Feast on unagi from a heritage restaurant, 'black' curry rice, freshly made soba and more
Photos: Japan Foods Garden
The latest Japanese food enclave to open its doors may be nicely tucked away at Shaw Centre's Food Republic, but is no less of a gem.
Housing a cosy cluster of five concept stalls, Japan Foods Garden offers the opportunity to savour a variety of affordable dishes at a go — all the better for lunch or dinner khakis to share.
Despite the no-frills setting, the quality of the dishes, some of which hail straight from the Land of the Rising Sun, left us considerably impressed.
We ate our way through all five stalls and couldn't help but play flavourites.
3. Banzaiya
Must-try: Fried Tofu
The convivial atmosphere of communal dining is evoked at Banzaiya, which specialises in a lesser-known type of home-style dining that originated in Kyoto, called obanzai. It refers to the large variety of small, traditional home cooked dishes that Japanese families typically serve to relatives and friends during special occasions.
The food items change daily at the stall, depending on the produce available, so that diners are constantly spoilt for choice no matter how often they return.
We especially liked the pudding-like Chawanmushi ($2.50) with sliced mushroom, as well as the crispy Fried Tofu ($2.50). The sushi, on the other hand, were quite run-of-the-mill.
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