Okonomi Kaiseki @ Keyaki, Pan Pacific Singapore.

Last weekend, the wife and I were invited to a tasting at the new Weekend Brunch at a Japanese restaurant. We found this interesting as for most Kaiseki, you don't really have 'options'. You pick the Kaiseki set you like and out comes the chef's best picks for you. Here, they have what they call the Okonomi Kaiseki. Okonomi means 'as you like it'. Chef Hiroshi Ishiii has this Okonomi Kaiseki on weekends.

I asked the wife if she's interested to go, she thought for a while. Ladies have a rational side and not all emotional. She figured, it has been some time since she's been here, so that is a tick. She's also a preggie now and when she thinks of Japanese, so it's a cross. So she was in a dilemma. That's until I told her, you can choose what you want to eat. She exclaimed: Really?! You mean for every course, I can choose? Are you sure? OK, another tick. Let's go!

Yes, that's what the weekend brunch here is about. It does solve the problem many of us have with different family members or friends or spouse. The road block they always give you when you want to bring them out for meals.



It's a pleasure strolling to Keyaki at Level 4 of Pan Pacific. It's suddenly so tranquil and peaceful. I don't really see Japanese gardens at a restaurant in Singapore. I suddenly thought of Tetsuya's in Sydney. Tranquil gardens ah...



The wife says, "Hey this place has changed a bit". She's right, they have done some renovations here recently. So peaceful that you want to spend some time reading here!



We were slightly late because of poorly planned route we took getting here. The jams are so unpredictable now. The gracious host was kind to us, but we felt sorry for the other guests who had to wait for us.

Here's the menu. $75++ per person if you choose the non alcoholic version.
$125++ if you choose the unlimited sake, champagne, beer and some reds and whites version.

I shall not describe the details of a traditional Kaiseki meal. It's really very interesting but it takes pages and pages to describe it and some of you might already know. I'll describe our delightful experience here at Keyaki, course by course. Here goes:

1. Sashimi

• this course is usually served as earlier courses and it showcases the fresh flavour and what's in season.
• choices are: Shake (salmon), Hotate (scallop), Amaebi (sweet prawn), Hamachi (yellowtail) or Assorted Sashimi (Shake, Amaebi, Hotate).

Almost the whole table has the assorted sashimi! The amaebi was really nice. So fresh, sweet and I wanted more. The scallop was good too. So I plucked a few of the chrysanthemum petals and had it with the sashimi.

2. Kobachi

• the course is like the French style amuse bouche, it's to awaken the palate and prepare for the meal. It's usually light and refreshing.
• choices are: seared beef with ponzu sauce, sweet miso-glazed konnyaku, unagi omelette, avocado salad and spinach with goma sauce.

Unagi Omelette was nicely done. Soft and light, it really whet your appetite for what's to come.


This was the seared beef appetizer. OK lah.


The spinach with goma sauce is good. Flavourful yet very light.
If popeye was to eat here, he will love the goma sauce over the spinach.

3. Yakimono

• dishes in this course are cooked over high heat to give it a nice crisp crust.
• choices are: Cod Teriyaki, Chicken Teriyaki, Grilled Mackerel, Grilled Prawn Skewer with Bacon, Pan-fried Pork with Ginger.

I love all kinds of mackerel and if it's on the menu, 90% of the time, I will order it. Nice crispy mackerel, nicely salted and a happy me. It's very hard to describe mackerel, if you are a mackerel person you will like it.


The wife is the cod or salmon person. If there's cod or salmon, she will order it. The cod teriyaki here is nicely done. It's also popular on the table as most people ordered this!

4. Nimono

• for this course, food is simmered in Keyaki's homemade dashi stock.
• choices are: agedashi tofu, chawanmushi, chicken soup, simmered seasoned vegetables and simmered white bait and egg.

I enjoyed this simmered seasoned vegetable. The best part was the tofu that has soaked up the flavours of the stock. I have also learn how to make beautiful shape carrots next time I am cooking. This shape is nice ya!

 
The Agedashi tofu was good too as it was not the chewy on the outside.

5. Agemono

• this course is the hearty deep fried dishes, food dipped in batter and fried till golden.
• choices are: tempura, battered oysters, battered soft shell crab, battered squid, battered seasonal vegetables.

Battered Squid was all right. It was done just nice and flavoured nicely. The portion was good too. Looks a bit overdone, but it wasn't chewy though. Maybe the seasoning.


The battered soft shell crabs were good too. Crispy and nicely salted.


We saw new friend Bino's battered oysters and had to take a photo of it.
In fact, it might be the most popular dish for this course as most people had it!

6. Teppanyaki

• this course serves food cooked over high eat on an iron griddle.
• choices are: beef, scallop, prawn, salmon, chicken

I had the urge for scallops then, so I ordered scallops. As you can see, nicely charred, and still fat and plump. The small touches that I observed, heated plates, it's quite hot, ensure your food is still nice and warm when it is served to you.


The Mrs ordered well done beef and surprise surprise, it came out well done and it was still tender inside. Looks like the chef behind the teppanyaki does know how to control the temperature of the grill and the doneness of the meat.

7. Shokuji

• this course is the final savoury course in the menu, to round off the meal.
• choices are: spicy tuna roll, california roll, yakisoba, garlic fried rice and cold soba noodles.

The Mrs has the California roll. It's one of the safe food for her. (Haha!)
The service staff said they had egg roe on it and it was omitted for her, so they only had sesame seeds for her roll.


I had the cold soba noodles. I like soba noodles and the ones here is nice and cold. I think it's like an action food. You take some noodles, dip them in the sauce and then repeat.

I like more wasabi in my sauce, so I stole the wife's wasabi and added my portion of wasabi, seaweed and green onions into the sauce.

8. Mizumono

• the sweet note as the last course of the Kaiseki.
• choices are: seasonal fruit (that day we ate it was musk melon), green tea ice cream, red bean ice cream, lime sherbet and read bean soup.

It was a sunny day, so almost everyone had the recommended green tea ice cream.
Come to think of it, maybe I should have eaten the musk melon because it's available.


Another safe food for preggies, read bean soup with rice cakes.
A bit too sweet for the Mrs who has a less sweet tongue. It's a very heart warming end.

It was a nice meal on a warm Saturday afternoon. A nice cool, quiet place to spend the afternoon too and we met a few new friends.

To keep up to date with the restaurant, you can follow them at:
https://www.facebook.com/Keyaki.Singapore


Weekend Brunch @ Keyaki
Pan Pacific Singapore
Level 4
7 Raffles Boulevard
Singapore 039595

Brunch hours: 11.30 am to 2.30 pm
Days: Weekends (and public holidays)

Tel: +65 6826 8240

Gyoza King @ Orchid Hotel, Tras Link

The ground level of Orchid Hotel is becoming like a mini Liang Court. Tiny and compact Japanese eateries are opening here. One restaurant in the middle has a 3-4 months waiting time. The busy corner facing the Tanjong Pagar MRT still has long queues forming until today.



On this corner, which is shown in the photo above is the Gyoza King, the sister company of the ramen place at the other corner. Keisuke Tokyo is opening restaurants of very different format all over!



It's only a small place, with around 16 counter seats. You get to watch the chefs prepare your food as you wait. The simplest way to enjoy the food here is to get the Gyoza Set meal for $13.90. You will be given an order chit that guides you through the 3 Steps of ordering. Just tick!



Step 1: Choose your Gyoza, there's Pork, Chicken and Prawn.
Step 2: Choose your rice portion, Small, Regular, Large or Extra Large plus your Soup (Miso or Vege)
Step 3: Choose 2 side dishes from the list of 8.

Order your drinks if you want. I like the Green Tea Cola. 



No unlimited free eggs here like in the sister branches, but there is cabbage pickle here. There's still the unlimited delicious beansprouts that I like. They will periodically top up the pickled beansprouts and cabbage. It's nice and cold and really appetizing.



The gyoza dip is DIY. They have 3 sauces: soy, vinegar and chilli oil at the counter. The recommended ratio is 3 seconds of soy, 2 seconds of vinegar and 1 second of chilli oil. If you want it  more sour or spicy, just add more!

There's also chilli and dry seasonal for you to pour over your rice. 


Step 1: Choose your Gyoza, there's Pork, Chicken and Prawn.



If you look at the names, you will notice that it's the name of the sister restaurants.

My recommendation is the Keisuke (Prawn) Gyozas (top left). It's a mixed of minced prawns and pork that has been infused with strong crab stock. No crabs in the gyoza but they use it in the broth that is mixed into the meat.



The Tonkotsu King (Pork) Gyozas are made from mince pork mixed with rich and thick tonkotsu broth. It's for those who love the aroma of thick porky taste.



The Tori King (chicken) Gyozas are made from mince chicken and has thick chicken broth in it. This is a bit too salty for me.



Gyoza skin is not too thick or too thin. It's just nice for me. It has a nice crispy side and the soft tender side. As you bite into it, it's juicy and flavourful. It's nicely cooked and like in many places I have observed, they are very precise in the timing. You can hear timers buzzing now and then.
 

Step 2: Choose your rice portion, Small, Regular, Large or Extra Large plus your Soup (Miso or Vege)



This is my small portion of rice. We were told we can always ask for more rice anyway. I did not want to waste the rice.

If you notice when you are there, there is a row of rice cookers cooking. They are Induction Heating Rice Cookers. It's suppose to cook the best rice ever! The chef says that their rice is from Uonuma from the Niigata Region. The place in Japan that grows the best and most expensive Koshihikari rice. So don't waste the rice!

(Personally, I am a gadget guy, and I nearly bought one of the IH Rice Cookers! I have 3 rice cookers at home and the fav is the little Japanese rice cooker that cooks very good rice! I can replicate this at home. I use US planted short grain rice because the Japanese ones are beyond my budget.)



You can choose either a Miso or Vegetable Soup.
Both are very salty, the Japanese kind of salty. It's nice if you like the saltiness level.


Step 3: Choose 2 side dishes from the list of 8. 

If you go in fours, you get to try all 8 side dishes like we did!

It's an open concept, so you can observe what is done as you order. After ordering, you will see that they start to prepare the side dishes. Freshly made!



Deep fried chicken with spicy sauce and mixed sesame.
This is for you if you like deep fried chicken.



Stir-fried egg with Chinese chives. For those who likes chives. I know many people don't.



Stir fried pork and cabbage with miso.
This is my favourite of the 8! Order this, it's delicious.



Deep fried tofu with minced pork gravy.
Personally, I don't like deep fried tofu.



Chicken Nanban with Tartar Sauce. This is also very delicious.



Stir fried egg with tomatoes.



Stir Fried egg plant with Miso. This is also one of my favourite.



Deep fried potatoes with minced pork gravy.
You get a good choice to pick from.

It's a very filling meal! If you order the gyozas sets, it's not only gyozas but a meal with sides. You won't leave this place hungry. If you want more gyozas or sides, you can order them a-la-carte too.


Gyoza King
1 Tras Link #01-15
Orchid Hotel
Singapore 078867
 
Hours : 11:30am - 2:30pm and 6:00pm - 10:30pm.  Daily. (Incl. Weekends and Public Holiday)

The 7th Edition of Singapore Restaurant Week - 7 to 13 October 2013. Book now!

Food lovers in Singapore get a bit excited at this time of the year. It's the time of the year when you start to book places to some of the restaurants that you always wanted to try their food but at a lower price.

From 7 to 13 October 2013, the 7th edition of Singapore Restaurant Week will feed over 40,000 hungry people in Singapore. The 6th edition in March 2013 already had a record breaking booking of 40,000 seats! Singapore Restaurant Week is presented by American Express and organized by DiningCity.



The restaurants that participate in the Singapore Restaurant Week offer exclusive three-course menus for lunch at $25++ and dinner at $35++. (DiningCity Star-awarded restaurants charge a supplement of $15 for lunch and $20 for dinner).

Personally, I will scrutinize the deals and restaurants.  Some places set meals are about the same as their regular set meals. The wife and I dine out often and we pay for our own meals, so we do notice the price. So pick carefully and you do find really good deals. Do your home work, but don't take too long because as I have experienced it myself, the good deals do get booked out really quickly!



Courtesy of Singapore Restaurant Week, I had a preview of the dishes that 3 restaurants will serve for their Restaurant Week special menu. To make it more interesting for us, we had our 3 course meal in 3 different restaurants!



1. Starter @ Taratata Bistrot

Taratata Bistrot has been a hot favourite for many diners wanting to try French food in the previous editions. Taratata is owned and two veteran French chefs that has French fine dining restaurants with Michelin Stars.



We started with baguette with butter. It's simple and addictive carbo for a hungry person.



We had the "Cassolette d'Escargot aux Champignons et Concassée de Tomate". It's Escargot with Mushrooms and Tomatoes.

Covered with herbs and lots of olive oil, it had a very tempting aroma when it was served to us.



A very different style of escargot from that I have eaten. No shell to dig the escargot out, and it's baked in a casserole with lots of herbs and tomatoes, it had a taste that I liked. (I love tomatoes as you all know, so I was rather happy with it)



Presenting the two men in white that prepared our starter. Chef Bertrand Raguin and Philippe Nouzillat. They each have over 20 years experience in what they do.


2. Main Course @ Latteria Mozzarella Bar

How interesting to start our meal in a French restaurant and continue to an Italian restaurant!
Latteria Mozzarella Bar is by the same people behind ilLido.



It's a place that has many different kinds of mozzarella and if I remember correctly, they bring it them in themselves and not through the usual suppliers in Singapore.

Many people like their pasta and other staple Italian favorites here. I was told this place is good. I should come back with the wife and try them out.


Grilled Halibut with Saffron Potato and Lobster Sauce

The chef had planned for us to choose one of the two main courses they will be serving during Restaurant Week. A sudden change of mind,  he thought maybe if he gives us 2 smaller portions of both dishes it would make us very happy. It sure did!

A nicely piece of grilled halibut. Halibut has dense and firm flesh and a clean taste. If there's no other thing with it, I will still be happy to eat it on its own just lightly salted. Of course in a restaurant, you would not want to pay for that.

So they chef has to jazz it up with Saffron Potato and Lobster Sauce. Goes well. I love how he served it with the colourful cauliflowers. Yes, all of us were just admiring the nicely plated dish and almost everyone dining took out their cameras to photograph it.


Suckling Pig Porchetta with Peaches and Salmoriglio.

From a lighter dish to one that's heavier in taste. It's said that every region in Italy has it's own version of suckling pig. We were too busy enjoying our food to ask the Chef where he is from and what version it is from.


3. Desserts @ Hashi

From French to Italian to Japanese! The taste buds were really going for an adventure!
We were told Hashi is the only Japanese restaurant in Singapore that serves traditional hand made sweets. It's suppose to be a great treat for us!



We were served sake as we sat down.



If you don't already know, the Singapore Country Manager of American Express (yes, Restaurant Week is presented by Amex) is Ms Yoshimi Nakajima. Leave it to the experts to talk about what's a good sake. 



The beautifully sculpted wagashi that's flown in from the the famous shop Ganyuudou in Shizuoka. It's made by fifth-generation pastry chef Hiromori Uchida.



Wagashi are sweet treats made from finely milled flour, mocha filled with red bean paste sculpted dumplings. It's something for the sweet tooth. If you are not a sweet tooth person, you will find this extremely sweet. It's something very pleasantly sweet and delicate to me.



Hashi is headed by Chef Tadashi Takahashi who was previously head chef at Nobu Melbourne.

The wife and I had previously enjoyed our meal at Nobu Melbourne, I should bring her back here and try Chef Tadashi's food here.

Here he is, putting additional touches to the Wagashi. He was grating something over the fine sieve and added it to the flower shaped Wagashi.



One of the rare chefs around that I see wearing a tie when he works!
People with such discipline and pride serves fabulous food don't you think?

It's the end of the story of my special 3 course Singapore Restaurant Week eaten in 3 different restaurants. If you want to book, you better hurry!


How to book?

American Express Cardmembers^ enjoy exclusive priority booking privileges from 4 September 2013 before booking is open to the public from 11 September 2013.  All bookings can be made online from 11 September 2013 at www.restaurantweek.sg, a dedicated website with unique technology for online and real-time reservations.
^Applicable to all American Express Cards issued directly by American Express International, Inc. in Singapore  (excluding American Express Corporate Cards and American Express Cards issued by DBS, UOB and EZ-Link Pte Ltd)

Subscribers to the DiningCity.SG newsletter will enjoy advance booking from 9 September 2013. To sign up for the newsletter, simply log on to www.DiningCity.SG.