F**k it, it’s Friday: Guzman Y Gomez
So here’s a new series I decided to start, I’m calling it “Fxxk it, it’s Friday”. It’s Friday, you’re lazy to cook or go out to eat after a long day at work, why not order in? I’ll do quick reviews of what I have ordered, and maybe help you guys decide if it’s worth it or not. Do keep in mind that your mileage may vary, as delivery times may affect food!
The first place I’m reviewing is a Mexican chain called “Guzman Y Gomez”, a place that I learned about in Tokyo, weirdly enough. Ironically, it originated from Australia but hey, as long as the food is good, I don’t care.
On the docket was a Mini Bowl and a Mini Cali Burrito. As with most foods nowadays, you can customize the order to your liking. The mini bowl came with rice, jack cheese, salsa, grilled steak filling, GYG’s corn chips and a mild spice level. I opted for no beans as I’m not a huge fan of them. As for the mini cali burrito, it had a grilled steak filling topped with chipotle fries, cheese, sour cream, pico de gallo and guac. Keep in mind that the grilled steak filling was an additional $2 and $1.50 for both the mini bowl and burrito. I ordered my food from Grab Food, an app in Singapore similar to Uber, and it took about 40 minutes for the food to arrive. You can also order via their website, Foodpanda, Deliveroo or other food delivery apps.
The mini rice bowl arrived somewhat warm, the cheese had already been melted so that’s definitely good. The grilled steak was cut into strips, overcooked but still very tasty and had flavor. There was generous serving a grilled steak which is surprising considering it’s takeout and steak. The salsa and pico de gallo was also good, not overpowering and provided some tanginess to the rice bowl. The corn chips were still crispy, which considering the 40 minute delivery time was very surprising. I expected it to be soggy from the food being covered for so long. The tomatoes were sweet and cut into small pieces which was great for me, as I always thought less tomatoes is always better. I do think that there wasn’t enough cheese, but it’s understandable considering the fact that it was a mini rice bowl. I give it a 6/10.
The mini cali burrito came still quite hot, wrapped in tin foil. I won’t lie, I was curious and excited for this. The excitement dwindled when I ate it though, as I felt the wrap was incredibly thick. I thought the fries were soggy, understandable as it was wrapped up in a burrito then tin foil. Pico de gallo was still good, the avocado was missing for me in terms of flavor. There wasn’t much sauce nor sour cream, and it just felt like the entire burrito was just one similar texture, just mushy. The only thing I could definitely tell apart from the rest was the grilled steak, but even that couldn’t save this burrito. That being said, the sogginess can’t be avoided considering it wasn’t served immediately. Maybe having it at the store would provide a better taste. 4/10 for me.
In total, it was a whopping S$31.00 ($11.80 for mini rice bowl, $12.40 for mini cali burrito, $6.80 service fee). Is it worth it? I mean… if you’re really lazy and can’t be bothered to make your own burrito or rice bowl, sure. But I also know making these ingredients in Singapore can be a lot of effort and money. I would recommend getting it if you pass by it on the way home to avoid the sogginess of a burrito, instead of ordering and paying extortionate prices for service charge. I’d rate this a 5/10, get some more steps in and head to the nearest one if you really want to try Guzman Y Gomez.
Sushi is a 5 letter word for LOVE
Sushi is love, Sushi is life.
If there’s ever 1 dish that I could have for the rest of my life, sushi would be a strong contender. When prepared right, the simple pairing of vinegared rice and meat or fish can be so perfect and delicious that you end up clamoring for more. Some people are often thrown off by the thought of raw fish or meat, and that’s understandable. There are sushi made with vegetables or cooked foods like grilled salmon or beef. But I encourage anyone who visits Japan, to at least try sushi with raw fish, because they are delicious and it’s not like the sushi you get from the supermarket, or.. God forbid, Yo! Sushi. *shudders*
There are plenty of sushi restaurant chains in Japan, but everyone knows that the good stuff is always hidden away and not as well known. You can use the power of Google to search for great sushi restaurants, but we found that Google might not be the best tool for that. Most people recommended a Japanese site called Tabelog, which is basically Yelp but Japan edition where all the reviews are anonymous and crowd sourced. While we definitely did use it on our trip in Japan, for this occasion, we decided to stick to the more conventional method; asking a local. Shout out to our bike tour guide Liviana (I might be remembering it wrong, sorry!) for showing us around Osaka, and recommending us various restaurants around Osaka. When asked for a great sushi place, she recommended us Sakae Sushi, a restaurant about 5—10 minutes away from the main Dotonbori area. We saved it into our Google maps and so should you, because it’s amazing and you will not regret it. Did I just spoil the review..?
Anyway, we noticed the opening hours started from 6pm, but stretched into the night and into the early morning at 5am, which was odd but we didn’t question it. At around 5:30pm, we began heading to the restaurant with an empty stomach, ready to feast on delicious sushi. As we neared the restaurant, we noticed a long line snaking around the corner and realized it was the line for the restaurant. I checked the time, it was about 5:50pm. We thought we were early but evidently, it seems it was extremely popular among both tourists and locals. So we queued up behind about 40 people. Looking across the street, we noticed another line of customers queuing up and had a brief moment of panic as we thought we just cut the line, luckily we didn’t as it was for another restaurant across the street. In the queue, we could peer into the restaurant where the chefs were getting ready to open up, about 5 chefs were behind the counter with busy hands. About 10 minutes later, one of them came out to turn the sign from “closed” to “open”, and soon the line started to move. Unfortunately for us, the restaurant was immediately full and we had to wait a little longer. Similarly, the line across the street started to move and was able to seat all the customers. Curious, I went across to see what the restaurant offered. Only to find out that it was the same restaurant, but they were split into 2 different spaces. We quickly moved to the other queue, and within about 10 minutes, we managed to get 2 counter seats. I swear, our luck was insane during our Osaka trip.
I’m starting to sound like a broken record, but the restaurant was very cozy (where have we heard that before?). The restaurant had tables of 4 around the space, with row of seats in front of the sushi counter. The sushi counter was manned by at least 5 chefs, with an assortment of seafood in display cases. All the seafood on display would be used to prepare the sushi you order and served immediately. The restaurant also included a back kitchen with I presume a few workers that served drinks and hot food such as miso soup, chawanmushi, steamed rice and other things. The menu had almost every type of sushi made with seafood and meat, along with some other hot foods and drinks. Each item on the menu had a number, of which you would write down on a piece of paper and hand it over to the staff, or in our case the chef, to order. If you don’t speak Japanese, don’t worry, because each item was written in both English and Japanese, and had a picture associated with it. So you’ll never not know what you’re ordering. Excited, we took a piece of paper and started ordering, but my partner advised me to pace myself as we didn’t want to fill ourselves too quickly. So I ordered a meager 7 items to start with (to share, of course). We handed our order to the chef and he immediately got to work.
Like a kid watching out his window for the ice cream van to show up, I was glued to the counter to watch the master work his craft. It was a bit awkward, as the display cases blocked the view between myself and the chef, so I had to stand up albeit for a brief moment. Before he started, he made sure to check with us about our preference on wasabi, which was a nice touch. We told him we were okay with it and, like poetry in motion, the chef molded the rice in his hands, then quickly placing a small bit of wasabi and then a slice of salmon on top. He then gently applied a bit of pressure onto the salmon so it would spread the wasabi underneath, before finally placing it on the serving block separating us from the display case. He did this for every piece of sushi we ordered, and in the particular case where the selected seafood or meat wasn’t directly in front of us, he would either swiftly move to get it from another case along the sushi counter, or get it from a staff member situated in the back kitchen.
Because it’s a sushi restaurant with a serving block, we weren’t exactly sure how to proceed. Normally in a regular restaurant, each dish is served separately and you can dig in the moment the staff leaves the table. But here, we were kind of confused. The chef saw us and assured us that we could just eat as it came. We still waited, as I wanted to take a good picture of all the sushi we had ordered the first time. It took about 10 minutes before all 7 sushi were served and we could dig in. It was definitely worth the (short) wait. With each sushi, you could still feel the warmth of the chef’s hand. I know it sounds weird, but a lot of sushi restaurants have their rice chilled instead of being room temperature, mainly due to either mass producing the rice or keeping it chilled to ensure it’s integrity. But at Sakae Sushi, the rice is made on the day itself and kept at room temperature because they know it’s going to sell out. The fish was fresh, kept at a cooler temperature inside the display case. You could probably have the sushi by itself without soy sauce and it would’ve tasted amazing as well. I opted to have it with a bit of soy sauce and it was so good. My partner and I looked at each other wide eyed, amazed at how great the sushi was. What we had in other chain restaurants paled in comparison, never mind the atrocity that we had at Yo! Sushi a couple years back. The salmon maki was amazing; the salmon was soft and fresh. The yellowtail was so thinly sliced that you could see the grains of the rice through it. The wasabi was subtle; coupled with some soy sauce you could hardly tell it was there apart from the light kick at the end.
I immediately reached for another piece of paper and started ordering again. This time I ordered some favorites of mine, salmon belly and sea urchin. The salmon belly was fresh like its counterpart, but also fatty in a good way. The sea urchin isn’t a regular order, as it can get expensive and if prepared incorrectly, can lead to food poisoning. But since we’re in Japan, and everything at Sakae Sushi seemed to pass the eye test, I went for it. The texture of sea urchin isn’t for everyone, it’s slimy with a strong umami flavor. It was chilled so that was definitely good, as room temperature sea urchin is often a bad sign. I opted against dipping it with soy sauce, eating it as it was. It was a favorite of mine, and Sakae Sushi definitely delivered on the sea urchin sushi. I would’ve ordered more of it if it wasn’t because of the hefty price of ¥385. Instead, we opted to order more of other sushi, like tuna, fatty tuna, sweet shrimp, scallop, cucumber roll, a wagyu beef sushi, chawanmushi, and grilled salmon with cheese. Unfortunately, I didn’t take any pictures of the new orders, but they were excellent. The fatty tuna melted in my mouth and was a personal favorite of mine for the night. The scallops were sweet and great with some soy sauce. The wagyu beef sushi was surprisingly good, the wasabi definitely balances out the meaty flavor. The chawanmushi (Japanese steamed egg custard) was a nice change of pace, considering we had mainly sushi for the night, so was the grilled salmon with cheese.
By the end of the night, we probably ordered close to about 45 pieces of sushi. I joked with my partner saying that we definitely made the chef work for his paycheck tonight, as he was continuously preparing sushi for us. I think the total bill came up to around ¥8965, or S$81.44. Was it worth it, would I go again?
As you can already tell, it was an amazing experience and the food definitely surpassed our expectations. I think it was pretty obvious from the get-go that it was popular for a reason, with so many people queuing up even before opening time. The chefs definitely are masters at their craft, with every sushi prepared with love and care. Although I didn’t mention the service, it was equally great and they were very friendly. One might look at the price and be hesitant on spending that much for sushi. It really isn’t, especially when you consider the fact that there were almost 45 pieces of sushi in our final bill. I’d also argue that part of that price is paying for the standard of sushi that you can’t easily find outside of Japan. From the freshness of the seafood, to the mastery of the chefs preparing your meal, this is something that is definitely worth trying. And I, for one, will definitely be back with a larger budget and a longer order list for the chef.
Overall, I’d definitely rate this a 9/10. My partner and I definitely enjoyed the food, and the ambiance of the restaurant itself. The only disappointing part was that I had to stand awkwardly to watch the chef prepare the sushi, but other than that, it was a very enjoyable and memorable experience that I’m hoping to recreate again someday.
Pancakes, but make it savory
We’ve discussed soufflé pancakes, but now we dive into the savory side of pancakes
Another day, another post about food in Japan. This time, we’re back in Osaka and checking out the local favorite, okonomiyaki.
An okonomiyaki is a type of savory pancake that dates back into the Edo period. Now, I won’t go too in-depth into the history of the dish, but it was initially called Funoyaki, served as a special dessert at Buddhist ceremonies. It eventually evolved from being a dessert into a savory pancake during the Second World War, when rice was scarce and a full meal was difficult to come by. People created the okonomiyaki by using ingredients available at the time. A typical okonomiyaki normally has a few staple ingredients including a wheat pancake batter, eggs, pork and cabbage. However, there are 2 main types of okonomiyaki; the Kansai/Osaka style and Hiroshima style. The Kansai/Osaka type typically mixes the batter with the ingredients and is grilled on both sides, with other various toppings added on top of the dish. While the Hiroshima style has the ingredients layered, starting with the pancake batter, then cabbage and other ingredients such as pork and eggs, often ending with fried noodles. Both styles of okonomiyaki are grilled on both sides. As we’re in Osaka, we tried out the Kansai/Osaka style okonomiyaki.
It had been a busy day of travel, from waking up at 9AM to get our luggage shipped off to the next hotel, to taking the Shinkansen to Osaka and getting settled in our accommodation for the next few days. Nonetheless, as it was our first night in Osaka, we were excited to explore the famous Dotonbori district. From takoyaki stalls to the huge snow crab display menacingly overlooking the street, you’re always within touching distance of a food stall or restaurant that entices you with fake food displays and delicious food smells. As a result, we were starting to feel hungry and began looking for somewhere to have dinner. While walking up and down the street, we noticed this restaurant called Chibo located on the ground floor of a building. It didn’t look like there were many people inside so we decided to head in after looking at the menu on our phones.
The dining space inside was very small and cramped, however it seems they managed to put seating for at least 25—30 customers, with a few tables that sat between 2—4 customers, and a teppanyaki grill that had seating for 6 people. We were lucky to snag a couple seats in front of the teppanyaki grill. All that stood between us and the grill was a simple metal serving section, and you could definitely feel the heat radiating from the grill. Behind the grill was a kitchen, although it was mainly used for food preparation and drinks. Most of the cooking was done on the grill itself, with the staff at the back feeding the ingredients to the chefs in front. The only downside about sitting in front of the grill was how hot it could get, and that you’ll probably smell of food by the end of the night.
While there was a physical menu in Japanese available, menus in other languages were only available online via QR code. The menu was simple. The first page had 5 different types of okonomiyaki ranked in terms of popularity, The second page offered a pair set meal along with vegetarian and basic options and an a-la-carte menu, and there was a final page for drinks. We decided on the pair set meal that included the Chibo’s salad, a tonpei-yaki with cheese, Dotonbori okonomiyaki with green onion and sunny side-up egg topping, and seafood yakisoba noodles with green onion and sunny side-up egg topping. Whew, that was a mouthful (pun intended). It was recommended for 2 people, but from what we experienced, maybe they should adjust it to 3 people. As I don’t often eat my veggies (sorry), I won’t be reviewing the salad, but according to my partner, it tasted like any other salad commonly served in Japan. It had a yuzu salad dressing, with rocket leaves, baby corn, cherry tomatoes, shredded radish and sweet onions.
I’m not going to lie, I’m not exactly sure what a tonpei-yaki is. But after some excellent googling, it’s an egg omelet with thin slices of pork belly and shredded cabbage inside, topped with a homemade okonomi sauce. Chibo’s version of the tonpei-yaki included American cheese melted inside the omelet and parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. The pork belly is cooked first before pouring the egg mixture onto the flat top. Then, the pork belly is placed in the omelet along with a couple slices of American cheese before folding the remaining egg mixture on top. While we thought it was ready to be served, it was curiously plated up and given to the waiting staff instead. It wasn’t long before we realized that they were topping the omelet up with more cheese before serving it to us. My initial thoughts on the dish was that it looked very messy, but visuals aren’t as important as the taste, and this tonpei-yaki definitely tasted good. The pork belly was cooked just right, no toughness and the cheese inside was melted and gooey. And for the people that don’t like runny eggs, the omelet is cooked through so you won’t see any egg mixture seeping out. However, I thought that it was a bit oily, as we noticed the chef poured a generous amount of cooking oil before pouring the egg mixture. The grated parmesan cheese was also perplexing (did I mention it was Kraft’s grated parmesan cheese?) If anything, I was glad that the serving was small, because what came next definitely needed the stomach space.
While we were having the tonpei-yaki, the chefs were already busy cooking our seafood yakisoba on the side. It wasn’t long before it was served to us directly onto the metal counter, beside the tonpei-yaki as the chef finished the dish off with a sprinkle of pepper and dried seaweed. Both of us took a generous serving of yakisoba onto our plates and dug in. It was incredibly flavorful, the noodles were chewy, with some bits a bit burnt but still had a great taste and a bit of crunch. The squid had a bite to it, and prawns were cooked well, none of which I could tell were overcooked. The cabbage was mixed, some soft, some still with a crunch, both providing a different texture to the dish. The yakisoba sauce itself was also great, it had a good balance of tangy and sweet, without overpowering the entire dish. I personally liked the fact that they didn’t go crazy on the sauce like other places do. I don’t particularly enjoy bean sprouts, but I did enjoy it in this dish as they had absorbed a lot of the sauce and there weren’t a lot of bean sprouts in the first place. The portion size was definitely a bit too much for the two of us, and the next dish, although the last one, wasn’t helping our waistline.
The star of the show, the okonomiyaki. It was definitely eye opening watching them prepare it, because the mixed batter looks very unappealing. Since the batter is mixed with pork, shrimp, squid, beef and konjac jelly, it doesn’t resemble anything like the final end result. Although I didn’t take any pictures of it in front of me, I managed to take a picture of the batter that was just poured onto the flat top. The final result however, looks amazing. The pancake was served directly to us on the metal counter, where the chef drizzled the okonomiyaki sauce and Japanese mayo in a zigzag pattern, and a generous serving of bonito flakes, green onion and a sunny side up to top it off. At this point, we were near our limits but we persevered as this was the reason why we ate at this restaurant. So, I grabbed the spatula and started cutting up a small piece for myself and my partner. The first bite welcomed a mouthful of cabbage and batter with some thinly sliced pork and beef. The cabbage had a bite to it and the batter was fully cooked through. The sauce was the same as the tonpei-yaki, but the mayonnaise provided a different taste to the dish itself. If you’ve never had Japanese mayo before, it’s amazing and nothing like the crap that you’d get from Heinz or God forbid, miracle whip. It’s tangy and sweet, but still has a savory taste to it, which compliments this okonomiyaki so well. The seafood within the pancake was sweet and so was the okonomiyaki sauce, but the savoriness (if this is a word) of the mayo balances with the sweetness. The bonito flakes were also surprisingly good, with a gentle breeze the bonito flakes sitting on top of the pancake would wave around as if they were alive. They have a much more solid texture when eaten, it’s definitely something to try out for yourself because describing it isn’t enough. It also doesn’t have as strong of a fishy flavor as one might expect. They also have sauce bottles by the table, should you want more sauce on your pancake.
The total cost at the end of the meal was ¥6820, or about S$61.93. I will add that we ordered 3 drinks which amounted to about ¥1320, but you could also have the complementary water. Was it worth it, and would I go again?
In my opinion, much of the price probably had to do with the restaurant located in Dotonbori district, and that’s understandable. Given the front row seats to the cooking show, I’m inclined to say it was worth it, but getting these seats isn’t guaranteed and there’s plenty of other seats available that have their own grill built into the table. The only difference is that the food isn’t cooked in front of you. Sadly, it’s not worth it to me. Like my previous review of tsukemen, I think it’s entirely possible to find another restaurant in Osaka that serves okonomiyaki for a much cheaper price and isn’t as busy as this restaurant. By the time we finished dinner, we were incredibly full and probably headed into a food coma. That is, until I looked to my left and saw a massive crowd outside queueing to get into the restaurant. It seemed that in our lucky encounter with Chibo, that this restaurant was actually quite popular and had more than just the ground floor for seating. It had a staggering 6 floors of dining space, and in the time we were having dinner, it was completely full. With that being said, I probably won’t be heading back to Chibo for another round of okonomiyaki. Considering the amount of people waiting in line to dine at Chibo, I think it’s popular for a reason, but I don’t share the same sentiment with them.
Overall, I’d rate this experience a 5/10. Despite the positive review of the okonomiyaki, I think the portion size for the pair set meal is enormous and the amount of cabbage in it had put me off eating a couple times during the meal.
Tsukemen? Suki! (I like it!)
Everyone talks about ramen, it’s time to share the spotlight on tsukemen!
Everyone knows about the classic Japanese noodles; ramen. But have you heard about its slightly less famous cousin, tsukemen? I won’t get into the etymology of the word, but it’s basically a noodle dish where the noodles and soup are separated. The noodles are served cold while the soup is served hot and serves as a dipping sauce. You eat it like how you would eat a cold soba, except you dip the cold noodles into a hot soup. The soup is typically saltier than the usual ramen soup, so it’s not recommended to consume it entirely without diluting it first. As such, some places even offer to top up your broth with hot water after consuming the noodles so you can drink it afterward.
It’s not as common as ramen, so it’s hardly ever found outside of Japan. With that said, I wanted to introduce it to my partner on our trip. Ironically, her introduction to tsukemen was by chance, as we were actually looking for a ramen place for lunch. During our Osaka leg of the trip, we mainly hit up the usual tourist spots, such as Dontonbori. As you can imagine, it’s incredibly busy throughout the day so even finding a place to eat at odd hours wasn’t an easy task. Nonetheless, we managed to find a small place tucked off the main Dontonbori shopping street called Kamakura Soup with Noodles (I did not know then. but apparently they have restaurants around Japan so not so small after all). It was a small tsukemen restaurant with around 9 counter seats surrounding the kitchen itself. There weren’t any waiting staff, just the 2 chefs working that day who handed out our menus. A simple no frills menu with just their special tsukemen and different toppings that you could add to it. You can also choose the size of the noodle portion with a small additional charge. Naturally, I ordered the full tsukemen with all the toppings available with a large portion of noodles. Because it’s a small restaurant, you’re almost rubbing shoulders with your seat neighbor. But it also provides an amazing view of the chefs at work. While we were waiting, we couldn’t help but watch with eagerness and curiosity as the chefs prepared our meals. You could feel the warmth of the boiling water meters away as they cook the noodles and immediately take them out and shake off the excess water to prevent it from bloating up. If you spoke any Japanese, you could probably even strike up a conversation with the chefs, like the elderly couple that sat beside my partner. Funny story, the elderly man thought that the younger of the 2 chefs weren’t Japanese and praised him for his proficiency in Japanese, only to be informed that the chef was indeed Japanese.
Anyway, a few minutes after ordering we were served our tsukemen. It’s normal for dishes to look amazing on the menu, and falling a little short when you get served them. But this tsukemen looked exactly the same as the one depicted in the menu. The chef instructed us on how to eat and proceeded to work on the next orders shortly after. I won’t be reviewing my partner’s tsukemen as it was basically the same, just without additional toppings. So onto the review, I tried the noodles and soup separately at first before trying them together. The noodles were cooked perfectly. It’s a weird way to describe them but they were very elastic in a good way, like how a rubber band stretches and snaps back. They had a nice bite to them, and they were also thicker than the usual ramen noodles which helps when absorbing the soup later. The soup itself had cabbage in them and meat in them, which I believe was pork belly. It was incredibly rich but light as the cabbage had soaked all the salt and fat of the pork belly rendered into the soup itself. Together, the noodles definitely absorbs the soup well and the difference in temperature definitely makes you go “ooohhh!” The longer you soak the noodles, the warmer they get (obviously) but I found that the best way to have it was to dip the noodles, get some soup on your spoon and eat the noodles with it. Served with the noodles was the usual cha shu (sliced pork) served cold which was odd, a ramen egg, some bamboo shoots, seaweed, some coriander and a couple yuzu zest sliced thinly . I thought it was a little dry, but it still tasted good with the soup. The half boiled egg was done to the usual standard; solid on the outside and gooey on the inside. The bamboo shoots were crunchy and cold, providing a different texture to the dish. The lemon zests were a peculiar addition, but when you have it with the noodles and soup, you soon understand why it’s there. The acidic and sour nature of the lemon cuts right through the richness of the soup and amazed me, as I’ve not encountered this before. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for more lemon zest in ramen and tsukemen in the future.
I won’t lie, I could’ve had another bowl after my first one. It was that good. The total price of the meal was ¥2140, or about S$21. An incredible deal for lunch at a popular tourist shopping district in Osaka. So was it worth it, and would I go again?
Yes and yes. To be honest, you could probably order a variation with less toppings for a cheaper price, or you could even find somewhere that served cheaper tsukemen around Osaka or Japan. But I loved everything about the restaurant, from the cozy interior to the food itself. Everything about it screamed of a dining experience you would find on The Midnight Diner series on Netflix. Like I said before, the menu was simple and all of them were variations of the one dish the restaurant specialized in, tsukemen. I’d rather a restaurant have a couple items on the menu that are great, than a restaurant with over 100 items. I would definitely recommend anyone shopping around the Dontonbori area to try this place out, as opposed to the usual Ichiran ramen (which was located across the restaurant). Kamakura might be a national chain of ramen restaurants, but the waiting time to eat here is arguably lesser than Ichiran or Ippudo. The only downside is that there is limited seating. We were lucky to snag up the remaining 2 seats in the restaurant, but one can imagine the wait during dinner.
Overall, I would rate this experience a 8/10. I think it featured a great dish, a quiet and cozy interior with chefs that definitely knew what they were doing. If I’m ever in the vicinity of a Kamakura branch that serves tsukemen, I would definitely pop my head in for a meal, hopefully a seat will be waiting for me.
What a L’ETO down
Walking by the cake display by the café, it’s tempting to enter for a hot drink and dessert…
Before I start, let me preface this by saying I’ve visited L’ETO in London 3 times. Once in 2018, another in 2020 and finally in 2023, so things may have changed in the years between each visit. This will be a short post detailing the first and last time I visited.
L’ETO is a restaurant chain with over 40 restaurants in over 7 countries. With a unique interior design in every restaurant, it’s easy to forget about the outside noise and just enjoy the food that’s in front of you. My first visit was in 2018, when I first moved to the UK and was introduced to L’ETO by a childhood friend, while the second visit was in 2020 just before the pandemic, and the third was in 2023 with my partner. On all occasions, I was there mainly for the desserts.
The first visit to L’ETO was at Wardour Street in Soho, London. Before even entering L’ETO, you will notice that they have an open display of their selection of cakes and pastries for passing pedestrians to admire. There’s something about walking in the cold London rain and seeing those delectable desserts in the window that makes you wanna pop in for a drink and just devour all the cakes. The first visit to L’ETO was quite special to me, it was my first month studying and living in the UK, and I met some friends from middle school. L’ETO was the first restaurant I had eaten in London by myself without family, and what do I order? A hibiscus & rose ice cube tea, a chocolate fudge cake, and a cheesecake with berries mmm… The ice cubes are made from the tea, as opposed to regular ice cubes. By doing so, the tea doesn’t get diluted with water and its flavor stays the same. As far as how good it was, it definitely was different from normal sweet tea. I thought the ice cube idea was genius, and it’s kind of like a second drink. As the ice melts, you get to drink it after you finished the tea. The chocolate cake featured 4 layers of cake and frosting, with each layer having a thin layer of jam, and a chocolate ganache to top it off. The cake was incredibly rich, moist and decadent. Meanwhile the cheesecake had a graham cracker base and a very light cheesecake texture to it. Having them one after another may be unorthodox, but I thought that it highlighted the best of both cakes. The service was great, the staff were very friendly and I had a great time at L’eto chatting with friends and enjoying these cakes.
It’s safe to say that after this visit, I definitely wanted to return, as I did later in 2020 and then in 2023. I’ll skip 2020 as I had pretty much the same cakes as before, and in terms of quality, it was about the same. That can’t be said for my visit in 2023…
Now, it might’ve been because it was late, or that it was raining outside so we were miserable... but my experience at L’ETO was not a pleasant one in 2023. We visited the branch on Wardour Street in Soho, London. Let’s talk about the service, it was incredibly rude and disheartening. This was the first time I had brought my partner to L’ETO and I wanted it to make a good impression for them so we could come back again in the future. When we asked how we could order the cakes, they rudely told us to go up to the display and take note of the cakes (or pictures) then show it to a staff member. It was as if it was common knowledge. Unfazed, we ordered a drink and took turns going to the display. When I tried to take a picture of one of the cakes I wanted to order, a staff member rudely shouted at me, saying that I wasn’t supposed to be where I was. I looked at him in confusion before explaining that I was trying to check out the cakes. Again, he rudely stated that I was in a staff only area. I looked around and realized that I was standing at the bussing station. In my defence, there were no markings on the floor telling me I could not stand there. I apologized and explained I just wanted to take a quick picture, but they were adamant. So I moved, literally 2 steps over and he started mumbling under his breath. I couldn’t tell what he was saying as I didn’t speak the language, but one can guess it was a complaint about me. After I took the picture of my selected cake, I went back and ordered.
This time, I had gone for the red velvet cake. Visually, it looks great. It’s got 5 layers of cake with cream cheese frosting between each layer, a red layer of something at the top and a blackberry at the edge of the cake. Taste wise, it was very dense and underwhelming. Personally, I thought the cream cheese was too much, and the cake’s texture was too varied. The bottom was too dry, the top layer of cake looks moist but actually isn’t. The cream cheese isn’t even between layers so sometimes you may get just a spoonful of cream cheese and some cake. Perhaps it was the red velvet cake that day that wasn’t up to standard, who knows?
Normally this is the part where I tell you how much the bill was for the meal, but unfortunately I can’t remember the first visit as my friend had treated me as a welcome to London gift, and the third trip’s bill was footed by my partner (I swear I pay for food!). So I’ll skip ahead; was it worth it, and would I go again?
I’m torn. On one hand, my first 2 visits were great. However, my latest visit of L’ETO in 2023 has soured my impression. It didn’t help that my latest visit was with my partner on our anniversary, so those impressions are more impactful than the previous visits. I think the cake display is incredible and very inviting. There’s a reason why people queue up outside even when it’s raining to eat at L’ETO. I’m inclined to give the benefit of doubt to the staff members that were rude during my latest visit. I understand that I shouldn’t have stepped into the bussing station, but being rude and shouting at me wasn’t going to do anything apart from giving me a bad impression. Maybe they’ve had a bad day, I’m not sure. I think I would say it’s worth it, but maybe go during the day and not at night. I would try to revisit L’ETO again, but maybe at another branch.
Overall, I’d rate L’ETO a 5/10. A cake display for passing pedestrians is definitely a head turner, but maybe keep your eyes on the road.
Unlike how I like my Beef Wellington, this was well-done
Can Gordon Ramsay do it on a cold December night? Will his Beef Wellington stand up against the expectations?
If you’re a Gordon Ramsay fan like myself, you would’ve seen his scrambled eggs tutorial countless times, or watched compilations of Hell’s Kitchen on YouTube. So naturally when the opportunity to dine at a Gordon Ramsay restaurant presented itself, I didn’t hesitate at all. Now I’ve had the chance to visit Heddon Street Kitchen in London twice, the first time was in December of 2022 when my partner and I stayed in London overnight for an event and the second time was in the summer of 2023 with some old friends. So for this post I will mainly focus on the first visit.
It was a spontaneous decision as we were looking for somewhere to have dinner after an event. If you’ve been to London during the holidays, you’ll know that it’s often PACKED, and everywhere will have a line. In a desperate attempt, we found Heddon Street Kitchen and decided to take a shot at making a last minute reservation, and it worked.
Our initial impressions of the restaurant were excitement and awe. We were finally able to have a meal at a Gordon Ramsay restaurant. While we’ve had Gordon Ramsay Plane Food at Heathrow Terminal 5 a couple times, this was the first time we’ve ever been to a sit-down restaurant where it wasn’t in an airport. Naturally, my head was swiveling around in awe of the restaurant’s cozy and intimate atmosphere. If the décor had a theme, it would be a New York City loft inspired décor (at least that’s how their website describes it).
After sitting down, we were served some water and given the menu. As expected, Gordon’s famous Beef Wellington is on it, along with some classics such as Fish and Chips, a burger, and Butter Chicken Curry. As it was our first time, we opted for the Caesar Salad with grilled chicken as a starter and the Beef Wellington (ordered medium rare), because why not? We also ordered a couple of mocktails, the Berry Boost and the Lemon Swizzle. The waiter informed us that it would take at least 45 minutes for the Wellington to which we were fine with.
After maybe about 10–15 minutes of waiting, the salad was served. Like I said, we’ve had Gordon Ramsay Plane Food a couple times during our travels out of Heathrow, so we’ve had the Caesar Salad before. But for some reason, I was thinking to myself “this is going to be different, it’s in a restaurant!”, It was the same but in a good way. The lettuce was crunchy and mild, and the sauce was so good I found myself wanting to get lettuce just to scoop up the sauce. The pancetta (not bacon) was crispy and slightly salty but it complemented the lettuce well. The soft boiled egg was done to perfection, as cutting into it revealed a runny egg yolk. A lot of places that serve Caesar Salad end up serving a dry chicken, or over cooked chicken. However, Heddon Street Kitchen does it incredibly well. The chicken is juicy and soft with grill marks on the surface and a mild char flavor that isn’t too overwhelming. We ended up finishing the salad so quickly, we were kind of embarrassed and left wanting more. But after another 30 minutes came the star of the night, the Beef Wellington.
Let’s talk presentation. Served on a stone board, it practically took up about 70% of the entire table, I’m not kidding. It was sliced with 4 portions, and the ends cut off on the sides. Served alongside were some mashed potatoes and a red wine jus (like a thin gravy sauce). But it doesn’t stop there. Apparently as we sat down at our table, we didn’t notice that there was a lamp above us pointed directly at the center of the table. So when the staff served us our Beef Wellington, it legitimately looked like it had came from the heavens. Because it was so well lit, that everything else on the table seemed like it was in the background. The beef was cooked medium rare as expected, and wrapped with the mushroom blanket that we always see Gordon do in his videos. It was done with such precision, that the layers are practically the same in terms of thickness.
But visuals aren’t everything, so how does it taste? Well, it definitely tastes how I expected it to be. The beef was tender and juicy, and the pastry was equally amazing. The mushroom layer had an earthy aroma and taste, perhaps a bit too strong for our liking. Although the corner pieces of the wellington were mainly just pastry with hints of beef and mushroom, they were still delicious. I sincerely hope that when they cut the sides off the Beef Wellington on Hell’s Kitchen, they actually keep it for snacking. The red wine jus definitely enhances the taste of the beef and pairs extremely well. It made the beef taste much meatier (if that’s possible), but I would pour sparingly as it may make the pastry a bit soggy. The mashed potatoes are creamy and buttery, something one would expect out of a Gordon Ramsay restaurant. The portion size is also deceptively large, as we weren’t able to finish it. In fact, we were struggling to finish the entire thing. We did notice that some tables had trouble with it too, and asked for the remaining to be packed to-go. However, we thought it was a disservice to the food, and also we probably wouldn’t be able to recreate the amazing taste through a microwave.
Despite the signs of a food coma, we managed to finish it after some time. As the staff cleared our table, they asked if we’d like some dessert. To be honest, I wasn’t feeling it but after looking at the menu, I opted for the classic Sticky Toffee Pudding. My initial impression was similar to the Beef Wellington, the portion size was a bit smaller than expected. But I learned my lesson, so we took our spoons and dug in. Perfectly sweet and warm, with a touch of saltiness. The ice cream melting gently on the pudding and caramel below. This time, the portion was definitely not enough. I swear, I could’ve had 2 more of this and still wouldn’t be satisfied.
The total cost of the dinner was £169.48, or about S$285. As usual, the big questions are; is it worth it and would I go again?
For fans of Gordon Ramsay, or foodies like myself, I think it’s worth a venture. It should be noted that Heddon Street Kitchen have branches around London and around the world, like the one at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. As someone who’s watched a lot of Gordon Ramsay videos in the past, I always wondered how his food actually tastes. In fact, when I first visited the UK back in 2008 as a child, I wanted to dine at his restaurant in Royal Hospital Road, London. So to be able to dine at one of his restaurants was certainly a dream come true. The price of £169 is expensive, but you can always opt out of the Beef Wellington experience and instead try some of his other dishes. As I mentioned before, I have visited the restaurant again in 2023 so I guess that answers that question, but more on that in another post.
Overall, I’d rate this experience a 7.5/10. The Beef Wellington was exquisite that night, and the atmosphere in the restaurant definitely makes the holidays in London feel more special.
A fishing experience right in the heart of Tokyo
ZAUO restaurant brings fishing into the dining experience while keeping it unique and fun for it’s customers
“If fishing is interfering with your business, give up your business.”
At ZAUO, you get to fish for your food, quite literally. It’s a fishing/dining experience where fishing for your food is cheaper than ordering straight off the menu. It’s obviously not like fishing in the ocean or a lake, but instead the fish are put into fish tanks where customers are allowed to “fish” them for a fixed price. Each fishing rod costs ¥110, and you can use them for as long as your dining time permits. There are two different sections of fish, one where a simple hook is enough to get the fish, and another where you actually need to fishing bait to catch your harvest. They offer a variety of seafood, from lobsters and prawns to sea bream and yellowtail. Of course, you can choose to opt out of the fishing experience, and order straight off the menu, but where’s the fun in that?
ZAUO is a relatively popular restaurant chain, and there are several of them located around Japan, including Tokyo. For our visit, we had reserved a table at their Shibuya branch, located within 5-10 minutes of walking distance from the Shibuya JR station. It was easy to locate as they had a big sign right outside where the stairs would take you straight down to the restaurant itself. I would definitely recommend reserving a table ahead of time, as walk-ins may not be accepted.
Upper deck fishing area
When you first enter the restaurant, you will notice that restaurant leans heavily toward the fishing theme. The restaurant was split into two different levels, separated by a small set of stairs. Both decks had tables for customers. The upper section of the restaurant is designed to be like the bow of a ship. There was a large taiko drum located near the stairs, and a small fishing section right as you walk up the stairs filled with fish. And, below the bow of the ship sits the other fish tanks where the fish are located. On top of that, the moment we felt like we just entered a port or the ocean. It didn’t smell like a restaurant, it smelled like a sea port. For context, we visited ZAUO during the winter, so we expected it to be warm. But it felt more like how you’d feel if you went to a tropical beach.
The first thing we did was to enquire on how the fishing experience worked. You can choose to add fishing to your reservation on their website, however we weren’t sure at the time of reserving a table if we wanted to do so. We were informed that it costs ¥110 to rent the fishing rod, and you can share the rod amongst your group, so we decided to go with 1 fishing rod. Each type of seafood has a specific menu that allows you to choose how you want your harvest to be prepared, however some ways may require additional fees. As we mentioned earlier, there are two different fishing areas: the upper and lower deck. The upper deck requires fishing bait, whilst the lower deck did not. Naturally, as two people with no fishing experience (apart from video games), we went to the lower deck and sought out our harvest.
The first thing that caught our eye was the lobster. Located in the tank closest to the entrance of the restaurant, we picked up our fishing rod and immediately tried our hand at catching a lobster. It took a bit of getting used to, as it’s not so much fishing, but rather hooking onto the lobster with the fishing rod. Once caught, the staff came over to put the lobster into a net. They also offered to take a picture for you with your phone so you have it as a commemorative photo. After that, they asked us how we’d like our lobster prepared, in which we answered that we’d like it baked with mayo (big mistake, but more on that later). Then they took the lobster into the kitchen and the next time we’d see it would be on our table, ready to be eaten. We had also caught 3 prawns to be prepared as tempura.
After the lobster and prawns, we turned our attention to the sea bream right under the bow of the ship. It turns out, many of the other customers were also interested in them and were taking turns catching their harvests! Naturally, we wanted to join in on the fun and employed our fishing rod again. After a couple minutes, we managed to snag a rather large and feisty sea bream. Like the lobster, the staff came to assist us and transferred the fish onto a larger hook where we could hold it up and take a picture with. I say feisty, because this sea bream was constantly wiggling, despite being out of the water for about 2 minutes at this point. What I didn’t notice was that since its mouth was gouged by the hook, each time it wiggled, there was blood splattering. The blood would end up on parts of my shirt (small droplets, nothing that would make me look suspicious) and I wouldn’t notice until toward the end of dinner. As the sea bream was a larger fish, it could be prepared in 2 ways, so we decided on getting half of it as deep fried (think, fish and chips) and the other half as sashimi.
Now that we’ve covered the fishing, let’s cover the dining.
The first item that was served was the deep fried sea bream. We were pleasantly surprised by this dish, as we didn’t expect it to be so good. The portion was admittedly smaller than I’d like, especially for two people. But the flavor of the fish was amazing, incredibly soft and juicy. It was cooked perfectly. The tartar sauce that came along with it paired very well, and a squeeze of lemon juice over the fish elevated the dish. We were left wanting more by the time we’d finish it.
The prawn tempura came soon after, and unlike the sea bream, we couldn’t complain about the portion size. After all, we were the ones that caught only 3. Unlike other places that I’ve tried in the past, this tempura was done perfectly. It wasn’t dripping with oil, neither did I feel heavy and greasy after eating it. It was incredibly light and I could’ve done with a few more pieces (should’ve caught more). With the crispy golden exterior and a piping hot interior, it’s easy to describe this as a great dish. However, I do have some complaints with it. Firstly, I’m the type of person that loves to eat the head of the prawn (don’t judge), so I appreciate it if the entire prawn is cooked. Unfortunately, this one wasn’t hot, it was warm, bordering on cold. I have no doubt that the prawns were cooked through, but it was disappointing to not be able to eat the heads.
Next up was an item that I had ordered off the menu, the Rich Crab Cream Croquette. I am a huge croquette fan, and when I saw it, I couldn’t help myself. Again, it came with a slice of lemon which I squeezed on top of the croquettes. Like the previous 2 items, the croquettes came out with a crispy golden exterior. I opened them up instead of biting into them, knowing they were piping hot, and I was right. A small amount of steam escaped with the cream oozing out onto the plate. Trying them made me remember why I love well-made croquettes; the warmth of the cream with the flavor of the crab is incredible. It tasted of the ocean, in a good way. My only complaint was that there was no sauce served alongside despite being in the menu, I wish the sauce was served so I could try the pairing together, but oh well.
Then came the sea bream sashimi, plated somewhat menacingly with the fish head on the side. With 20 pieces of sashimi between the 2 of us, we were excited to try it out. Each slice of sashimi was so thinly sliced, you could actually see the serving plate through the sashimi! It also came with wasabi on the side, should you enjoy your sashimi with it. After the first bite however, it became apparent that maybe sea bream sashimi was not the best choice for us. I felt that the fish was a bit too boney and perhaps it would be better if it was cooked instead. Maybe it was because it was sliced so thinly, but I also found out that when you dip it into soy sauce, it would just cover the entire slice. That meant that you wouldn’t be tasting the fish with some soy sauce, but instead soy sauce with some fish. Nonetheless, we finished the plate and a staff member soon came over to clear our table, but not before informing us that the sea bream carcass could be made into miso soup if we wanted. Naturally, we said yes!
About 20 minutes later, the miso soup arrived. From my experience, miso soup is normally a side dish to complete the ensemble. It’s not something that I order separately at a Japanese restaurant. But this miso soup definitely changed my perception. The miso soup I’ve had in the past is normally made with just miso and tofu, but since this had sea bream in it, the taste of the soup changes dramatically. The soup had the taste of the ocean, and the remaining flakes of fish from the carcass tasted so good, it melts in your mouth. Honestly, after the first sip, my partner and I looked at each other wide eyed because of how great it was. Needless to say, we drank the whole bowl and were left wanting for more.
You might be wondering, I’ve described all the food, except the baked lobster in mayo. Well that’s because it literally took about 2 hours for it to be served. Throughout dinner, I was so eagerly waiting for this and my eagerness turned into impatience. By the time it arrived, I was just happy we didn’t catch a lobster for naught. It was… disappointing. The meat was easy to peel from the shell since it was fresh, and the mayo was sweet and wasn’t overpowering. It was definitely delicious, but it was soured by the fact it took too long to be served.
By the end of dinner we were definitely stuffed. The total for the dinner (including drinks) was ¥22,517, or S$217. A hefty price to pay for a meal that included some hands-on work. So was it worth the price, and would I do it again?
In my opinion, it was definitely worth the price. Honestly, it was a very unique and satisfying experience. I will admit that a dinner that costs S$217 where you have to work for your food may seem odd and peculiar. But apart from actually fishing in the ocean, where could you go that lets you catch your own food and eat it within 2 hours? Given the chance on another trip, I would definitely visit ZAUO again, however I might choose a different branch, as the basement did feel a bit stuffy at times.
I would recommend anyone who’s into seafood to try this place out. It’s a popular restaurant chain with multiple branches throughout Tokyo and Japan. I would also recommend making reservations in advance to avoid disappointment. We made ours about 3 weeks in advance as we were visiting during the Christmas/year-end period. We also did not choose to select the fishing on our reservation, but doing it online gives you a selection of how you want your fish to be cooked after catching them. If you’re not into the whole fishing experience, you can always order from the menu like I did with the croquette. I would also advise on maybe not wearing white, in case you get blood on you like I did.
Overall, I’d definitely rate this a solid 7/10. The only downside was how slow it took for the lobster to arrive and some of the portions were a bit smaller than expected. The fishing was definitely new to me but a fun experience.
A Happy Pancake a day, leaves you wanting some more
Souffle pancakes, cozy interior vibes in Japan? Sign. Me. Up.
If there’s one thing that we all know about Japan and it’s amazing cuisine and culture, is that they absolutely love their sweet stuff. From delicious mochi, to parfaits with fresh fruits and crepes with countless amounts of toppings. But in the recent years, there was a new trend of desserts that have popped up in our social media feeds, called “fuwa fuwa pancakes”. I won’t go too much into how they are made, but they are essentially made using the usual pancake (or hotcakes as they are also called in Japan) batter way, but instead of mixing the eggs together with the batter, they separate the egg yolks and egg whites. By whipping the egg whites separately and then folding them into the batter carefully, you get a soufflé like pancake when cooked properly. They are cooked over a small flame to prevent them from burning, often taking up to 20 minutes to prevent them from deflating.
So of course, when we visited Japan, it was a no brainer to visit a café that not only serves these unique pancakes, but also specializes in them. And that’s when we found A Happy Pancake (幸せのパンケーキ in Japanese) in Ginza, Tokyo. I must first preface this by mentioning that they have several branches in Tokyo, and indeed throughout Japan as well as a couple branches in Hong Kong. Our visit to their Ginza branch was purely coincidental in that we were exploring Ginza and we happened to remember about these pancakes, so we started Googling for the nearest café.
Located between a side street in the busy shopping district of Ginza, A Happy Pancake wasn’t easy to find when navigating through Google Maps. Our navigating led us up and down the small street wondering where it was, only to find out that it wasn’t on the ground floor, it was actually on the 7th floor of a building that wasn’t easily locatable unless you were actively looking out for it. The only clues of the café was a simple sign stand outside the building’s lift lobby. It didn’t help that right beside the lift lobby was another cafe called NOA café, which served waffles!
After locating A Happy Pancake, we discovered that they used an online queue system, so we snapped the QR code on our phones and were given a waiting time of 45-60 minutes. It should be noted that we visited the café at around 4PM on a Monday, so we can only imagine how busy it would be during the weekends or public holidays. Given we had nothing to do around Ginza (it’s an expensive shopping district), we decided to wait outside along with other fellow café patrons. DO NOT WAIT IN THE LOBBY OR GO UP WITHOUT THE QUEUE SYSTEM INFORMING YOU SO. As the building is shared among other businesses (including a hair salon on the 7th floor), we would definitely suggest entering the online queue and then either walk around Ginza or wait outside in the building.
Interior of A Happy Pancake (Source: A Happy Pancake website)
After about 30 minutes, we were alerted by the system to enter the building and head up the 7th floor. There we queued up for another 20-25 minutes before being seated in the cafe itself. Upon entering, you will notice that there is a view of the kitchen from the dining area, only separated by a glass window. At the time of the visit, they were serving a special menu that was Christmas themed. Additionally, according to their website, it seems that each branch has their own special menu unique to their location. Since there were two of us, we ordered two separate desserts. For myself, I had the Rich cheese mousse pancake with berry sauce, while my partner ordered the pancake parfait with deliciously ripe strawberries. Unfortunately, they had ran out of the special menu for the day.
Because each pancake is made to order, the waiting time for your order would take roughly around 20 minutes. That would definitely give you time to head over to the window to watch them create your fluffy soufflé pancakes. Water is also provided free of charge and is self service with paper cups. On our visit there, we found a number of tourists like ourselves as well as a few locals. It was definitely a packed café, but it was still quiet enough that you could have a conversation without having to raise your voice because someone a few tables away was talking loudly. The vibe inside A Happy Pancake, was definitely a happy and cozy one with Instagrammable food being served.
After 20 minutes of patiently waiting, the stars of the show arrived. The first thing that I did after the server put down the plate (apart from taking a photo), was gently shake the plate to see if the pancake would jiggle. It definitely did. The initial impressions of the pancake were of the presentation and the visuals. The pancakes themselves had a very yellow exterior, which according to the café is due the fermented butter from Hokkaido and Manuka Honey from New Zealand that they use. The berry sauce had a sweet and mildly tangy taste which complemented the whipped butter and cream on top of the pancakes. The butter was very thick and fooled me initially for ice cream because of how it held it’s shape. On the other side of the table, my partner’s order looked much more colorful and albeit slightly messy. The pancakes were hidden beneath 2 scoops of ice cream (vanilla and strawberry) with strawberry sauce, cornflakes, white chocolate shavings and fresh strawberries.
Taste wise, they were pretty underwhelming. While the pancake was fluffy on the outside, I thought that they were quite dense and filling. Because they were all made to order, the pancakes were warm and everything else was placed on top of the pancake, they made the cream and sauce quite warm. On the other hand, my partner’s order tasted miles better than mine. The coldness of the ice cream in contrast to the pancake’s warm embrace were perfect together. Add in the cornflakes for a different texture made the experience even better. The sweetness of the fresh strawberries were also incredible, helping break down some of that richness from the pancakes. In my opinion, I would’ve rather had both the sauce and the cream to be cold in contrast to the pancake, or at least have the pancake sit at room temperature before serving. However, I understand that given the delicate nature of these pancakes, letting them sit would’ve deflated them and ruin the entire dish. In that regard, I would suggest to either order the items with ice cream in it, or order an extra scoop of ice cream with it.
In total, these two orders amounted to about ¥3,160, roughly around S$29 (at the time of posting). So the big question that this post was made to address, was it worth it and would I go again?
For that price, I think it was worth it. The pancakes were filling, the vibes were great in the café and I very much enjoyed my time at A Happy Pancake. I think it is a great place to go if you were visiting for the first time or really want to try soufflé pancakes or if you liked desserts, but I would not go again, unless it was absolutely certain I would get a table without waiting and/or there is a special menu item that I’m very interested in.
Like I mentioned at the start, these pancakes are quite popular on social media and they are beginning to pop up everywhere, not just in Japan. I think it is a great entry to a food blog (calling myself out here) and a great piece to post on Instagram. I would also recommend anyone visiting Japan to try it out if you like desserts, but only if you are willing to wait upwards of 30-45 minutes for a table. There are plenty of other places that offer soufflé pancakes that don’t necessarily require you to wait for that long and they may be similar in price. For example, we found that Hoshino Coffee - a coffee chain similar to Starbucks - also served similar pancakes. If you’re into desserts but not necessarily wanting to try soufflé pancakes, the café right beside the building where A Happy Pancake is in serves waffles, and didn’t have a queue at all.
Overall, I would rate my experience here about a 6.5/10. Definitely enjoyable, and I would bring someone here again, just not anytime soon.
Level 33, out from the hustle and bustle of Singapore
Above the bustling city of Singapore sits LeVeL 33 and it’s urban brewery. The atmosphere is reflective of it’s unique restaurant/brewery style; bright and exciting with a beautiful backdrop of the Marina Bay Sands towers.
I will admit, this restaurant was not on a list or on an Instagram reel that I watched. It was recommended to me by my partner when they visited Singapore as an alternative, because we couldn’t find another restaurant with a classy interior and a gorgeous backdrop while maintaining the integrity of our wallets. However, it was an amazing find so I thank them for it.
LeVeL 33 is described as the world’s highest urban microbrewery with a unique rooftop dining experience. They offer a unique selection of beers that are locally brewed with sustainability in mind, serving straight from tank to tap with no packaging whatsoever. The first thing to note when heading into LeVeL 33 is the location. Although it’s located near Raffles Place and downtown, it is situated up on level 33 of the Marina Bay Financial Center where it overlooks the Marina Bay Sands towers and the Singapore River. If you squint a bit, you can even see the Gardens by the Bay at night when the Super Trees are lit up.
High above the noise of a thriving metropolis sits LeVeL 33, where fine dining meets the beautiful backdrop of the Marina Bay Sands towers
For our dinner reservation at LeVeL 33, we were sat indoors due to the lack of seating out on the terrace, but that didn’t stop us from leaving our seats to admire the beautiful evening view, more on that later. We were shown the dining room menu with some delectable choices on offer, for example the Beef Tartare, and their signature raw and chilled seafood platter. In the end, we were convinced by our server to try out the Sharing Cut of the Day, consisting of a steak cut, slow roasted tomato, IPA & honey roasted garlic, 3 house made sauces and our choice of 2 sides. Along with our sharing cut was a side of their Housemade Spent Grain & Herb Focaccia and a lobster bisque for myself.
Doesn’t that sound delicious? Just thinking about it makes my mouth water.
Let’s start with the basics. The bread. Personally, I’m of the opinion that bread is there as an accompaniment. By itself, they can be delicious provided they are made with great care and love. This was indeed the case with LeVeL 33’s Focaccia bread. It was fluffy and warm, when drizzled with the balsamic and evoo pairing they serve as a great appetizer and lead you perfectly into wanting more. Which incidentally, leads me to the lobster bisque.
The presentation of the lobster bisque was already different from what I had imagined. I would’ve expected the bisque to be in the bowl when served, but LeVeL 33 was no ordinary fine dining restaurant. Our server slowly poured the bisque around a portion of poached lobster with it’s caviar and fennel partner in the center of the bowl. My immediate thought to myself was, I’m not sure if I should gracefully taste this bisque, or devour it immediately. I opted for somewhere in the middle. The bisque was flavorful, like an ocean breeze in the summer. With every spoonful, I could taste the lobster umami in the bisque. No, I didn’t forget the poached lobster, that was equally delicious, although my only gripe with it was that it wasn’t hot, but I think that was intended. The contrast in temperature between the bisque and poached lobster provided a very interesting dynamic, allowing you taste the texture of both. The bisque also went very well with the focaccia bread, although the bread did turn cold pretty quickly.
On to the highlight of dinner, well, it is indeed a showstopper.
The Sharing Cut. Oh my, if only technology was so advanced that you could have a quick taste of the food. Today’s particular cut was a tomahawk,, matched with roasted tomatoes, and honey roasted garlic. Cooked to medium rare perfection, they were tender and delicious. You may think the portion may be a bit small for 2 adults, but with the mashed potatoes and fries with parmesan cheese they were more than enough to fill our hungry stomachs. The 3 sauces included were Chimichurri, Red wine & Stout jus and an IPA onion & roasted yeast. Each of the sauces paired delightfully with the steak and, while unconventional, the fries as well. The chimichurri sauce was minty, giving the steak a different taste, while the red wine and stout jus was as you’d expect with red wine and steak; traditional and well paired. I can’t describe the final sauce as I’m not 100% sure if I actually enjoyed it.
There’s nothing more I can say about the food apart from the fact that I will definitely return to try out the rest of the menu. Given LeVeL 33 is high above the city, the ambiance and serenity is not something you experience every day. The views were outstanding, the only unfortunate part about our experience was not being able to sit on the terrace to fully soak in the views of Marina Bay Sands. On a different day, I would definitely request a table outside and at sunset. Similarly, the service was great. Our server was very warm and welcoming when we arrived, and slowly explained the day’s specials and recommended us our incredible dinner. As dinner service got busy, they still came around to check on us to make sure everything was okay.
The dining room however, is not big and you may find your conversations being overheard by others unless you decide to speak softly. Toward the end of the night, a large group of diners were seated behind our table. I found that the space between tables were minimal and as the dining room got busier, it would get harder to have conversations without raising your voice. I also don’t remember the outdoor terrace having any coverings in case it started to rain, so do beware if you happen to sit outside on a day forecasted with rain.
Overall, I would definitely rate this dining experience a high 8/10. Definitely would go back and try their seafood and beers next time.
From (my idea) farm, to (internet) table
A brief entry on what this blog is about
This site is going to be my personal review of food and snacks from restaurants and stalls. The reviews will range from short and sweet, to long and lengthy. There will also be some posts about traveling but the majority will be about food.
Some posts will be from the past, as far as 2018, but I will do my best to keep my reviews up to date!
I should also think of a catchphrase..
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