OISHI! 🇯🇵

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

Another option from the rather huge and decent selection of value lunch sets, the raw fish here were fresh and delightful. Nothing exceptionally ‘wow’ tho. This was served with salad, miso soup and fruits on the side. The fruits were unfortunately not freshly cut - they came right out of a can. Ie. canned syrup-y fruits that I’d rather do without.

Chuka offers a selection of delightfully plated dishes and value-for-money lunch sets. Those who enjoy posting their food adventures on IG must order the sushi rice balls served in a bird cage. The bird-cage presentation reminds me of W’s afternoon tea set. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able enjoy this from the menu - I visited during lunch hour and only a limited portion of the menu was available. On a brighter note, the lunch sets were extremely value-for-money. Featured here is the sushi sashimi lunch set that was served alongside miso soup and side salad too. Fresh and decent lunch, nothing so much of a ‘wow’ factor. There were fruits served on the side too - unfortunately, they came right out of a can. Ie. canned syrup-y fruits that I’d rather do without.

Part of the seasonal menu, this maki was priced at a premium - $24++/ roll. This was my favourite of the night! Pork slices wrapped nicely over rolled maki with unagi and Japanese cucumber stuffed within, then drizzled with nacho sauce, tempura crumbs, roe and bonito flakes! Each bite was a savoury burst of flavours.

You get to decide on the doneness - medium/ medium well/ medium rare. The husband decided on medium rare and this was served as such! Tender, juicy steak nicely sliced and marinated with teriyaki-like sauce (but not teriyaki) that was sweet and umami. The husband enjoyed the fried garlic chips served on the side as well - he thinks it complements the dish overall! I can’t comment (not a fan of garlic)

Baby oct gunkan sushi - up to mark with well-marinated baby octties that were tender, non-chewy and fresh seaweed! Don’t we all hate it when you can’t chew apart ‘old’ sushi seaweed?! At $4.80++, this set of baby octopus gunkan isn’t the cheapest around but I’d say there’s certain truth in ‘paying for the quality you get.’

A comfort to a rainy evening! We decided on this as it was one of the less-common options that we’ve came across. Served with diced tender chicken bits, egg, Japanese fish cake and spring onion. This was served with a prawn tempura, which the thoughtful husband has requested for it to be served on a separate plate so it wouldn’t turn soggy.