A new yakiniku cum shabu shabu place has opened up at VivoCity (1 HarbourFront Walk, #01-102, 6377-0060). Split in half, the Tajimaya side specializes in yakiniku while the Shabuya side specializes in - you guessed it - shabu shabu. In the mood for something light tonight, I veered over to the Shabuya side to see how it would fare.
It wasn't too encouraging at first. A pile of cut chili padi was oddly provided next to the usual daikon and scallions, and yet the sauces consisted only of ponzu without the usual goma counterpart. Some of the udon that they gave me was rather tattered and broken up into small bits, and there was no strainer provided either, which effectively forced me to use a makeshift upside-down shiitake mushroom in order to skim the scum off the broth. Moreover, the Australian beef that I ordered was so lean that it was pretty much tasteless. Perhaps that's why they needed to provide that chili padi.
I was pretty unsatisfied at that point, but I knew that it was my own fault for ordering the cheapest grade of beef that they had (S$22.90 or US$16.20 for a set). Thus, I added an order of US beef instead, which fortunately came out marbled enough to give it a bit more flavor. There were a few other things that I liked too, including the light and refreshing house salad as well as the pork-based broth that they gave (interestingly, they used one of those Chinese yuan yang pots where one gets two different kinds of broth). Even though this meal was eventually rescued, I'd much rather go to Ohsumi instead.
1 comment:
Update: We went to Ohsumi tonight and were shocked to see them providing chili padi and raw garlic now. Worse, the beef was also too lean and thus left us rather unsatisfied, which we were totally puzzled about given how many years these guys have consistently been one of our favorites. Did they change owners or something? Whatever it was, it was a total letdown. I guess we'll have to wait for our next trip to Japan instead then.
Post a Comment