Burpple Beyond 1-for-1 Set Meal ($144)
A very small restaurant housed in Beach Centre. It was full house on a Saturday evening so I would definitely recommend making a reservation. The place has a rather casual vibe but has impeccable service. Staff is very helpful and dishes were served right on time. One after the other. They were attentive and would clear your plates once you have finished your dish. It is worth noting that the Burpple set menu was different from the ones featured in their regular menu. I was shown a photo with 5 courses and no text but in a gist this was what they were, served in order:
1.) Oyster Sashimi
This consisted of 2 oysters served cut and was a pleasant surprise because it was different from regular raw oysters! The texture was a lot more chewy, less watery and was complimented well by the garnished soy sauce.
2.) Sashimi Platter (scallop, yellowtail, salmon belly, tuna belly and another white fish sashimi)
Sashimi platter was lack luster in my opinion. Didn't feel particularly fresh but a nice variety of fish was presented.
3.) Prawn Tempura (fried prawn)
I indicated fried prawns because it tasted more like it than tempura, lacking the crunch of tempura batter. I am not sure if it was intended to be a tempura dish, but deep fried prawns are also not common in Japanese menus 🤷🏻♀️ This dish was just alright. Not great.
4.) Grilled Cod with mayo and ebiko + Ikura Chuwanmushi
The grilled cod was buttery and fresh. Light mayo dressing has a tangy taste to it with crunchy ebiko making it a tasty dish. Chuwanmushi was disappointing. I am a big chuwanmushi fan this was bad steamed egg for restaurant standards. Egg was tasteless and felt like it was made without special broth. Only saving grace is the fresh ikura on top.
5.) Beef with Garlic Fried Rice + Fish Miso Ginger Soup
As I do not consume beef, the staff was very kind to swop it out into unagi for me. The unagi was well prepared and soft to the bite but was a really small (thin) serving. Garlic rice was delicious too. My friend who ordered beef however left most of the meat uneaten because she said it was overcooked and tough. On the other hand, the miso soup was good! It was served with fatty fish slices with bone that I don't eat, but it is my first time having miso with ginger and I was pleasantly surprised.
Overall: Even though there was good service and decent food, with a wide array of dishes, I was sweating while having my food because the AC was not strong. May be because we were seated beside the drinks fridge. If you picked Unagi for the rice dish like I did, this is a very seafood-heavy course. I think it is a nice dining concept but post-taxes (with green tea) the bill came up to $143.35 and at 70 per pax I feel like you can have pretty decent Japanese food that you personally enjoy instead of being restricted by a course meal. Courses were mostly a hit or miss and the dishes I truly enjoyed were the oyster sashimi and unagi fried rice + miso soup, but you could have something similar elsewhere.
Ambience: 3/10
Service: 9/10
Food: 6.5/10
Price: 4/10 (with Beyond)