Itacho Sushi (Bugis Junction): two and a half out of three ain't bad...

Intro:

Itacho's paper mat teaches you how to eat sushi properly

I'm a big fan of sushi and because of that I can be quite demanding when it comes to judgement, so before I start the post proper, let me just say that Itacho is a great Sushi Restaurant and that anyone who claims to like sushi will not likely regret trying it out.  It does not score on every level, but it hits more than enough yardsticks to put it on a class far above that of a particular popularized conveyer belt sushi restaurant (hint: think green logo) that is well received in Singapore for reasons unknown...well, maybe it's because most of us do not actively seek out good sushi and hence don't really know better; if that's the case, then please allow this post to show you what sushi should really be like.

When it comes down to it Sushi is a really simple dish, and therein lies the farce.  Simple it may be, it is also extremely difficult to get right.  The less ingredients a dish involves, the less factors one has at one's disposal to control its taste.  That means that every phase and ingredient involved in its preparation must be done as expertly as possible in order to produce a delicious meal.  Of course, that goes for almost every type of food, but these matter especially so in cooking simple foods.

I believe that there are 3 key factors when it comes to preparing Sushi, namely:

1. Freshness of the ingredients used

2. Quality of the cuts used

3. The skill and effort put into crafting the sushi. 

~3.5. (and of course cleanliness is a universal factor)

Itacho scores well for the first two criteria but perhaps not so much the third.  I will explain why below.

Quality and Taste:

Fatty Tuna with Spring Onion Roll ($6.50)

This was the first dish that arrived on my table and it is also the prime culprit for my impression on Itacho's lack of skill and effort in crafting Sushi.  As a disclaimer, I did notice that the Rolls in Itacho Sushi are not freshly prepared but are instead taken out of foil wraps from their fridge then put neatly onto plates when ordered.  However, that does not mean the dish will be judged with special leeway.  Any dish that appears on a Restaurants menu should match their standards, if not Restaurants might as well put a (beware of lower quality) sticker beside their lousier dishes.

Roll breaks apart when simply lifted

So, why do I say that this dish is not properly prepared?  First off, there is a lack of balance in its flavor, in that the tuna used was inconsistent and some of the rolls had an overwhelming taste of seaweed.  The rice was cold, again disrupting the delicate balance of the dish.  Lastly, there was a clear lack of physical strength put into rolling the sushi, resulting in a brittle structure that easily falls apart.  The tiny air pockets trapped between rice grains also affect the overall taste slightly.  

With that said, the Sushi does score on many other factors, all of which remained consistent with the other dishes I ordered.  The rice used was of good quality (which is precisely why it shouldn't be served cold to demean its taste).  It had just the right amount of stickiness, chewiness and fragrance. it was also seasoned well by the chef(s) to have just the right mix of vinegar, salt and sugar, resulting in the subtle but sophisticated style of smooth, ever-so-slightly sour-sweetness that any properly done sushi rice should have.  The Tuna was also of good quality, with a robust, fatty taste that melts in your mouth and leaves a delicate lingering aftertaste in your mouth.

Left: Fatty Tuna and Spring Onions Gunkan ($2.80)

Right: Roasted Kagoshima Beef Sushi ($4.80)

This was the second sushi that came.  The components of the sushi are close to exactly the same as the previous roll, but the presence of warm rice made it almost twice as delicious.  The warm rice mixed with the slightly cold Tuna really does work well to complement each other to leave a satisfying feeling on your taste buds.  The balance of ingredients here was better, although a little too much minced tuna was used, disrupting the overall taste of the sushi.  This again owes to what is possibly lazy crafting of the Sushi. 

Luxury~~~

The second Sushi on the plate was the Kagoshima beef Sushi.  This one was great!  The beef used was undoubtedly of high quality as its tough, marbled fats made me anticipate the flavorful natural juices that leaked out with each and every bite.  The addition of some ginger and spring onions really helped to compliment the beef too.  Besides for the mere quality of the beef used, the preparation here is also deserving of praise.  The meat was served as two slices atop the rice rather than a whole piece; this helped with chewing the Sushi due to the natural toughness of the meat and hence its difficulty to cut by teeth.

Left: Fatty Yellow Tail Sushi

Centre: Swordfish Sushi

Tuna Sushi:

Good things come in 3

The Yellowtail Sushi was mild and tender and as with most good Yellowtails, the texture was smooth and just a little tougher than tuna, making for an irresistible  choice for those who prefer lighter flavors.

Some people don't seem to like swordfish due to its rather dense texture and resilience to the bite whilst offering not as much flavor as Tuna.  I however love it for its meatier texture and extremely light salty taste which is best enjoyed with eyelids shut and mind clear over long chewing sessions.  Itacho did not offer what I would consider as extremely good swordfish, but it was delicious nonetheless.  The solid texture was not as apparent here and might be preferable to some who dislike the toughness of normal swordfish. 

Tuna...the epitome of Sushi

At last, we arrive at the Tuna, the fish that truly defines sushi and best reflects the ability of any Sushi Restaurant to pick good fish.  The slice of tuna that Itacho served was definitely from a Tuna that was a notch above most of his friends in the fish market.  The Tuna was subtly flavored-as it should be-and had no stench to it; it was very fresh and had a dense but delicate texture.  The amount of wasabi put into the sushi -as with most of Itacho's Sushi- was just right if not just a little less than ideal.  I wouldn't say this is top notch but it is surely one of the better Tuna Sushi's I've had in Singapore.

Value:

The higher price tag of Itacho's Sushi may scare off more casual Sushi eaters but the quality of the ingredients they use does justify its pricing.  The prices here won't win any over the top bargain awards but it is definitely more than acceptable.

Ambience:

Plastic plate feels just a little cheap

The ambience at Itacho was decent.  Besides the soft, Japanese music in the background, the Restaurant had a clean and refined design that involved lots of lightly colored wood which offered a sense of elegance when paired with the average dim yellow lighting.  However, the cheap looking plastic plates they used for some Sushi did contradict the overall feel a little. 

Chefs hard at work

A bonus point to mention however is how clean the place is.  I was sitting at the counter and noticed how the chefs made a good habit of cleaning up their workstations and equipment after making each Sushi.  This is always good to have at a Sushi place.

Conclusion:

Itacho Sushi nails the freshness and quality of their sushi very well but the amount of skill and effort put into their Sushi is a little half hearted.  Whilst some of the Nigiri were well prepared, such as the Kagoshima Beef, the laziness of the Tuna Roll is a definite offset for their rating. 

Ultimately though, Itacho is a Restaurant that serves up good quality Sushi that most Sushi lovers will most likely love. 

As for those who have only eaten at a certain Sushi chain store I mentioned earlier (think green again), I would highly recommend that you try Itacho out and decide for yourself what Sushi really is. 

FOODIE’S RATING
Quality & Taste(75%)	7.5	I find it hard to give them anything closer to a solid 8 due to some inconsistencies but its great Sushi nonetheless
Value (15%)	6.5	decent value that is more than acceptable
Ambience & others (10%)	7.0	Ambience is pretty good though cheap looking plates hold it back from higher scores
Total	7.4	Easy choice for any Sushi Lover

Outlets and Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Itacho-Sushi/158303486802?sk=page_map

Operating Hours:

Mon - Thu: 11:00 am - 10:00 pm

Fri - Sat: 11:00 am - 11:00 pm

Sun: 11:00 am - 10:00 pm

Crosta Pizza: a great alternative to the typical hut

Intro:

So I recently received a brochure in my mailbox and seeing that it was for a recently opened pizza shop and that it claimed to be Authentic Wood Fired Pizza, I immediately jumped at the opportunity of making another blog post.

So, I ordered my pizza and was informed of a one and a half hour wait due to bad weather which I gladly accepted.  However, the delivery actually exceeded the estimated time by a whole hour.  I had even called twice to check on the status and both times had to call back again to confirm despite the store promising to check with their driver and get back to me.  This was quite an infuriating experience and was only made worse by the fact that the pizza arrived dead cold.  I will not factor in their punctuality for the review (Anyways I put the pizzas in my oven to heat them up again). However, I would like readers to take note of this occurrence in case they need an order urgently.  Hopefully, this was only a one time mishap on their part and that their punctuality can improve or prove to be decent.  

[On that note, if you do try to order from them and end up with a punctual or late service, do share in the comments below so that we can all have a better judgement of their service. :) ]  

Quality and Taste:

I ordered two pizzas with their opening 1 for 1 special.  

My first choice was their signature, La Crosta Pizza which came garnished with very fresh and sticky mozzarella, crunchy and juicy tomato slices, fluffy ricotta cheese and deliciously slimy and smoky fried eggplants.  

Simple box design feels just right

In case I'm being too subtle, the ingredients used are top notch. They are fresh and very tasteful.  These are brought together by a mild tomato based sauce and a wonderfully light crust.  Here, a good amount of effort is clearly put into kneading the dough as the thickness of the pizza remains relatively even throughout and its texture is both resilient yet also softly crunchy to the bite.  An unmistakable smoky aroma also imposes itself with each bite and taking a slight whiff of the pizza quickly testifies its origins as Authentically Wood Fire baked. 

A good spread of fresh ingredients

Fluffy and creamy cheese!

The other pizza I had ordered was their Naples Pizza which essentially is a traditional anchovies pizza.  Quite a few people I know seem to hate anchovy pizzas for their overly salty and strong, (some might call pungent?) flavor.  I for one really like them and crave to find that perfect anchovy pizza. 

Whole anchovies for whole goodness

Here again, the ingredients used by Crosta Pizza were of very good quality.  However, this specific pizza scores slightly lower than their La Crosta Pizza as even someone who enjoy anchovy pizzas for their strong flavor, found this Crosta Pizza's variation to be a little too salty.  The overall seasonings and toppings were quite well balanced, with a good blend of capers, olives and olive oil, but a little more tomato sauce and garlic and slightly less olive oil might have helped to tone down the overly strong flavor of the pizza.

Overall though, it is still a great tasting pizza which anchovy lovers will want to try. 

Value:

The value here is quite good. Crosta Pizza charges a standard 22 dollars for all their pizzas which is just slightly lower than some of its closer competitors like "Spizza".  However, taking into consideration that mediocre, big brand name pizzas charge around the same price for electric oven pizzas and you will realize that the value here is actually quite good.  The use of high quality ingredients and cheese also help to justify the asking price. 

There is a 5 dollar delivery charge for orders below 50 dollars. I find this quite acceptable. 

Conclusion:
Crosta Pizza is a welcome addition to the Traditional Wood Fired Pizza scene in Singapore.  This is a style of pizza that deserves more attention in the deliver to your doorstep pizza scene and Crosta Pizza's use of quality ingredients does justice to traditional, real Italian pizzas. 

If you consider yourself a pizza lover or are sick and tired of the same old mediocre chain stores serving standardized recipe pizzas, you will surely enjoy one of Crota Pizza's pizzas. Bon Appetit!

FOODIE’S RATING
Quality & Taste(80%)	7.5	No doubt that this is traditional pizza. Quality ingredients and a bona fide wood oven makes for great pizza.
Value (20%)	7.5	value is definitely above average
Ambience & others (0%)	-
Total	7.5	A welcome entry to the Traditional Pizza scene

Delivery Operating Hours:

Mon-Fri 1130 to 1430 & 1800 to 2230

Sat-Sun & Holidays: 1130 to 2230

Number: 62955505

Website:  http://crostapizza.sg/?route=product/category&path=70

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/crostapizzadelivery?id=484202925030425&refsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fcrostapizza+delivery

The Corner Place Korean BBQ: Seoooul Good!

By Arthur

Intro:

It has been a while since our last post but I finally got the time to make a new entry.  This time, I visited Corner Place Korean BBQ and as the name states, its a Korean barbecue restaurant.  The place serves ala carte orders of meat on weekday lunch hours and all you can eat buffet on weekends and weekday nights.  The Buffet also includes soft drinks and hot drinks. I went for the buffet lunch on a Saturday and I can say at this point of writing that I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. 

Ambience:

The Restaurant is situated quite prominently in Marina Square's food court and can be seen to the right of the escalator on that floor. 

Quite a striking entrance that should be hard to miss.

Overall, the Restaurant has decent lighting with a few Korean decors here and there to make it feel more like an authentic dining experience.  The music playing was at a decent volume and they mostly played Korean songs so it kind of helps with the authenticity, not to mention a flat screen television mounted on the wall which plays only a Korean variety channel. 

A few Korean themed decors here and there.

The Restaurant is designed with a lot of room for movement which is definitely a bonus considering that you'll moving between your seat and the buffet counter area quite often.  Similarly, their seats and tables are also comfortably sized.  

Well sized tables make for comfortable dining experiences.

Food and Value:

When it comes to something like Korean Barbecue, the quality and taste of the restaurant boils down to the freshness of the ingredients they use and the quality of their marinates since the actual cooking is done by customers themselves.  In both these aspects, The Corner Place does fairly well. 

The place offers a decent spread of raw meats and Vegetables coupled with a few cooked selections like Korean glass noodles, seaweed soup and fried wings. I won't be covering the cooked stuff too much since they are not the focus here, but they were generally of decent quality. 

Korean Glass noodles, very nice

In the department of vegetables, there's not much to say.  The Restaurant offers the usual fare of lettuce, beansprouts, enoki mushrooms and so on; most were crunchy fresh, and juicy.  

Don't Judge...Onion addiction is a serious problem

In terms of the meat however, the Restaurant offers a more than decent selection of very fresh cuts.  All the non-marinated meats were sliced finely but not too thin, making it both easy to control when cooking and easy to bite into for a flavorful burst when eating them.  

Blood and Fats cooked out of the Pork. If this doesn't prove how fresh it is, I don't know what does.

Tilted design helps much of the unhealthy oils to flow down to the left during cooking making for a healthier meal.

Although slightly tough to bite through, the Pork Collar had a good balance of sweet and salty, which were brought out well by its chewy texture.  The result is a succulent and inviting taste which seems to get more and more aromatic with each bite in your mouth; the small amount of natural juices that seeps through ones taste-buds and then down one's throat is really quite delightful.  This experience cannot be had if not for the freshness and decent quality of the Pork Collar used. Also, the tilted design of the restaurants barbecue pans meant that almost of the fats would glide off to a grease collector at the side during cooking, resulting in a leaner taste and less guilt when eating pork cuts.

Under the selection of pork, there were also Bacon and Pork Belly provided.  Again both were very fresh and the bacon...well its bacon, you really cant go wrong with good bacon :)

It took some time to roll these, but it was well worth it.

Keep them away from the hottest part of the pan so that they can cook slowly for maximum flavor.

I tried wrapping the bacon strips around some enoki mushrooms and they turned out great.  As expected, the simpler and more delicate flavor of the mushrooms really complimented the smokier and heavier flavor of the bacon.  Do try this. 

A little messy.

One of the two chicken choices served came with a marinate that had a strong hint of garlic.  It had a sweetness that is similar to terriyaki. The meat was mostly tender and fatty.  It was tasty but also a little greasy.

Greens make everything better

Wrapping the Chicken in Lettuce helped to balance out the grease with a watery and crunchy taste that pairs off well.  It also rejuvenates one's appetite after so many mouthfuls of smoky, heavily flavored meats.  Each bite offers an ever so faint resistance from the lettuce followed by a crunchy texture that leads into a release of refreshing, dew like water that pairs off with a slightly greasy, sweet and fragrant bite of the garlic marinated chicken.

The only area which I felt the store did not do so well in was their beef.  It was marinated in the standard bulgoggi style expected of Korean Barbecues, but the meat was too tough and of lower quality.  Basically, you should not be expecting the natural, juicy sweetness from each bite that one would get from choice cuts.  This is expected though since it is a buffet after all and beef is not exactly the cheapest meat.

Conclusion:

Overall, the meat that this Restaurant offers is generally fresh and well flavored, be it through the use of marinates or appropriate cut sizes, making for delicious rounds of barbecued meat with a lasting aftertaste.

In terms of Value, the Restaurant scores slightly above average.  The quality of the food used is quite good for its price range but there are some similarly priced Restaurants that provide a greater variety, which seems to be this one's only shortcoming. One thing I want to mention though is the excellent service I experienced. The staff were friendly and especially attentive.  At no point did I have to request a change in foil.  The staff would automatically change them once they noticed some char on them.  They were also very polite, responding calmly and patiently when a friend i went with had spilled over a drink by accident.

Charred foils beware, none shall escape the watchful eye of great Restaurant Staff.

Overall, The Corner Place Korean BBQ gets it right in many areas and it would be a shame for any Korean BBQ or buffet lovers in general to pass off a visit to this place.  It may not be the best one around but it certainly is great.  Amongst the better few Korean barbecues in Singapore, it can at least boast to be in a more accessible area than many others since it is situated in Marina Square Mall instead of more isolated shop houses and the like. 

FOODIE’S RATING
Quality & Taste(75%)	7.8	Their beef pulls down the score ever so slightly but everything else is just great. Amongst the most quality meat between Korean Barbecues I've tried.
Value (15%)	7.5	Variety could have been better but still great value for money overall
Ambience & others (10%)	7.0	Decent atmosphere with some authentic decors.
Total	7.7	Great Restaurant that is well worth a try

Address: 
6 Raffles Boulevard
Marina Square #04-102
(Within Food Court)

Opening Hours: 1130-2200, Mon to Sun

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/MyTheCornerPlaceKoreanBBQ