Japanese

4th stomach, the most tender stomach

When grilled perfectly, it becomes almost exactly like squid, and it's pretty damn good with the crisp. Get the tare which is their house blend, kind of like a mix between teriyaki and gochujang so there's a bit of heat and very savoury.

However like squid, it's easy to overcook and become rubbery. A test of skill. Very expensive tho, 20bucks for 100g?

Overall this place is pretty ex, we paid 30 per pax for a second lunch, and didn't really eat much. They're packed cos they're tiny, not cos they're super good. But good enough for cravings

The noodles have quite a bit of bite, the cold broth was quite mild actually but more savoury and less sweet and sour than most I believe, so it's not too difficult to accept. The onsen egg was perfect

Overall nothing too special though, I would have wished for it to be more intense

For this price there's no complaints. The impressive part is the thickness of the tongues, it's about twice as thick as normal, and the portion is quite something. On top of that, it's very fragrant from the lashings of oil and the spring onion. If you cook it perfectly, it comes with a good crunch and was very meaty.

IF. Not sure why but apart from the first 2 pieces, the others all had one pesky part near the middle of the grill that simply refuses to be cooked. Since you can't turn or you risk all of the spring onions falling out, you have to keep waiting for that part to be cooked and it was thus very easy to overcook. It's really difficult to cook it perfectly without turning, even for someone who's quite experienced with tongue if I say so myself ;)

Further, the spring onions which drop down eventually becomes burnt and sticks to the grill, so that's another hassle on its own.

Without the discount this is too much trouble, esp if you're someone who's not into tongue in the first place

This was absolutely delicious too. The mochi was fine but the dark chocolate sauce was so addictive. It looks like kuromitsu but there's an underlying depth from the dark chocolate which wasn't overly prominent

Service: it's alright but there's a lot of hiccups. The day before they gave us a menu which we were happy with, which was what was on the website too. yet the next day the menu is different, and they said they just changed. Come on
Due to the menu change possibly, they couldn't give us the topup cost to change items the day before, as the chef wasn't in. On the same day, they still couldn't. By the second course they told us the price and I tot it was ridiculous, but apparently it's too late to cancel because the chef has already started preparing. Jesus Christ. Really left a bad taste in our mouth. It's hard to believe this is happening when we're paying 200 per pax, I'm honestly quite surprised this is under Les Amis. Also there's only 2 tables during Monday lunch but given the food and the adminstrative difficulties is that really a surprise?

The matcha ice cream was good, the red bean could have been a bit more generous, but what stunned was the monaka itself. It's made using mochi and was super crispy yet holds its shape perfectly. At the same time, it's got a very strong almost kinako flavour that's stronger than even the matcha.

The desserts were almost stronger than everything else

Overall: Tbh they've been open a while and still they have barely any reviews. After coming here I know why, the price is very high, yet the dishes were all only above average. There's no clear climax apart from the yakiniku, and too few mindblowing moments. Also the portion is damn tiny, everything is one biter except the mains which were 4 biters. We were literally still hungry by the end of the meal and went to get dessert and a second lunch after

This was the gem of the meal. Previously it's 3 thin slices of yakiniku but from today onwards it's a big thick slab of meat.

Prime rib, which is basically the best cut imo for yakiniku, except here it's sous vide cos it's so thick and then grilled. This texture was brilliant, it's so soft and soft only, not much bite or bounce or wtv else. And the flavour was deep too, and so unlike anything else

I'd pick the discovery over executive, just for this

First off, the koshihikari rice was abit dry. I'd think it should have had more water because the sushi rice had good texture for the previous courses, it's weird that suddenly the rice isn't good

And the sukiyaki sauce was mild, rightfully but yonezawa beef has this very unique texture in that it is tender with a bit of stickiness as you chew, and not a lot of flavour really. So this thing didn't really taste like much. Not sure what could have saved it, maybe cook the beef abit more or sth. It's better when you mix everything in and it tastes like a proper sukiyaki but still it's not that satisfying.

The pickled radish was great though, and the egg was of impeccable quality, the yolk was so rich

Better come here expecting to get a unique beef in mild sukiyaki, instead of a very good but less atas? sukiyaki

First time having nodoguro and it's really tender to the nth degree. The flavour was decent too, and very clean tasting.

However for one sushi bite it's very pricey at 45++ ala carte or topup from frigging tenderloin main

This was delicious. It's so tender yet there's clearly a crunch, and the lemon as well as wasabi went well. However it's way too ex at +20++ for a topup, or 35++ ala carte. (Even though I love tongue, and good thick cut tongue is so hard to find)

Butter sauted abalone, sushi rice, liver sauce

The abalone has a rather soft, bouncy texture. It's got to be a good quality for them to saute it and still come out so soft, usually it's steamed. The liver sauce is weak though

Tenderloin, kaluga caviar

The beef was tender and sticky as you chew(not as weird as it sounds). Both elements were full of flavour and so it was a one bite umami bomb. Can't rlly tell if it works harmoniously because the portion is so small but otherwise it's quite something, enjoy it slowly

Oh and caviar was complex and not ridiculously salty like some places

This didn't impress at all. The texture was soft but there's barely any flavour from the beef, and the garlic sauce wasn't enough either. The pickled ginger was nice tho