At the recommendation of a Japanese chef of the best Japanese restaurant in Singapore, Shinji, I decided to check out Tamaya and the row of restaurants at Cuppage Terrace. And I was pleasantly surprised by the great finds there.
As for the food, the variety is pretty impressive, ranging from the staples of sashimi and sushi to those items not regularly found in other Japanese restaurants. One of my favourites is the Otsumami Chashu, roast pork that is like no others. Served cold, this roast pork, made up of swirls of fat and meat, is soft to the bite and is packed with the sweet flavour of slightly charred meat. I am very impressed with how the fat, which is creamy instead of gelatinous, renders the overall texture of the meat to be smooth. I will usually pick off the fat from my dishes, but I gladly make an exception for this dish.
Another one that send me raving about it is the Iron pot Rice with Chicken and Burdock Root. The presentation of the rice topped with meat and vegetable served in a dainty iron pot encased in wooden box had already made me excited about getting a bite of it. I was not disappointed. The fragrance of the quality rice, imbued with the aroma of fresh chicken and burdock root, is concentrated into that little pot to yield incredibly flavourful rice. Every grain of it is absolutely not spared.
The Yasai Itame, stir-fried vegetables, is good as it retains a bit of the crunch of fresh vegetables and is not too salty. Though it is not really outstanding in any particular aspect. Another pretty good dish is Tonpei Yaki, egg omelette with pork and shredded cabbage. The fresh ingredients and the combination of runny egg mixture drizzled over cabbage and pork result in a wholesome and healthy appetizer. I suggest to add some soya sauce to this because the unseasoned raw cabbage may taste to be a tab plain.
The sole lowlight of the repertoire of dishes ordered is the yakitori moriawase. The sticks of grilled food are dry and tasteless. To make things worse, most of the items included in the moriawase are not the specialities of this restaurant ... at least that is my impression since specialities should not be epic fail in terms of both texture and taste, consisting of strange items in the likes of green chilies, chicken skin and chicken gizzards that is rubbery hard. Only the chicken meat is decent, in fact, it is pretty tasty. The better idea is to order individual kushiyaki items instead of the moriawase.
I am glad to find another Japanese restaurant to be added into my list of restaurants that I will patronize often. Tamaya does offer an authentic and a relatively unique dining experience that sets it apart from the competitors and gives me the incentive to visit it once in a while.
My Thoughts: Nice!
Nearest car park: Cuppage Plaza's car park
Nearest MRT: Somerset
45 Cuppage Terrace
Cuppage Road
Singapore
Contact No: 68353539
