A signature on the menu, this is very much chirashi without the rice. The salmon are cubed and mixed together in soy marinade. Surprisingly, it wasn’t salty like how I’d expected it to be. While this was served in the standard rice bowl size, the bowl was deep and the portion was rather generous. Love the freshness of this dish!

Likely a seasonal special - this wasn’t on the regular/ standard menu but was listed only on the chalkboard. Had thought this sounded unique and was half expecting marinated grilled squid but… no! Imagine the surprise when it was served.. cold. I’m not sure - and I didn’t ask - if it was raw or just, half-cooked. Texture wise, it wasn’t like any of the squids that I’ve eaten before - a tad more chewy and hard. The marinade was a lil’ too salty for my liking. It resembles the typical marinade in chuka idako/baby octopus served in Japanese restaurants, but with a dash of sesame seeds. My husband was quick to point out that I might not like it. He was kinda right…. It does take a while to get used to the taste and flavour profile.

Note: Hidden hole-in-the-hut, fuss-free Jap fare at Midpoint Orchard. The space is small and reservations are accepted only at a min. spend of $180/pax. Well.. if you’re in for a full Izakaya experience with much booze and food, I guess it’s not that difficult to hit the min. spend requirement. We’re not big drinkers and hence walked-in. The wait wasn’t too bad at 8.15pm ++. Payment by Cash/Paynow/Nets only

Plump, juicy oysters nicely battered-up and deep fried to golden. Topped with devilled eggs that resulted in a nice taste combination!

Note: Hidden hole-in-the-hut, fuss-free Jap fare at Midpoint Orchard. The space is small and reservations are accepted only at a min. spend of $180/pax. Well.. if you’re in for a full Izakaya experience with much booze and food, I guess it’s not that difficult to hit the min. spend requirement. We’re not big drinkers and hence walked-in. The wait wasn’t too bad at 8.15pm ++. Payment by Cash/Paynow/Nets only

Signature dish on the menu - a must order! There’re 3 options available - original (plain), mentaiko (our selection!) and chives. The flavoured options comes at added cost (well… practical us thought that the price premium for chives -aka veg - isn’t quite worthwhile and hence, striked this off our list.

Note: Hidden hole-in-the-hut, fuss-free Jap fare at Midpoint Orchard. The space is small and reservations are accepted only at a min. spend of $180/pax. Well.. if you’re in for a full Izakaya experience with much booze and food, I guess it’s not that difficult to hit the min. spend requirement. We’re not big drinkers and hence walked-in. The wait wasn’t too bad at 8.15pm ++. Payment by Cash/Paynow/Nets only

The truffle somen is one of the signature item/main on the menu. Served cold in clean soy broth, the truffle somen was light and refreshing! The mild waft of truffle wasn’t overpowering and therefore complimented the broth well. This is served with a dollop of plump, juicy roe too!

Note: Hidden hole-in-the-hut, fuss-free Jap fare at Midpoint Orchard. The space is small and reservations are accepted only at a min. spend of $180/pax. Well.. if you’re in for a full Izakaya experience with much booze and food, I guess it’s not that difficult to hit the min. spend requirement. We’re not big drinkers and hence walked-in. The wait wasn’t too bad at 8.15pm ++.

Payment by Cash/Paynow/Nets only

The truffle somen is one of the signature item/main on the menu. Served cold in clean soy broth, the truffle somen was light and refreshing! The mild waft of truffle wasn’t overpowering and therefore complimented the broth well. This is served with a dollop of plump, juicy roe too!

Note: Hidden hole-in-the-hut, fuss-free Jap fare at Midpoint Orchard. The space is small and reservations are accepted only at a min. spend of $180/pax. Well.. if you’re in for a full Izakaya experience with much booze and food, I guess it’s not that difficult to hit the min. spend requirement. We’re not big drinkers and hence walked-in. The wait wasn’t too bad at 8.15pm ++.

Payment by Cash/Paynow/Nets only

Smoked American cheddar, fermented red cabbage, onion & capsicum relish

Thick, toasted brioche gloriously buttered and flavoured. The two thick toasts were layered with fermented red cabbage (tasted somewhat like coleslaw), onion and capsicum relish (sweet!) the star of the sando - smoked beef brisket, was tenderlicious and well smoked. They were off-the-fork tender. They were sliced thickly, similar to the likes of Chinese dongpo meat. As the smoked beef brisket were sliced in squares, there were pockets of the sandwich that ended up being ‘hollow’. Here’s not saying they were miserly with the brisket! Each square was rather substantial in thickness. It would have been ideal if the smoked brisket were shredded and spread out evenly across the toast. The capsicums added a nice crisp in between bites - it cuts through the savouriness of the meaty profile, in a good way. Due to the stronger-tasting marinade and beef brisket, the flavours from the smoked American cheddar didnt quite come out strongly. Yay for those who’re not a fan of cheese but nay for those who’re looking to the cheesylicious experience from a good cheeseburger

Parmesan custard | Bonito egg yolk

Tapas-sized portion, this was delicately presented on a wooden board. We were wowed at the first sight. The charcoal-coloured cuboid is made out of potato - not think chunky potato but somewhat like a hash brown/ mushy textured potato. As I tried slicing it with my knife, I thought I saw rosti-like potato strips. Sitting atop the charcoal toast is a generous portion of melted parmesan custard and thin bonito flakes. The colour contrast was appealing to the eyes, the tastebuds and yes, it tasted as amazing as it looks.Must-order!

Kombu cream| Spicy garlic miso| Furikake

WOW. This blew us off! My non-veggie sister was extremely pleased that there’s no any ‘veggie taste’ in the well seasoned veggie. Each floret was grilled thoroughly, with black, charred prints on the underside. Well.. on this, some might feel that it’s a cancer risk. The charred aroma (if you appreciate such flavour) made this dish seem like a cauliflower chip. The Kombu cream and spicy garlic miso further elevated the simple veggie dish with much umami. The creaminess of the puree-like mix of saltiness and spice brought a welcoming mix of texture to the crunchy cauliflower, and definitely an out-of-the-ordinary taste to the otherwise ordinary cauliflower.

Debated between the original, plain radish cake vs this because of the significant mark-up in price. Well, the price premium certainly did come from the additions of prawns, generous portion of eggs, beansprouts and chives… too? I was delighted to find the same kind of radish cake (as in the plain version) was used in this dish! Portion is a tad huge, so this is good for sharing.

I took a bite of this with some apprehension, wary that it might taste tough and rubbery. That would’ve been rather disappointing! Much to my surprise, it was well seasoned, crispy and rather succulent! For a thinly cut piece of meat, it’s easy to have it overcooked/fried. We also liked how it’s marinated with a light coat of garlic-infused batter. So fragrant! While there were some spurts of oil here and there, it wasn’t overly cloying nor oily - manageable amount of oil and calories!

A HK classic, this tasted as expected. Love how there’s chunky pieces of charsiew in there!