It's definitely not a place to bring your client or a anyone short of your good friend, since they're really particular about their rules. But you won't be dissappointed with the marvellous sashimi.

Do note that they only accept cash payment.

Wasabi tei

14 Scotts Road

#05-70 Far East Plaza
Tel: 62388216 ( Like Julie, I really don't suggest you call them - they look angry enough to bite off your head)

Opening Hours:

Mon-Fri: 12noon - 3pm, 5.30pm - 9.30pm

Sat: 12noon - 9.30pm
Closed on Sundays and Public Holidays