Lunch at Ichiban Boshi @ Suntec City

3 Temasek Boulevard, #B1-111, Suntec City Fountain area, Singapore 038983

Tel: 6238 7088

Website: https://www.ichibanboshi.com.sg/en/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IchibanBoshiNovenaSquare/

Been a huge fan of Ichiban Boshi Japanese Restaurant for over a decade, always enjoying their delectable Japanese dishes that are wallet-friendly. From sashimi to rice bowls (don) to Japanese Curry and Lobster Salad Sushi etc- they never failed to be my comfort food.

Ichiban Boshi is a Japanese chain restaurant with 13 outlets in Singapore, and I daresay I have tried most of them over the years.  Happy to review that standard is consistent across the restaurants, and consistent over the years. You can read a couple of previous reviews here and here.

Recently they had a promotion where different outlets served a different specialty menu; and I love the Buckwheat Soba one at Suntec City. One dish in particular had me returning time and again - the cold Natto Buckwheat Soba dish.

Now natto means fermented soy beans so there's a saltish taste that you either love or hate. The rest of the ingredients include cut ladies' fingers, shredded seaweed, poached egg, canned enoki mushrooms and spring onions. Toss everything together and enjoy the flavoursome dish with different textures of crunchy ladies' fingers, smooth buckwheat, texturized natto, etc - very addictive to eat; and healthy to enjoy.

Other enjoyable dishes for me here are also their Sashimi Platter (one may choose the types of fish or seafood you like), the Chawanmushi aka steamed egg custard, and conveyor belt sushi.

I look forward to dining at their restaurants soon again.

Lunch at Sun with Moon Japanese Dining & Cafe at Orchard

501 Orchard Road, #03-15, Wheelock Place, Singapore 238880

Tel: 6733 6636

Website: https://www.sunwithmoon.com.sg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sunwithmoondining

Sun with Moon Japanese Dining and Cafe is another favorite restaurant of mine, whenever I have craving for contemporary Japanese cuisine. I am glad they are still around after so many years, so I can still enjoy the delectable food as well as excellent thoughtful service here.

Combining the natural elements of sun and the moon, this cafe restaurant is the epitome of Japanese savoir faire, and its concept hails straight from Tokyo. You can read my past review here.

Being heavily pregnant then, the staff were very concerned when I tried to order items containing raw stuff (i.e. sashimi, or even torched items); in fact they managed to talk me out of it. So I started with Agadeshi Tofu (SGD$6.80) - four silken pieces of crisp-skinned beancurd in tasty Dashi (Japanese soya) sauce, topped with bonito flakes, grated radish and spring onions.

Next, some nutritious Kaisen Chawan Mushi (SGD$12.80) - came with prawn, gingko nut and mushrooms hidden in big bowl of palatable steamed egg custard,  and served with sweet crab ankake sauce.

Following that, Foie Gras Millefeuille (SGD$15.80) - incredibly melty grilled Foie Gras with sweet soy sauce served on flaky millefeuille pastry and a bed of lettuce. Love the texturized dish that was ever so addictive.

Finally, Avocado Soft Shell Crab Roll (SGD$9.90 for 4 pieces / SGD$18.80 for 8 pieces) with crunchy cucumber, crispy soft shell Crab, buttery avocado slices and topped with flying fish roe for that explosive deliciousness. Needless to say, a dish that came highly recommended.

Love Sun with Moon Japanese Dining and Cafe; and will be back soon again for more meals.

Afternoon Tea at Lady M Confections @ Westgate [Takeout]

3 Gateway Drive #02-25 / 26, Westgate, Singapore 608532

Tel: 6250 8993

Website: https://www.ladym.com.sg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LadyMSingapore

Lady M Confections hails from New York, serving up freshest and finest confectionery delights French and Japanese pastry precision and methodologies; its signature Mille Crepes Cake feature at least 20 layers of extremely thin handmade crepes layered with delicate pastry cream. I fell in love since my first bite (review here).

Since their flagship branch at Marina Square, Lady M Confections has since expanded to more outlets at Orchard Central, Scotts Square, South Beach and Westgate. I visited the latter outlet - beautifully decorated in white like its other outlets - and decided to get some desserts for one of the weekly family dinners.

The variety of delectable-looking cakes made it difficult to simply choose a couple slices of cakes! Everything looked equally tempting, if not more than the one beside it. There were Strawberry Shortcake, Checkers Cake, Signature Mille Crepe Cake, Marron Mille Crepe Cake, Chocolate Mille Crepe Cake, Chocolate Mille Crepe Cake, Gateau Au Chocolate, Chocolate Eclairs, etc.

In the end, I picked a slice of Signature Mille Crepe Cake (SGD$9.90) and a slice of Chocolate Mille Crepe Cake (SGD$9.90).

The paper-thin layers of crepes melted lusciously in the mouths, sweet but not cloying; the chocolate one was creamier, richer in texture and flavour. Everyone enjoyed the delights, and I hope I had gotten more - but I will be back for sure.

Update: went back for more, at Scotts Square outlet. Paired with Milk Oolong Tea.

My mom and I also visited the Orchard Central outlet, enjoying afternoon tea of Classic Mille Crepe Cake and a rich, decadent Chocolate Tart.

Dinner at Buffet Town Restaurant @ City Hall

252 North Bridge Road #B1-44E Raffles City Shopping Centre, Singapore 179103

Tel: 6837 3793

Website: https://buffettown.com.sg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BuffetTownSG

Buffet Town is an international seafood buffet restaurant located conveniently at the basement of Raffles City Shopping Centre, a wallet-friendly restaurant with seating capacity for up to 500 persons. It is also child-friendly, with a colorful playground in one corner so that the adults could dine without disturbance while the kids entertain themselves joyfully.

They have many different food stations offering a good variety of cuisine, from Japanese Station (think sashimi, grilled items and sushi) to Peranakan counters serving Curry Chicken, Chicken Pongteh, and more.

At a mere SGD$26.80 (per adult) for weekday lunch onwards, Buffet Town is definitely an affordable all-you-can-indulge food haven for food lovers, especially those who enjoy buffet for its variety.

I rather enjoyed the Laksa which was served at the Chicken Rice Stall, right next to the Brewed Soup Station. The Laksa was not too spicy, but the soup was rich with shrimp paste, which added to the aroma.

The Japanese Station was another area I frequented during my dining session there - Sashimi that was pretty decent. I also enjoyed the Seafood counter where one could get Crayfish, Oysters, Prawns, Conch, Mussels, etc.

Other stations included the Italian station with Roast Beef, Pizzas, local station with Satay and Chilli Crab, as well as a Pin Le stall serving coffee and tea.

Desserts counter comprised a variety of cakes such as Corn Cake, New York Cheese Cake, Brownie Cubes, fondue items, jars of mousse and panna cotta, as well as fruits. What was more impressive was the array of 6 home-style, hot Chinese dessert soup like Tau Suan (yellow beans soup), Cheng Teng (clear sweet soup with ingredients like dried longan), etc.

All in all, I found Buffet Town to  be a family-friendly buffet restaurant offering a well-assorted, multi-cuisine dining experience, blending tradition with modern culinary techniques. It is a good place for gatherings or a simple buffet meal but do not compare it to hotel buffets for sure.

Lunch at Aburi Sushi Heishirou Restaurant @ Westgate (Revisit)

3 Gateway Drive #03-05 Westgate Mall, Singapore 608532

Tel: 6369 9489

Website: http://heishirou.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AburiSushiHeishirou

Having visited Aburi Sushi Heishirou Japanese Restaurant twice (review here) and enjoying their food variety and quality immensely, I decided to revisit a third time, this time with *Pris for her birthday catch-up.

Service was still personable, though restaurant space was reduced because the alfresco dining area was undergoing renovation. We both simultaneously decided to order the same item because it looked tempting, and would let us have the best of (more than) both worlds all in a set.  We both ordered the Beef and Sushi Set (SGD$35.00) that was a promotion for July / August 2018.

The set was served in a gigantic bowl / wok -like tray with cover. We were both delightfully shocked when the first tray was set on the table, followed by the second one. Opening up, we were greeted with clouds of steam, and then we saw that all our items were sitting inside beautifully.

The Beef was pretty succulent and moistened, grilled nicely to keep it tender. We also enjoyed the delectable Chawanmushi aka Japanese steamed egg custard. There was also a small bowl of green tea noodles (cha soba) dipped in sweet black sauce.

Nestled in the middle was the bowl of Shrimp & Omelet Rice (ebi & tamago don), sweet and delicious. Fresh Sashimi Slices enhanced the meal tremendously, completed by an expertly cut orange that rested on its skin as though it was halfway peeled.

We also shared a starter of Ebi Tempura (SGD$12.00) aka deep-fried battered shrimp fritters - the battering was light and crispy, melting gingerly in the mouth.

Dining experience here at Aburi Sushi Heishirou was good, as usual, a simple but quality Japanese meal at affordable pricing - a restaurant not overly crowded, so we could make conversations easily during our lunch.

Lunch on Kei Kaisendon @ Suntec City

3 Temasek Boulevard #02-372 Suntec City Mall, Singapore 038983
Tel: 6251 9170
Website: None supp
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/keikaisendon

Being a lover of Japanese food, I couldn't be happier when my friend suggested lunching at Kei Kaisendon Japanese Restaurant the other day.

It is a restaurant with a simple concept and simple Japanese-style decor to match. Menu comprise mainly of Don (rice bowls) with various seafood sashimi or aburi (torched) seafood, all at affordable prices.

My friend recommended the Aburi Mentaiko Haisen Don (SGD$17.90). It's also filled with a variety of seafood torched gently for the delectable hints of smokiness, and slathered with creamy Mentaiko mayonnaise sauce.

After a tough struggle between Hei Signature Haisen Don (SGD$12.90 small / SGD$16.90 medium / SGD$19.90 large) and Scallops Haisen Don (SGD$19.90), I settled on the latter.

Huge succulent scallops and cubes of raw fish sashimi, shrimps, salmon roe, seaweed sheet and wakame topped the Japanese pearl rice. I enjoyed the sweet freshness of the seafood and appreciated the variety of seafood included.

Overall dining experience was quite good - simple but decent meal. Sashimi lovers no longer need to spend a bomb these days; with sashimi rice bowls like these, we can afford to satiate our cravings more frequently now.

Dinner at Kyoaji (京味) Dining Japanese Restaurant [Revisit]

176 Orchard Road #04-17 / 18 The Centrepoint, Singapore 238844

Tel: 6694 4068 / 6694 3058

Website: http://kyoaji.com.sg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KyoajiSG

Loving their food and service for years since they were under another name (review here and here), I decided to revisit because cravings tugged. I really love how they keep their prices reasonable all these years - in fact, some items still have the same price as a few years back.

Started with the Sashimi and Tempura Set Dinner (SGD$30.00), giving me the best both worlds with my favourite raw seafood items (salmon, tuna and shrimp) as well as crispy-textured battered prawns and vegetables. On top of that, the set also came with a bowl of Japanese rice (I did not want it), a tasty fresh Salad with corn and lettuce, as well as Miso Soup.

In lieu of rice, I ordered their Hot Fish Noodles (SGD$13.00) - bouncy, tasty noodles made of fish paste, served in a flavourful dark-colored broth, perfect for the cold evening weather.

Not enough! I also ordered their Cold Fish Noodles (SGD$13.00) served on a bed of ice - bouncy too, its naturally sweet flavour was more prominent here, not obliterated by broth or anything like the one above, and still every bit as delicious.

I really love their Fish Noodles, and could probably indulge in nothing but servings and servings of them!

Also had some interesting Marina Espumante Rosado Spanish Sparkling Red Wine (SGD$20.00) to pair the meal with - a lady's drink for sure, for it was sweet, smooth and easy on the palate.

Overall, I enjoyed my meal here at Kyoaji Dining very much once again - ambience was still subtly elegant and cosy as I remembered, and service crew so hospitable and friendly. Thank you!