Ms Skinnyfat

A Food & Travel Blog from Singapore

Restaurant Review: Saboten

By Thursday, March 22, 2012 , , , ,

Been in another one of my insatiable Japanese food craving that had me eating Japanese food for almost a week. Thank god the boy shares my love for Japanese food as well. It's something we will not get sick of because of the variety and styles available. :)

S wanted sushi and sashimi for dinner (just the day after Tatsuya) and obviously i said no, since my tummy was satisfied in that aspect. Then he grumbled about me having Tatsuya without him. Hello! The tummy waits for no one. :P Convinced him to do a different style and so we headed to Parco at Millenia Walk where they have a section on Japanese food. Settled on Saboten and then a turn of events and more friends decided to join us.

Anyhow, we've tried Saboten a couple of times by now. It's not that the tonkatsu is spectacular but it's better tan the average that you get? Tonkichi is another crowd favorite but i haven't tried that before (tonkatsu isn't my favorite jap meal. It's kinda too fried, even by my standards).

Saboten opened its very first shop back in 1966 in Shinjuku, Tokyo and has since flourished into the largest Tonkatsu chain in Japan with over 500 shops. Overseas franchisees include Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Thailand. Expect crispy and tender grain-fed pork loins coated with bread crumbs, eaten on its own or with the special home made Tonkatsu sauce or with the curry. If you are not a porkie fan, they have seafood tonkatsu as well. Sets are priced between $19- $26.
Each set comes with free flow of shredded Japanese cabbage which can be dressed with a refreshing vinegar- based yuzu (citrus) sauce or creamy sesame dressing. My favorite is the sesame sauce of course! I have a bottle of this at home for my salads. Yummy!

I decided to go with something different this time and chose the Ishiyaki Soboro Rice Set instead. Kinda like the Jap version of bimbimbap minus all the spice. The sauce served is a sweet teriyaki-ish brown sauce which i generously drenched my rice in. The minced meat is well marinated and sweet and the spring onions adds a refreshing touch to the dish in general.
As part of the set, i chose the shrimp and crab croquette (since i made S order the tenderloin). I love fried fresh crystal prawn and this has a firm texture that is sweet and savory at the same time. The crab croquette is very creamy, moist and dense. The crab cream ought to have a stronger seafood taste though and i think they should add corn kernels to it. That would be the perfect combination.
S had the curry tenderloin tonkatsu. It may look very plain but the curry is so deli. Some Japanese curry lacks the punch because it's too sweet. This has the right amount of spice and tanginess. The viscosity of that gravy coats the crispy bread batter instead of soaking it, which is perfect because i still want the crunch of the patty. Anyway what i'm trying to say is that i would gladly finish a pot of rice with nothing else but the curry.

If you have a larger appetite and you want to try a mix of their fried food, go for the Saboten set which comes with a mini loin, mini tenderloin, crab croquette and shrimp. The twin set has more variety with cheese asparagus and ham and cheese roll (i think).

Food: 4/5 Love the curry
Service: 3.5/5 A little slow and not particularly attentive though the servers are quite knowledgeable about the food.
Ambience: 3.5/5 Regular Japanese restaurant. Nothing special.

Saboten
#P3-01 Parco Marina Bay, Millenia Walk
Tel: +65 6333 3432
Daily: 11.30am – 10pm

Level 3 Departure Hall, Changi Airport Terminal 1
Daily: 8am- 10.30pm

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About the Author

C is a tiny food and travel blogger with a voracious appetite for life, a demanding eater who is on a perpetual holiday. expect her to intensify hunger pangs and exacerbate wunderlust. #MsSkinnyfat # TravelerinTransit

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