Camemberu's Reviews
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The Raffles City basement now has so many eateries but very few that we like. A few days ago, we chanced upon this little ramen shop - Bishamon Sapporo Ramen. Ah, another Sapporo ramen joint. I'd heard good stuff about them. And we weren't disappointed. I liked the spicy miso ramen (S$12) I had. Nicely savoury without being overpowering or overly spicy. The char siew slices are very thick but amazingly, they were so tender, they just melted in your mouth.
Hubby enjoyed the shoyu ramen (S$12.50). I am not fond of shoyu flavouring and found a perceptible porky taste. But it does grow on you. Just a very different flavour from the miso.
This tiny shop doesn't seat very many. Seats spill out into the walkway and most people just eat and go. Bishamon also serves curry rice and some appetiser snacks, if you prefer something other than ramen.
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I went there a second time too - their ebi tempura curry udon sure has big prawns!
This is a curry udon specialist chain from Japan (Singapore is their first overseas outlet). Didn't really pay much attention to them until I saw the cheese-laden bowl on LiquidShadow's blog. That brought back some memories of Mentsu-dan in Shinjuku, where I first fell in love with udon and where they had this cheese-egg udon that was phenomenal. Ahh, Japan...
Hubby who doesn't like The Central acquiesced to come here for this. We started with the coleslaw with renkon chips (S$6.50, this month's special, available til end March). This was so delicious, and the renkon chips so addictive, we asked for another as soon as we polished it off. We told the waitress they should put this on the regular menu!
Hubby went for the cheese curry udon (S$15.50). The cheese topping did not look as huge as it didn't have any tonkatsu or ebi tempura to rest on. The curry is not bad. I'm not a Japanese curry fan because of its mild and sweetish nature, but I liked this (especially after we put a ton of chili flakes into it). Next time I am coming here to have my own bowl!
I had the grilled eel dish called hitsumabushi (S$18), because I had been craving my good experience at Unasho in Akihabara. I hoped this place would at least meet some standards, unlike local Japanese chains like Ichiban Sushi. Well, Wakashachiya's version was decent enough with good quality ingredients. If you want double the amount of unagi, you can go for the deluxe version (S$27).
Hitsumabushi is fun because you get to play with your food. There are three different ways of eating it. You can divide the bowl into four portions. The first one you can eat as it is - just eel and rice. The second one you can enjoy with condiments of nori, spring onions and wasabi.
The third method is an ochazuke. Pour the hot dashi stock over your eel, rice and condiments to create a "rice tea". The stock here has a strong charcoal or roasted taste, typical of ochazuke. But I still prefer Unasho's more savoury version.
Service here is polite and the lead waitress spoke some Japanese. She was also very conscientious about details and made sure the tables were all laid out neatly, that nothing was out of place. Enthusiastic commitment to the job! Either that or she is the boss of the place!
Well, for a restaurant chain, Wakashachiya is better than expected. I enjoyed myself and will certainly be back again. In fact, looking at these pictures, I'm craving some curry udon already!
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!the food all look so delicious..... must try
16 Jun 2008 at 9:22 am
Astons is by now, almost a household name for cheap Western set meals. This "Prime" outlet is its high end foray into more premium offerings. Think of it attempting to bring Lawrie's or Morton's to the masses.
The restaurant with dark wood panels and tall black booth seats is indeed wonderfully cosy with dim incandescent lighting.
There were quite a few negative reviews in its early days, which hinted at teething problems. But now they seem to have gotten their act together. Service that evening was genuine and pleasant. They served us iced and warm water, regularly topped up, and even extra napkins when they saw us needing it. I liked the warm rustic dinner roll with garlic herb butter (unsalted, I think). A good start.
The wild mushroom soup (S$5) was filled with chunky mushroom pieces and clumps of cream but tasted a tad sourish, which didn't do it for us. I detected the scent of evaporated milk too, another thing we didn't fancy. However the clam chowder (not pictured as it looks too similar) was much much better, for the same price. At S$5, we didn't complain. Even a fancy can of Campbell's costs more these days.
Delightful salad of raw spinach and crisp, grilled bacon. A very generous portion for S$12.90. I was delighted by the tangy dressing and mustard seeds which added unusual texture to the salad. I could just have this and be happy!
This is one of the main reasons we came here. Mother-in-law had been craving crab cakes, so we decided to come here and try Astons' version. Apparently they sell out really fast, so we pre-ordered two when we called for reservations. There's only one patty per serving, and it looks like a "bergedil" (the Malay fried potato-and-mince patty). However, tastewise, it was a bit musty and bland. Even the grassy taste of the alfalfa sprouts overpowered the crab cake. Absolutely not worth the S$16.90 it commanded.
The steak was really the star of the show. They ran out of ribeye so we got the striploin. This premium slab of USDA Choice, New York 12oz striploin (S$38.90) here was HUUUGE. And more importantly, delicious. This is their "medium" - just slightly pink in the middle but not bloody - although this itself was too "raw" for my mother-in-law and maid.
Aside from the steak, we also had USDA baby back ribs (S$26.90). Another enormous portion served on warmed plate. It was meaty but a wee bit dry. We almost had trouble finishing this.
With the mains, you get to choose sides for S$3 each. Oh the steakhouse fries (S$3 as side dish to main) are good, so very good. Lightly dusted with paprika and salt, they stayed hot and crispy for quite a long while.
While we've never had a good experience at Astons Specialties, I'd come back to Astons Prime for the steak, spinach salad and fries. Pleasant ambiance and good service round up a nice experience. On the whole, we did feel it was pretty good value-for-money. On top of that, there's no service charge or GST. This goes on my list of good places to indulge Neanderthal cravings.
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!Just ate there not too long ago. Beef was still disappointing :S
04 May 2008 at 2:43 pm
Hmm, which type was it that you took? The NZ, Aussie or USDA one? Haha, maybe I went with very low expectations because I never liked Astons Specialties
05 May 2008 at 8:33 am
I tried all 3 before lol. The only thing I didn't try was their $88 wagyu
05 May 2008 at 9:18 pm
Hubby had the miso tsukemen - cold dipping noodles with hot broth (which tasted comforting, with a hint of a sweetish taucheo taste in it). The Sapporo Nishiyama noodles (imported from Hokkaido) were nice and springy. He liked the noodles enough to eat them on their own. But I think the highlight for him was the glass of most refreshing Sapporo draft beer for it was a very hot day.
My tokusen tonkotsu ramen came in a thick, murky soup (extremely salty!) and a layer of oil floating atop. The corn was delicious! But I hated the brown bamboo shoots which had this pungent, unwashed flavour. Hubby also removed his from his dipping broth before he could really enjoy it. I can't say I truly enjoyed the noodles as the bamboo shoots really negated any good flavour of the soup. Would I go back? Perhaps still. I'd like to try the koumi version of the tsukemen and the other ramen flavours. I'll just have to mandate that the bamboo shoots be left out.
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01 May 2008 at 6:59 pm
This place needs no introduction. Most famous for chicken rice and crispy roast pork, Yet Con has been serving Hainanese specialties since 1940. This institution has not changed since I last visited it 18 years ago. The old world charm it exudes remains one of its most appealing traits.
The elderly Chinese waitress spoke English well, to my surprise. We were served promptly and food arrived equally fast. A large bowl of piping hot chicken broth with tofu and coriander, followed by steamed chicken (they only have the "pak cham kai", no roast chicken here), roast pork and stir-fried kailan in oyster sauce (not pictured).
True to Hainanese tradition, the chicken did not have any soy dressing at all, so it seemed a little bland. The rice, however, delivered all the taste. It was very fragrant, beautifully savoury and I dare say, more salty than the chicken. Too bad it was in such a tiny bowl. We almost asked for more but decided to curb our carbs.
The roast pork was indeed crispy but a tad too dry for my taste. It also went very well with the rice.
I'd certainly go back again to try the other dishes. I don't know but something about eating in that environment makes adds an old homestyle flavour to the food. I love the classic marble-top tables and coffee-shop style wooden chairs, the no-frills wall tiles and lovely mosaic flooring. I hope they never renovate.
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!last time no aircon..now got aircon haha :p
25 Apr 2008 at 4:49 pm
Yet Con become Air Con! haha
25 Apr 2008 at 5:34 pm