Wandering Fel

Showing posts with label Orchard eats. Show all posts

Singapore Food Log: Tampopo at Takashimaya, Orchard

Condiments for Tampopo at Takashimaya Orchard

Tonkatsu black pork ramen from Tampopo Takashimaya

It has been raining lately and the weather in Singapore finally become a bit cooler. That means it’s the right time to eat the soupy stuff. However, instead of cream soup or herbal soup, I feel like eating a bowl of ramen. A bowl of ramen from Tampopo to be exact. I still remember the first time I tried Tampopo. I see a lot of pork-based ramen out there but Tampopo elevates this basic ramen staple by using black pork instead of ordinary pork. The picture menu from Tampopo shows a sign of chili in front of some of its ramen choices. This is because their soup broth has a subtle flavor of chili and not-so-subtle look of spiciness. Don’t worry, they are not that spicy unless you see many chili signs in front of the dish but I did not recall seeing one.

The outlet at Ngee Ann City tends to have long queue everytime I pass by during dining peak hour. However, if you reach slightly earlier like 6PM on Saturday, you won’t have to wait for a table for a long time. I usually order Tampopo’s famous dish, its black pork shabu ramen. However, this time I wanted to try something else so I ordered Tampopo Black Pork Tonkatsu Ramen (SGD 16.80). The black pork tonkatsu is served on a mini steel tray lodged on top of the ramen bowl to keep it safe from getting soaked in the ramen broth. However, I intentionally let some small pieces of the tonkatsu to soak in the broth and then slurp it together with the ramen. I’m not sure why but Tampopo’s ramen seem to be loaded with veggies. Good for those who usually don’t really eat their greens.

It was my dining buddy’s first time at Tampopo so he ordered Tampopo’s black pork shabu ramen. He slurped the whole bowl so I suppose he loves it too. There are a lot of condiments available but I realise I did not use any, except to take picture with Brown. The ramen is already so full of flavour you don’t really have to add any condiments to it. The good thing about it being located in shopping mall is that the restaurant opens everyday from 11AM to 10PM, following the operating hours of the mall I figure. Go try it out if you have the chance, ok!

Unagi omelette from Koh Grill Wisma Atria

Do you know why I love the concept of Japanese restaurants? It’s because they usually have counter seats which are the most suitable seats for introvert diner who happen to feel like eating alone. Yay. Good news for the introvert souls living in Singapore because there are many Japanese restaurants in the country. I suppose who can hate Japanese food after all. Hehehe.

I have actually visited Koh Grill before when the restaurant has just opened in Wisma Atria, one of the shopping malls in the bustling area of Orchard. We went to try out the famous Shiok Maki and the queue for seats was well...kinda long. But i suppose that’s because we came in a group back then.

Today I decided to check out the restaurant after my gym class ended at 8PM. I find this timing to work well because it should have past the peak dining hour on weekend although to be honest, sometimes it’s hard to fix peak hours at eateries in Orchard. The area is flocked by tourists and they are known not to follow dining rules. But thankfully the counter seats are available and I could quickly get my seat. Counter seat is really good because nobody care about what you are doing there. You can watch how the sushi chef cut the fresh sashimi, play with your phone, take picture of you cute companion, daydream or even dose off until the food arrive at your table.

I did not feel like eating Shiok Maki (which is basically a maki filled with either unagi or jumbo prawn tempura drenched in sauce depending on which version you choose) so I chose something different, unagi omelette. It’s grilled unagi served on top of egg omelette which is cooked on top of a hot plate. Hmm I wonder why is it so difficult to explain the dish so thankfully a picture speaks a thousand words. I did not know grilled unagi goes well with fluffy omelette but I wish the portion of the eel can be a bit bigger after all I’m greedy hehe. But then again, it feels like the right portion after I finish my bowl of Japanese rice. Ok, now I’m confused. The overall feeling that I get is warm comfy sensation in my stomach. Japanese rice is awesome and its awesomeness can enhance the dish that it’s served with.

Since Koh Grill is always bustling with customers, you won’t get peaceful quiet environment when you are enjoying your food. It’s okay, just imagine it like you are eating in an izakaya in Tokyo. They are loud too. Ok overall, good food, nobody care about you eating alone, counter seat, I guess I will give another visit to Koh Grill. Either alone or with Brown. Woots!