Japanese Gourmet Town just opened at Vivocity, offering three different brands within one shop - Botejyu from Osaka, Yoshimi from Hokkaido, and Ajisen from Kyushu - central, north, and south of Japan. I was very excited to see Botejyu, a name I'd earmarked to try on my trip last year but didn't get to, due to time constraints.
Your three major food groups! Okonomiyaki/yakisoba, soup curry and ramen!
It's a huge menu. Big and beautiful, lots to choose from. Here's Nadine trying to decide what to have.
I'm only putting up the menu pages for Botejyu and Yoshimi. I don't think we need to see Ajisen's, do we? The round silver stickers on Botejyu's menu indicates the dishes currently available. I think they haven't fully ramped up yet.
The soup arrived first. Italian sausage and Hokkaido corn soup curry (S$14.80), which came with lots of cheese. Hubby liked this the best (most likely because it was the most intensely flavoured dish of all). To me, a curry-flavoured soup is a bit odd. I kept looking for noodles or rice to go with it. Just not used to curry without carbo. But it was flavourful, I will admit.
Oh, you can choose the level of spiciness, from one to three chillies. They recommended two chillies for locals. But it was so mild, we'll be asking for five chillies next time we're here. Yeah, needs to be off the charts.
Of course I had to try the Botejyu okonomiyaki - we chose the signature Midnight Special (S$14). It's got the works - pork, squid and prawns, and is topped with a runny egg and covered with bonito shavings.
It was enjoyable, but the Osaka original is probably way better.
The pork yakisoba (S$10.80) looked better than it tasted. It was a bit bland and one-dimensional. Certainly missing aonori, bonito and chili flakes, for starters!
Got some pumpkin tempura (S$5.90) for the kids, as I remembered Nadine loved this in Tokyo. But this one didn't quite pass her taste test. It was OK for me, just that the batter's more than a bit greasy.
You can watch the chefs at work. Overall, this 3-in-1 shop is a great concept in terms of variety, and they've chosen some prominent brands like Botejyu. While there aren't any culinary epiphanies to be had, you'll likely find something for everyone.
JAPANESE GOURMET TOWN
#01-157/158 Vivocity
Singapore
Oh wow, I love okonomiyaki. And Awfully Chocolate gone upmarket to Vivo?
ReplyDeleteI loved Japanese curry! Will definitely try it. Thanks for the review. :D
ReplyDeleteThat pic of Nadine reading the menu is just too cute for words!
ReplyDelete...submitted as a 3 star review on japanese-gourmet-town
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of a lil Japanese provincial town offering a lil something from each part of Japan... Okay, maybe that's just me fantasizing, this is a (3-in-1) franchise after all. :)
ReplyDeleteA new Jap makan place! Cool! on my muz try list next :)
ReplyDeletethanks for the intro :)
eatshopbemerry
another new concept eh? one restaurant with three menus? or three different restaurants at one spot?
ReplyDeletewow 3 different concepts in one store! kill 3 birds in one stone! POWER!
ReplyDeletehws the price?
SIG: Awfully Chocolate is next door but not sure how upmarket! They have some seating for dining in.
ReplyDeleteFQ: You're welcome.
Ju: Thanks! Hehe.
Zhou Wenhan: You're pulling blog posts as your site content? Hmm. Other sites like yours ask for permission first, but I'm glad you at least link back to the original post.
Kenny: ah, ever the romantic. If only they could successfully transplant little provincial towns offering their own local delicacy without diluting it commercially...that would be awesome.
ESBM: you're welcome too. Saw your review. Food is agreeable so-so lah, but the variety is incredible.
LIC: Hmm, actually both! lol
Jaime: Pricing...quite family friendly. Won't kill the wallet. You can see details in the menu photos I posted above, and some of the prices I listed too.
me wants to try curry soup!
ReplyDeletehehe..
Aijisan?! Ewwwww.
ReplyDeleteK-man: haha, hurry for curry! And BYO bread! :P
ReplyDeleteT_T: yes, yes, that's why I didn't bother with the Ajisen menus or order anything from them :)
mmm. great lookng food. funny to see the 'awfullychocolate' sign next to it though. brings back the memories of years i used to work with them. ;)
ReplyDeletedont think you've even been to japan to know what is REAL stuff!
ReplyDeleteWhat a terrible experience.. At first the soup taste very nice.. But in the end see how you suffer... I dint know how much msg they added... Be careful
ReplyDeleteWhat a terrible experience... I went there yesterday together with my family.. at first the ramen soup taste good... i didnt know that i may suffer after that... I dont know how much MSG they added to my soup..
ReplyDelete