Palate Pleasers N Tummy Teasers

Irasshaimase (to) Food Streets of Japan

A pile of bad reviews from friends and the press made papilles strike this particular dining establishment off our foodie radar completely some time back. It would’ve remained that way if not for the appearance of a particular sumo, one fateful day that I was wandering around Orchard Road, trying to decide on a place for dinner.

This was one of those catch-up-with-a-friend-you-haven’t-seen-in-eons kinda dinner, so ambience was the order of the day meal. With as little compromise to food quality as possible, of course. The venue was previously decided upon to be The Heeren and some scouting around later, a huge cardboard cut-out of a sumo caught my eye. Not that I could not notice it, being of that size and all…to cut a long story short, I followed the cardboard’s directions and found myself at the basement with a brightly lit neon sign that flashed Shokudo Streets of Japan. With nothing else particularly enticing in the whole of Heeren, I decided to throw all previous caution to the wind and embark on this new foodie adventure

The place was quiet even by weekday dinner standards. Which made for good catching-up over lost time with good friends; my only concern was if the lack of crowds reflected the quality of food that was served. Well, there was only one way to find out! But before I get to that, I must commend their efforts at decor - a unique theme for each seating section. They didn’t stinge on doing up the individual food stalls too, which upped the authenticity ante

Surprise, surprise - food-wise, standards were pleasantly decent

This plate of Tempura Fried Rice ($9.80) which my dining companion ordered, was sure worthy of being a display set And it didn’t disappoint with taste either. Be sure to ask for an additional omelette ($3) so you can have your fried rice wrapped in it as shown above.

Japanese take on porridge, anyone? An interesting mix of unagi (eel), carrot shreds, cabbage and mushrooms mixed into a boiling pot of Japanese rice and water = Unagi Zousui ($6.80). Aside from being a little salty, this is one dish that will leave you feeling healthy and nourished Good for when you’re feeling under the weather or simply seeking some comfort fare.

An overall satisfactory dining experience with my only gripes being paying $1.90 for a non-refillable cup of Ocha (see picture below) and their charging consumers service charge (background: they operate in a similar card system akin to Marché, which is largely self-service. The latter never imposed a service charge on consumers though). To be fair, the service crew at Shokudo had been attentive and would bring orders to consumers at their tables when there wasn’t much of a crowd. One thing’s for sure - minor gripes like these won’t stop papilles from heading back

Shokudo Streets of Japan

#B1-01 The Heeren

Crepes fresh Out of The Pan

You know that nagging feeling in your tummy 3 hours after you’ve had a heavy lunch/tunch that maybe skipping dinner altogether, as you’d originally planned, may not be such a good idea cos’ you’ll probably be faced with an orchestra of tummy rumbles come bedtime. Yet at the same time, you’re feeling neither hungry nor full and can’t bring yourself to face another rich meal for the day.

Enter crepes - light, fluffy and filled with a variety of ingredients that’ll leave you feeling satisfied but not stuffed; these make some of the best choices for a light meal And what better way to have them than fresh Out of The Pan?

Located at the basement of Raffles City Shopping Centre, right beside a vibrant (but noisy) fountain, this faux alfresco (it’s housed indoors within the mall) cafe not only serves up a variety of yummy crepes, but is a great place to observe the bustling crowds going about their retail therapy whilst resting those aching feet of yours post-shopping. Or from standing around waiting for your other-half to be done scouting for good deals And given the current bleak economy, their fare is pretty affordable too.

For $24++, the MegaDeal Set includes a choice of drink, soup/salad and crepe. You get to select from a variety of crepe fillings ranging from the common Smoked Salmon/BLT to more interesting ones like Tandoori Chicken, Masala Fish, Peking Duck, etc. You also have a choice of sundried tomato, wholewheat or plain crepes.

Their sundried tomato crepe is particularly yummy with a subtle hint of tomatoes; I love that all their crepes are served crisp, thin and taste light as air in the mouth. This is complemented with their generous fillings so you won’t have to worry about feeling hungry at the end of the meal. Bonus points for thoughfully slicing each crepe into halves and making the effort to plate them into such pleasing visuals Crepe halves make for easy sharing too!

Another must-try would be their soups:

Velvety smooth with a sweetness characteristic of ripe pumpkins, the pumpkin soup was a clear winner with me X enjoyed his frothy mushroom soup which had a wholesome, earthy flavour filled with tiny bits of the fungi.

A satisfying meal that didn’t burn a hole in our wallets yet left us feeling satisfied and snugly content. What more could papilles ask for?

Basement 1, Market Place

Raffles City Shopping Centre

Open 10am to 10pm

P.S. Did I also mention they serve dessert crepes?