Omakase at Teppei, Orchid Hotel - a (Japanese) Whirlwind Ride

Teppei

Omakase is the next thing to go mass market, right? All of a sudden Japanese shops are all serving "omakase" meals (literally meaning "I'll leave it to you"), what was once offered only by the best restaurants in town. Perhaps the decadence and meaning in "omakase" is slipping somewhat, or perhaps decadence is now offered to more - I suppose it's how you see it. Now, not all omakase meals live up to expectations, especially at the more competitive price points (see, it's a lot easier to impress when you give the chef, say, $200 to please you, than say, $60) but Teppei manages to give a helluva ride at a price that seriously won't burn your pocket. Obviously everyone knows this already, or their dinner reservations won't be full till April next year, eh?

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Omakase at Hachi, Mohamed Sultan, Singapore

Hachi

Omakase at Hachi was simply one of my best meals this year. There's nothing quite like surrendering your night to the able chops of a Japanese chef, letting him surprise you course by course, assembled with only the freshest seasonal produce, of course. The omakase I had that night, two months back (still as vivid as yesterday, honest!), showcased all of my favourite ingredients too, would you believe it? Sashimi? Checked. Oyster? Uni? Otoro? Wagyu? Checked!

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Tanuki Raw - Best Happy Hour, Ever.

Happy hour oysters, $1 a pop

This is cheesy but I don't know what I'd do if happy hours didn't exist. Good thing for me, all of us, I mean, happy hours are one of those rare things in life that are never short in supply (and probably never will be). See, life doesn't always throw us lemons, sometimes life can be kind enough to throw us $1 oysters too! Along with a few wedges of lemon, usually, and some tabasco.

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Ryoshi Sushi Ikeikemaru, Liang Court - Real Fish at Real Prices

Hokkaido Scallop Nigiri Sushi, $4.80, Jizakana Rayu Gunkan Maki Sushi, $2.80

Every now and then, a restaurant appears out of nowhere and completely shakes up the scene. Ryoshi Sushi Ikeikemaru is one of them. Really, who would expect good sushi out of a conveyor belt restaurant? Especially when the steepest plate of sushi is $6.80! Stoked?

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Buffet Spread at The Line, Shangri-la Hotel, Singapore

Freshly Shucked Oysters

M brought me to The Line for my birthday dinner this year. I was all excited! Oysters and sashimi are my absolute favourite. In fact, I started my meal with 7 of these darlings, and had no less than a dozen throughout the night! M had none as usual, just looked on, completely bemused at my enjoyment. I'm still irrationally optimistic that he'll be a convert one day! If it can happen to my best friend, S, and so many other close friends of mine, it can happen to him! These were actually a little too salty for me. Oysters take on the flavour of the water they are harvested in so I guess it probably had something to do with that.

Sashimi and Sushi

The sashimi served at The Line was top notch. The Mekajiki (swordfish) sashimi was fabulous - sweet with a wonderful bite. I'd skip the octopus next time though (a little rubbery), alongside all the sushi - they were simply left there for too long. There was also a selection of appetizers including parma ham, which was great - thinly sliced and wrapped around sweet melons, but I missed taking a photo of it.

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Snapshot: $1 Oysters at Zen Café - Shindo Art, East Coast Park [closed]

1/2 a dozen of freshly shucked oysters, $1 each [shot with iphone]

oh guys, I know it's been a long time. My schedule is still insane but I'm feeling terrible for not updating for so long so here I am. How's the weather treating you, by the way? The rain has led me to mostly bundle up in a cosy sweater and dream of ramen. I actually had a pretty decent meal at Ramen Champion last week - I promise I'll post about it in the next week or so. But I digress. This snapshot is about $1 oysters at Zen Café - Shindo Art, East Coast Park.

It may seem counter-intuitive to head to the beach in the rain but I actually think it can be pretty romantic... And oysters just seem like the perfect recipe for romance.. no? There is something about the way an oyster glides along your tongue, bursting with the sublime, briny taste of the ocean. It was actually my first time at Zen Café - Shindo Art. M brought me there because I've been chanting "oysters, oysters" for the longest time. He doesn't even eat them so it's just me and the oysters but that's okay. Clearly, they aren't the biggest ones you'd ever see but for $1 each, that's okay too. I mean, if you're not thinking about having 20 or more oysters at a go, a buffet wouldn't make sense and Zen Café - Shindo Art would. But I must say, I'd like them better if they weren't served half-submerged in ice water since it diluted the flavour somewhat... Then again, I suppose all you have to do is politely request that the oysters are served on top of the ice and not below. Easy enough. Overall, it's a steal!

And the best part? Their oyster deal wasn't the only thing that stood out. The mango prawn roll appetizer was surprisingly delicious and the Tempura fish and chips was really decent for the price.

P.S. Have you been there? Let me know what you thought about the food!


Zen Café - Shindo Art
1000 East Coast Parkway,
Unit A-8 Marine Cove, Singapore
[behind Mcdonalds]
Tel: +65 6449 3221

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The Almost Extinct Oyster Pancake

Fuzhou Oyster Pancakes

If you're a fan of oysters, you have to be a fan of Fuzhou oyster pancakes. To me, this is as natural and certain as the law of gravity (or any other law you can think of). So, imagine my surprise when I found out that this incredibly savoury snack just isn't as popular as I thought it should be. You will never have a problem finding a Chicken Rice or Hokkien Mee stall in Hawker Centres or Food Courts, but a Fuzhou Oyster Pancake stall? You can probably count the number of stalls in the whole of Singapore with your fingers. As a kid, my dad would return from work on some days with small brown paper bags of Fuzhou oyster pancakes that would fill the house with a wonderful aroma of fried batter, oysters and pork. Imagine that! I would be extremely thrilled every single time, and finish my dinner as quickly as I can just to crunch into my favourite snack. My dad always buys at least three pancakes, so I would secretly hope that my mum wouldn't feel like eating hers, because then I'll get to have two instead of just one.

Even when I grew older, and started missing dinners and going home at late or unearthly hours because of school, I would return home on some days to see a small brown paper bag on my desk, and feel an incredible warmth in my heart because to me, that oyster pancake has almost become a symbol of my dad's love. I simply don't know how anyone can resist the combination of oysters and marinated minced pork enveloped in a crispy batter. How can you say no to such a beautiful combination of flavours? But if I'm having an oyster pancake, it has to be Fuzhou Style oyster pancake - there must be pork. Any other version just falls short. Granted, this snack is probably not the best thing for your health, but it's so worth the occasional calorie splurge.

To the best of my knowledge, the stalls at Amoy Food Centre (pictured) and Maxwell Food Centre churns out the best oyster pancakes. Those are the ones my dad brings home for me. I also get really excited whenever I chance upon an old couple selling Fuzhou oyster pancakes in the really huge pasar malam held in Bedok Central from time to time. It's a tiny stall that only sells oyster pancakes (and recently fried drumsticks too I believe). Sometimes, I wonder just how much longer I'll get to eat their oyster pancakes... Is anyone else disturbed by the fact that the Fuzhou oyster pancake trade might just disappear one day? I really am.


Amoy Road Food Centre
Hong's Oyster Pancake Shoppe, #02-102,
7 Maxwell Road, S069111

Maxwell Road Food Centre
Maxwell Fuzhou Oyster Cake, Stall #22
10am to 6pm daily

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Snapshot: Favourite Free Flow Oysters

Absolutely fantastic fresh oysters, free flow

I'm currently in Oestrich-Winkel, Germany, for a 6-month University Exchange, and so far everything I've seen looks like something straight out of a winter postcard. I'm really excited to share the photos I managed to take when I was brave enough to go bare on the hands (I just can't take photos with gloves!) but in the mean time, I still have 3 more Singapore posts to go, and this is one of them! I'm not exactly a fan of buffets because the quality always suffers unless you pay a premium, but I always go to Orchard Cafe in Orchard Hotel when I absolutely need free flow oysters. They have been fresh and delicious for as long as I can remember (they used to shuck it right in front of you), and you can have as many as you want along with other decent quality dishes (I love their herbal drunken prawns) for just about $56 per person. As many as you want! I thought I would be able to have 20 and not be satisfied, so I was rather disappointed when I reached diminishing returns after 10! Still, I was a very happy girl that night. What's the highest number of oysters you've ever had?

P.S. The only downside was that the oysters were replenished in intervals and they were always very quickly snapped up so the platter was empty most of the time. I don't remember this ever happening before though, so it might have been an isolated incident.

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Ah Yat Seafood Restaurant, Turf City, Singapore

Fresh Shucked Oyster

Is anyone here a fan of seafood? I am. My entire family loves seafood. So for my dad's birthday, we drove to Turf City, where you get to choose live seafood from over 60 tanks! I think my dad had a lot of fun picking out the live seafood for dinner. The fresh oysters were great (freshly shucked oysters are one of my favourite things in life) and I half-wished this was a seafood buffet so that these would have been free flow..

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