Home-made: Beef Teriyaki Donburi

Friday Donburi Dinner! Homemade Beef Teriyaki with peppers, celery and mushrooms on brown rice. Nothing like having our own kitchen at last!

Home-made Bento: Two Japanese bento lunches!

We have two Japanese bento lunches for the week!

First variation is cold soba with sides of seared salmon and halibut, bundles of spinach goma-ae, dashi-simmered mushrooms and blanched carrots.
Second bento comprises hot soba (broth packed separately) topped with halibut, assorted vegetables and katsuo-bushi.

Aloha Ma Maison!

We are fans of Ma Maison. We love the homely, Hayao Miyazaki-inspired ambience, along with the fusion Japanese/Western food. Unfortunately, we don't go as often as we might like for two reasons. 1) the higher prices don't encourage recurring patronage, 2) the constant queues don't encourage walk-ins.

Fortunately, the Ma Maison group have spawned an offshoot called Aloha Ma Maison. They've adopted a Hawaiian theme and have a menu that is different, yet somewhat similar to the original. Enter the Loco Moco..

Loco moco is a traditional meal in Hawaiian cuisine. There are many variations, but the essential loco moco consists of white rice, topped with a hamburger patty, a fried egg, and brown gravy. - from Wiki.

Ok, we won't find Loco Moco at Ma Maison, but the hamburger patty that comes with this dish is a very similar one to what you will get at Ma Maison (ie. the hamburg steak)! And the good news is, it's cheaper! Furthermore, you can opt for either white rice or multi-grain rice at no extra charge, and a further choice of having a larger serving for a slightly higher price.

Take for example the Ma Maison Loco Moco in the picture above. This was the larger portion. Two sunny side ups cover a hamburg steak, stewed apples, macaroni pasta salad in a demi glace sauce with 2 servings of multi-grain rice. And of course, the mayonnaise! Can't recall the price at this moment, but for sub-$20, your Hamburg Steak at Ma Maison won't come with as many sides nor will it be as satisfying, I can assure you.

Ahipoke 

The salad Ahipoke dish has diced vegetables, and would have been perfect except it had some spice in it. We think it's Tabasco sauce, but we can't be certain. All I know is that it was a tad strong for a salad. When our mains came, having the rice with this dish made it more bearable.

Mky: Ahipoke flavours were not well balanced, the dressing overpowered the fresh flavour of the ingredients. The spicy element, which had a strange numbing effect on the tongue, did not add to enjoyability of the dish.

 

Tuna and Avocado Loco Moco 

A heavenly mix of fresh raw tuna and slices of avocado with a heavy dose of mayonnaise.Can't go wrong here. Mky says you can either eat it as presented, or give it a good toss (ala Pepper Lunch) and mix everything up. I chose the latter and enjoyed this dish perfectly.

Very interesting decor making use of the overhead space

Overall, we loved the rice dishes and the two variations we tried. As I understand it, they are also known for their pancakes, something Mky really loves. Unfortunately we were so stuffed by dinner that we couldn't make room for those delicacies. We'll definitely be back to try that next time.

Aloha Ma Maison

201 Victoria Street,
#01-12 Bugis+

+65 6884 4471

Home-made: Japanese Pasta Salad

Home-made Japanese Pasta Salad. Ikea pasta with frozen vegetables, apples, peaches and shredded chicken thigh. Sauce is made up of mayo, mustard, condensed milk, apple juice, salt, black pepper, garlic, a small amount of tumeric for colour, and oregano. This isn't one of Mky's healthy dishes cos of the mayo and condensed milk, but it sure is tasty!

Served cold, it's the perfect cool dish for the hot summer, or warm tropical climes.

Random: Juchheim Baumkuchen

Spotted this little shop at Takashimaya basement selling baumkuchen, a popular dessert in Japan that originated in Europe but has a German name. Mky is a big fan of this type of layered cakes and she just stood there watching in fascination as the lady separated the portions to be packed into boxes for customers. We didn't buy any cos Mky had just bought one from Muji. Aww..

Juchheim, Takashimaya Shopping Centre B2. 
Juchheim website (Japan) 

Random: Gindaco Takoyaki

Tsukiji Gindaco
2 Orchard Turn, #B4-64/65
@ ION Orchard

Saizeriya

Saizeriya: Good Japanese Western food that tastes much better than what you pay for.  Cheep Eat!

This joint was an old fave of Mky's when she was studying in Tokyo. There was a Saizeriya right outside her dorm, populated by students and families alike. It was a great dine-in for post-kendo chow cos they serve beer as well. Best of all, it was so affordable!

So when Saizeriya opened in Singapore, at Liang Court, we HAD to give it a try - and we were not disappointed. It brought back the memories and feeling of being a student in Tokyo again. Complete with hilarious translation errors in the menu.

On this visit, Mky went with a Hamburg Steak, while I chose my favourite Squid-Ink Pasta. To me, Mky's home-made Hamburg Steak, with our own proportion of minced beef and pork still tasted the best, but hey, for a rate that was much cheaper than Ma Maison's, this was worth it too. Best eaten with stream rice.
The Squid-Ink Pasta still rocked, of course, you are advised to keep a napkin handy after every bite - the black sauce makes Goth Loli-s out of the eater.

 

Mky: Oh, this place brings back fond memories of cheap beer, cheap salad, cheap pasta, cheap pizza, cheap appetisers... you get the picture.  Exactly what every girl (boy, woman, man and everything in-between) needs after a 2-hour beat-'em-up session of kendo. 

A favourite hangout place of poor uni students, I remember they used to sell cheap table wine by the glass or carafe, and we'd just spend all evening quaffing back cheap drinks while munching on their glorious pan pizzas!  Brings back memories of (second) home in Japan!  Saizeriya BANZAI!

Liang Court
#02-22
177 River Valley Road
Tel: 6337 9001