Hanare by Takayama, specialty Kamameshi restaurant

I'm always on the hunt for decent and affordable Japanese food and my eyes lit up when i heard that Chef Takayama of Takayama has opened a kamameshi specialty restaurant which doesn't break the bank. Kamameshi is also known as "kettle rice", a traditional Japanese rice dish cooked in a "kama" (iron pot). My first Kamameshi was actually at Sun with Moon, which actually serves pretty decent kamameshi too.

While Hanare may look like a pricey restaurant located in Takashimaya shopping centre, the prices are really affordable. We sampled the 6-course dinner set menu for 2, which showcases the restaurant's best dishes, and it only cost us $110++ for a rather satisfying meal.

2 appetisers were served, a tofu and white bait salad with a tangy plum sauce, and slices of sashimi. The sashimi wasn't the freshest and Jr found that the kampachi was a bit slimy. No loss for this pregnant woman who can't take raw food for now. 

Fukui, Omakase at Robertson Quay

As we march towards the hot and humid summer, savour the last taste of the balmy Spring at Fukui, where Head Chef Nick Pa’an presents several multi-course sushi menus curated on a weekly basis. For Spring, feast on a wide variety of seafood and produce. From the sea, you'd have young conger eels, firefly squid, Hokkaido hairy crab, and from the land, some crisp bamboo sprouts and white strawberries.

We had the 9-course dinner ($288/pax). Typically, you would have a sushi course, unless you're pregnant like me, or if you can't take raw food. For some sushi items, Chef introduces the addition of bincho-tan into his open kitchen to sear rich seafood and i guess that kind of cooks the seafood. However, if you want a fully cooked menu, here is what you can expect.

 

First, a really sour appetizer of vinegared seaweed, vinegar jelly, and ponzu with the creamy firefly squid. While the sourness may have removed some fishiness of the squid, i thought there was a tad too much acidity. This was followed by a Wara-smoked Japanese Butterfish. The Japan imported rice straw lent a woody fragrance to the oily fish. There was also a light spice from the onion and daikon sprouts. 

For the Hot Dish, we had a cooked Japanese Abalone with a nori sauce. I thought this was a tad fishy with all the flavors of the sea, plus the added salinity from the Ice Plant made it the fishiness even more pronounced. Take my taste buds with a pinch of salt now because i don't quite enjoy seafood currently. Jr didn't seem to have much issue with this dish. 

The Grilled Japanese Star butterfish was to my liking however (surprise surprise). The rich Amera tomatoes balanced any oiliness with a full-bodied sweetness. More savory notes were added with a sheet of crunchy tatami iwashi.

Meet my nemesis, the sea cucumber. Ok i don't hate it, i just don't see the appeal of it. The texture was really good in this one though and Jr happily ate them for me. The braised daikon and bamboo shoots were sufficient for me. I liked that the bamboo shoot only had a milk flavor and was crunchy.

I really enjoyed the tempura course, which featured a thinly battered monkfish, Japanese sweet corn, asparagus and Japanese sweet potato. No dipping sauce was required for this at all. And ooh that sweet potato tempura was so fluffy and creamy.

Since i couldn't have the regular Chirashi, Chef made me a premium don with a variety of seafood- Blackthroat seaperch, Kinmedai, Kuruma Ebi (Japanese tiger prawn), Zuwaigani crab spring roll, Amaebi, Kaki Yubeshi (persimmon with yuzu) and Tatemaki (Japanese pancake- egg and black sugar), plus a tempura egg yolk. The rice is rather special- it is seasoned using Okinawan black vinegar and black sugar. It's a decent bowl, but i'd very much prefer a chirashi don.  

To round off the savoury menu, an Amberjack collar soup with maitake was served. This is a clear soup that showcases the natural flavors of the amberjack and it was light and earthy and extremely comforting. 

For dessert, we had a selection of seasonal fruits- Awayuki Ichigo with a lovely cherry blossom-pink blush, naval orange and musk melon. 

Some hits and misses on this menu but again, it could be my pregnancy taste buds plus i'm sure sashimi and sushi would be better. I guess we just have to come back after baby is out of the oven. 

Lunch sets start from $138++ to $168++ for seven courses. For lunch and dinner, Sushi Omakase* starts from $188++ to $258++ for five courses, and Omakase menus start from $288++ for nine courses to $388++ for ten courses. Binchotan sushi is only available for dinner seatings. 

Fukui

25 Mohamed Sultan Road, Singapore 238969

Mon- Sat: 12 - 3pm, 6 - 10.30pm 

Tel: +65 6509 0909

Bloom Coffee, Siglap

Sandwiches are back in favor or is it just that this pregnancy craving has led me to searching for them? Anyhow, i was rather excited to see that there are more sangas (the Aussie slang for sandwiches) available in the East, this time at Bloom Coffee at Siglap. 

The menu is quite limited, focusing on 5 sangas options such as Tonkatsu ($18) and Grilled Mushroom & Eggplant ($17). They have one sweet option, which is the PB & Strawberry Basil ($15) which we heard is a hit or miss.

On my first visit, i went straight for the Tamagoyaki Avocado Bacon ($18) as it seemed like the lightest tasting option. Made using smashed avocado, grilled bacon and tamagoyaki, the sandwich was a combination of different flavours and textures. Expect an eye-popping brightness to hit you first but it gets better with each bite. I had high hopes of the rest of the sandwiches but unfortunately they were rather disappointing.

Both the Sloppy Bob ($17), and the Tonkatsu ($18) had the smelly frozen meat flavor which was hard to stomach. The former, a bolognese sandwich with their housen made minced beef sauce with cheddar and mozzarella, would have been better if the meat were fresh. The minced meat was a tad dry too. The meaty taste of the Tonkatsu was slightly masked with the pickled daikon and zucchini and the tangy rosemary and plum sauce. However, we could taste the oil in the breaded pork belly mille feuille. 

SIRI house x Veuve Cliquot Outdoor Private Dining Experience

Siri House x Veuve Clicquot presents a stunning new outdoor dining experience on the terrace of SIRI HOUSE. Whether you’re planning a boozy brunch, dinner party or a romantic dinner for 2, dine amidst the lush greenery of Dempsey Hill, complete with garden views, florals for the table and Veuve Clicquot Champagne.

We enjoyed a 4-course individually plated 'Dine at Dusk' dinner ($98/pax, 6-course available at $128/pax) on the idyllic and surprisingly cool outdoor terrace. A trellis is specially designed for the occasion and huge fans are on site to provide you with a cooling dining environment. In fact it felt air-conditioned at night. The 4-course consists of an amuse bouche, appetizer, entrée and dessert, and all menus are complemented by the sparkling effervescence of Veuve Clicquot Champagne.

The amuse bouche is a chef's choice and we had a refreshing kohlrabi snack to start. There are 4 appetizers to choose from (2 hot and 2 cold- you get one of each for the 6-course). 

One thing about pregnancy is that i can't have my soft cheeses and it really kills me. I stole a bite of the Stracciatella with aburi Amaebi and it was heavenly. Chef Leo was kind enough to fully cook my prawn and it was so good with the crispy deep-fried head and creamy cheese. Sansho pepper, thai basil oil and crab fat croutons provided further umami notes to this dish.