J82Productions

It was the 1st time I visited here. Anyway I was so busy working these few days that I did not even know that there was this Japanese restaurant hiding inside of Iluma. As usual, I was late for my dinner appointment again and all my friends has finished their meals right after I came into the restaurant.

僕はこのラストランは初めてきた。最近は忙しくて、あまり時間がないので、新しいラストランがIlumaにできたこと全然分からなかった。いつもと同じ、今日も約束に遅刻してしまったんで、ラストランに入ったと、みんなも食事終わった所だ。。

My lobster ramen set. tasty looking ?

Closer view at the lobster ramen

I would admit that after staying in Osaka in 2 years, I am actually not really adapted to Japanese food in Singapore because the taste and freshness of the dish is quite incomparable. But well, face the fact that I am living in Singapore. The soup does tasted delicious but I found that it is a bit salty, perhaps salt is getting cheaper nowadays while the lobster are getting more expensive. I wasn't really sure it was lobster or just crayfish that I was putting inside my mouth. Both looked almost identical.

大阪に２年住んだだからさ、僕にとって、シンガポールの日本料理と日本の日本料理は全然比べられないと思うわ。味でも、材料の新鮮でも、日本ほうがいいと思う。

The lobster ? Or just another cray fish ?

 The salad don't really look fresh isn't it ? Indeed, it was horrible..

Salad.　サラダ

 This was much a fusion kind of gyouza with a sauce that I did not really fancy at. Perhaps I was too full after eating the ramen, but definite it would not be the kind of gyouza I would be looking forward at.

Gyouza (Fried Dumpling,餃子)

Serangoon Gardens is a central place for restaurants and banks and during the night, the After so many times I have been to Chomp Chomp (at Serangoon Gardens), I did not noticed that there was this stall right in the front, perhaps most of the time I would only eat seafood or stringray, or maybe it was just opened not long ago ? Anyway, the stall looks clean and simple, which to our perception that the food is not nice. I was thinking of going for the Penang Prawn Mee but instead I have chosen the Lor Mee because it has really been some time I last eaten the Lor Mee.

Surprisingly, despite of the humble look, the ingredients are generous. With one and a half egg (quite rare nowadays to give some much), fish cake slices and meat. On top of that, the chili is also very exciting as well, though it was chili paste, it definitely can be compared with chili padi. Guess what ? It cost only SGD 3.50. Highly recommended.

Lor Mee Lor...

The uncle certainly has his way of enjoying his job, grilling the chicken wings while drinking beer ! I think he has drank at least 2-3 mug of beer while I was having my dinner.. Woo ..

Old couple managing the shop together... How lovely.

I would say that the chicken wings are marinated well and grilled perfectly. I am not sure about it, but the skin does have a bit taste of honey. Even without the chili sauce and lime, the chicken wings will taste well.

Grilled Chicken Wings

Dunno what kind of sauce they used, but it is delicious !

I was quite disappointed with the chawamushiちゃ

Chawamushi

#02-23 Hougang Mall Singapore 538766
Tel: 6386 7836
Opening Hours: 11:00am ~ 10:00pm daily (Last order 9:30pm)

Dear all, I have shifted food reviews to a my newly created blog at Fooding Singapore, do feel free to pass by and take a look !

Desserts are a huge popular food culture in Japan and the Japanese definitely have a sweet tooth. Here are some of the more popular Japanese desserts that you have to try if you are in Japan.

1) Parfait


A delightful rendition of an icecream sundae that boasts layers of icecream, fruit, cream, cereal, chocolate and biscuits. The Japanese often have eating competitions of who can finish the biggest bowl of parfait. A very popular dessert for all seasons, parfait also comes in a variety of flavours. Although some may claim that eating too much parfait, particularly because of the large servings of cream, will eventually make you sick.

2) Crepes


Probably originating from Europe, Crepes have quickly made its mark in Japan and burst into popularity with two types, the savoury and sweet type. A thin pancake that is filled with ingredients of your choice be it bananas and fresh cream or even teriyaki chicken and lettuce, it is then rolled into a handroll that you can eat on the go.

3) Mochi/Daifuku


A sticky rice cake that usually has red bean or strawberry filling. Traditional shops have seasonal ingredients like chestnut, sakura or even yam and it usually eaten after a meal served with tea. It also can come in an array of shapes and colours, sometimes packed into a bento-like box to be enjoyed on picnics or events. There is also an ice cream version now which is also very common in Japan.

These are only but a small percentage of the wide variety of desserts that Japan has to offer. If you walk into any supermarket or cafe, there is sure to be a maze of desserts for you to choose from. They also make their own renditions of european desserts like gelato and macarons that are highly favourable among the masses.

Finally met my friend at the station, the worst thing to do in Japan is to meet at train stations as there are too much exits and if you went to the wrong exit, that it. You either ends up in another place or you can just get lost in the streets.





We had our lunch at Barbara and I ordered a crepe ..



with a cold corn soup. It tasted good though.

In Kyoto, the famous food are Tofu (豆腐), Yuba (ゆば) and Unagi (鰻). As my friend was visiting Kyoto for the first time, I thought it would be good to bring her for those, but we only managed to eat Yuba and Unagi as the Tofu are quite pricey, around 1,500 yen (S$ 22.50).

Some might wonder why Kyoto is famous for Tofu and Yuba. One of the reasons is because Kyoto is place for Buddhism devotees where there are thousands of temples within the city, while another reason is because Tofu and Yuba requires lots of water during the making process and quality of the water affects the taste of the end product. Kyoto's water is famous for its purity and thus helps to make the Tofu and Yuba tastier.

IN JAPAN

There isn't anything called "french fries" in Japan's MacDonalds menus. Instead you will find a word "ポテト”, which is a direct english translation for the word "Potato". Perhaps because they have difficulties translating it into hiragana. Japanese has weak tolerance against spicyness and that explains why they only serve ketchup without chilli. As I don't really fancy ketchup, I have been eating MacDonalds without any sauce since I arrived in Japan 2 years ago....

IN SINGAPORE

Luckily, we still use the word "french fries" for french fries. The only difference is the kind of sauce we have in Singapore. As compared to Japan, Singapore's MacDonalds does provides a great varieties of sauce, e.g ketchup, chilli sauce, sweet chilli sauce ....

Shabu shabu (しゃぶしゃぶ）is a variant of Japanese-style hot pot, which are available all year round, though it is eaten mostly during winter times to keep away the coldness. Most of these restaurants operates like buffet, houdai (放題) which allows you to have free flow of ingredients for 90 mins or 2 hours, depending on the restuarant itself. In addition, they also have a la carte menus which can be included in the buffet course, of course at additional charges.

There are many style of soup base available and the one shown below is so-called yin-yang pot, where one is spicy while the other is just plain chicken stock.



Let's introduce the ingredients used... Usually thin slices of meat and veggies varieties. You can try all the veggies into the pot at first as it takes a longer time to cook. As for the meat, after the soup start boiling, dip the meat until medium rare and it is ready to be eaten, (not true for chicken meat though). It is quite a Japanese culture to eat a half-cooked meat and so don't be surprised by that !

Oh, nearly forgot about it. You need to dip it in sauces, called tare (たれ), which would make the food much more tastier. Usually used are gomatare (ゴマたれ), which is sesame sauce or ponzu (ポン酢), orange juices with vinegar. (Sorry, I will make up the photos for the sauces again.)



To prove that it is delicious, look at the mess we made in the restaurant ! Well, there are 2-3 big eaters around, and the waitress make it in time to do the clean up.