Actually, I had holding off to try out the food at Tamashii Robataya for quite a while despite taking note of this place a few months ago. For one, I am too busy to do so and if I have the time, I spent it on one of my favourite dining haunts instead since I have been getting wary of wasting my time on mediocre food (and I have been getting picker, will rather cook a quick meal by myself than to trudge down to those chain restaurants)—it makes me angry and yet, I do not have the energy nor time to spend on ranting about it. So when I finally find the time to visit Tamashii Robataya and find out what their food is all about, I am so glad that I did.
While decor of the place is simplistic chic, the glorious display of fresh Japanese produce at the counter is absolutely impressive. Beautiful, bright hues of vibrant orange from the tangerines, attention-grabbing red from the tomatoes, sweet mild green from the honeydew, creamy yellow from the enoki mushrooms, earthy light brown of the onions, crisp green from the various vegetables and more ... it is tempting to order them if the budget allows it. With all those ingredients in front when dining, the experience is turned up a notch. It helps that the menu states the price of the food on display, so I will not be dining in trepidation at how surprising my final bill will turn up to be.
As for the food, I give thumbs-up for them. Since this place is about robatayaki, I got to try it, thus ordering the grilled sweet onions. Hardly any seasoning is added, the onions are lightly and skilfully grilled before being served. The light hints of charred taste adds dimension to the taste but is minimum enough not to impart any of that bitterness typical of burnt food. The onions, being quality produce, truly do not need the seasoning, saved for the optional miso paste, as they are clean and sweet in taste with a dash of the onion's pungent flavour.
The Kushiyaki set lunch consists of three kinds of skewers, sashimi, chawamushi, tonjiro, mushrooms in butter and dessert, all at an affordable price of $38—this is the most expensive of the set lunches though, I chose this since I am not into generic set lunches of the usual suspects. The skewers of a thin slice of pork wrapped around tomato are sublime: one bite into it, the tangy, sweet juices of the tomato burst out to soak the pork in them. Hardly any seasoning is used, but this skewer is full of flavours due to the wholesome goodness of the juicy tomato and very fresh pork. I also love the smoked duck with zucchini due to the innovative element—how often can one find duck dishes in Japanese cuisine—and the great marriage of the intensely flavoured duck meat and the relatively neutral, clear taste of the zucchini. The mushroom with minced chicken meat is nice with a small dash of salt, and the mushroom is very tender in texture. Though this one pales in comparison to the other two.
The much raved about truffle chawamushi (need $8 top-up) is truly good due to the strong earthy aroma of truffle. This is most probably the best chawamushi I had tried. However, I feel that the combination of egg and truffle is just excellent, but not amazing since the egg does not accentuate the flavour of the truffle. In fact, I was bowled over by the mushrooms in butter instead. The meaty, earthy taste of fresh mushrooms goes in perfect harmony with the sweet-smelling, creamy flavour of the butter. Tuck into this while it is hot for optimized taste.
Even the rice is so good that I finished them all (I usually have difficulty finishing a bowl of rice). The moist, shiny, fluffy, complete grains of rice is packed with fragrant, starchy wholesomeness, even just looking at them can whet the appetite. The sashimi consists of three thick, fresh, succulent slabs of raw fish: one mekajiki and two salmon. The mekajiki is very fresh with no hints of that typical fishy smell and when paired with the wasashi peppered with yuzu, the fish tastes literally sweet! Since I always love the Kyoho grapes due to the hints of taste of wine, I definitely enjoy the Kyoho sorbet here.
The weak links are the appetizer that is too salty and ordinary, and tonjiru that has lots of ingredients but the flavours do not mesh well together (maybe some with acquired taste may appreciate this). And the chairs do not have solid back for patrons to stuff the bags snugly behind. One of the patrons' bag actually dropped off and gave me a huge shock with its loud thudding sound. The good part about the chairs is that they are wide and comfortable.
Service is good and attentive, especially this friendly male service staff who even takes the effort to pour the soy sauce for me. I got to give the props to the chefs for serving the dishes with the oars, which adds on to my enjoyment of the meals due to the uniqueness, novelty and the sort of personal touch there. This is definitely one of the factors that I will bring others for a meal here. And one last thing that seals the deal for me: the staffs bade farewell and thanked the patrons when leaving.
Not only am I going back again, I am going to bring my friends and family to there.
My Thoughts: Very Nice!
Nearest car park: URA Roadside Parking along North Canal Road or UOB Plaza's car park
Nearest MRT: Raffles Place
12 North Canal Road
#02-01
Singapore
Contact No: 62220316
