The Sushi Bar (Far East Plaza)

yes I totally get that I'm late to the party but MY OH MY, Sushi Bar serves a mean, no frills chirashi don at just $24.90, a huge steal considering this is what you get:

Sake (salmon), Aburi Sake belly (blow torched salmon belly), ikura (salmon roe), Maguro (lean tuna), Hamachi (yellow tail), Mekajiki (swordfish), hotate (scallop), and tamago (egg), served atop a bed of vinegared sushi rice. divine. especially at just $24.90, the freshness and sweetness of these thick chunky slices is really unbeatable too. shortly after arriving at 2:40, D and I each ordered a bowl of this amazing value-for-money chirashi don. (I think their last order is at 3?)

well, I guess I didn't like the maguro--who ever does? but the aburi salmon belly was emanating the loveliest smoky aroma of torched fats. the swordfish was just the right amount of chewiness with the characteristic fatty flavour. the scallop was very sweet--even D who isn't a fan of raw shellfish actually conceded this time was pretty good. the ikura was taut unlike some unfresh, loose ones I've had elsewhere. and the yellowtail and salmon, whilst not supremely decadent in themselves, were definitely fresh and a good complement to the richness of the salmon belly and fatty swordfish meat.

Look! Globules of soon-to-explode goodness. Want them in my mouth right NOW.

D really liked the vinagared rice too, though we must say the amount of rice seemed a bit on the low side, for a "don" (rice bowl dish). but at the end we were both satisfied.

Obligatory unglam shot of our completely emptied bowls

slightly to our inconvenience though, we only realized that payment was solely by cash term only after the meal, and the amount of cash we had on us was slightly short of what we needed so D had to make a trip to the basement for a DBS ATM. happily, they do not charge a 10% service charge, nor GST--which I feel is rather in line with their casual dining style. this isn't a fancy restaurant with great ambience, but it sure satisfies sashimi and sushi cravings well, without burning huge holes in the wallet.

I've heard good things about their aburi salmon sushi roll, which I won't mind trying if I'm feeling hungrier on a future visit. have also heard that queues can be pretty mad during conventional meal times, so its probably good to stagger your timing if you want to avoid wasting your life on queuing. (the place was actually 3/4 full at 3pm, and I think that's just another testimony to how awesome they have been in establishing their little niche of fuss-free, affordable quality Japanese food)

THE SUSHI BAR

14 Scotts Road ,Far East Plaza #03-89, Singapore, Singapore 228213

Ikkousha Hakata Ramen (Tanjong Pagar)

Ikkousha ramen at Tanjong Pagar is the new kid on the block at the Orchid hotel area, known for affordable and yummy food (well, to be precise, they are opposite Orchid, but it takes less than a minute to cross the road to foodie heaven).

The boyfriend and I have tried out a few other restaurant/eateries at Orchid hotel (Tonkotsu King, Menya Sanji, Two Blur Guys), and one day when we were taking our post-dinner stroll, we had chanced upon Ikkousha, but it had yet to open (sometime back in Nov 2013). Nonetheless he had expressed interest in visiting it, as from his memory this was the winner of 2012's Ramen Champion.

Anyway, Friday night was our second time at Ikkousha, and yes, we did enjoy Ikkousha very much the first time, hence the decision to return in less than two weeks (in fact, we had already had a burger each at Two Blur Guys before trying Ikkousha that day--yes we he is quite the unapologetic glutton--& were still very impressed despite the fact that we weren't hungry to begin with!)

I can't vouch for any of the other flavours as we haven't tried them, but their Tonkotsu broth Ramen ($12) is really good (we had this both times we were there), and frankly, not to put Tonkotsu king down but I do wonder why just across the road people would be willing to form snaking queues requiring at least a half hour wait at mealtimes (hmm, I should have taken a photo!), when Ikkousha ramen exists just a stone's throw away and is soooo yummy!! Maybe Ikkousha is just a well kept secret, or Tonkotsu King's longstanding reputation as a ramen heavyweight still greatly outweighs Ikkousha's promising start, but one thing D and I unanimously agreed on was that the one time we spent queuing for Tonkotsu King was going to be just that--a one off thing. (even if there wasn't Ikkousha, there's still the lovely Menya Sanji and Two Blur Guys just round the corner) To be fair, King isn't bad, I just didn't feel particularly wowed and definitely am not a fan of the queue!

Ooops, I am really too verbose. Lets let the pictures do the talking, as poor in quality they are (yes, only smartphone cameras--I don't believe in excessive food photography before tucking in, so let this be a notice to everyone that all my photos on this blog will just be quick snaps)

gyoza ($5.50++ for 5, but we got it free as they had given us some welcome vouchers to use on future visits, on our first visit) not bad a way to kickstart the meal. D was quite taken to the chilli sauce, which had a really refreshing kick that neither of us could quite pin down to a particular ingredient. however, we both agreed that it was a tad pricy compared to the enjoyment and satiety it provided (Japanese gyozas are always so small compared to their Chinese counterparts, don't you think?!). Whilst we would never reject this as a throw-in gift, we probably wouldn't get it unless we were especially craving gyoza and not feeling too poor on that day

tonkotsu ramen--flavourful broth that hit just the right notes for us! the umami was really balanced and they didn't make it too salty unlike other ramen bars; we were full of praise for their broth. the hakata style noodles were also cooked al dente per our order (I forgot to snap a shot of the ordering chit, but its super personalised and allows you to customize your bowl of ramen to a T), and went well with the soup.  If you are craving meat however, it would be wise to add-on some more slices of chashu, for the basic bowl comes with only one thin slice. I'm not even going to complain though, because the soup is THAT.GOOD. and they have black fungus garnishing, yum!! plus if you're missing your protein, they have free flow boiled eggs, as well as an ongoing promotion of a free ajitsuke tamago (half boiled egg often eaten with ramen) with every 'check-in' on their facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/hakataikkousha.singapore)

just look at that flowy yolk--their ajitsuke tamagos have been pretty consistent in standard both times we were there, keep it up ikkousha!!

all in all, a really satisfying dinner--broth finished to the last drop and afterwards we never suffered from msg-induced thirst either :)

If you're planning to go, here are some promotions you may want to make good use of (I'm not sure how long it will last though)

• IKKOUSHA RAMEN
• APT/BLK 7 TANJONG PAGAR PLAZA #01-104B
• Singapore, Singapore 081007