Entree Kibbles: Misato Japanese Restaurant @ The Centrepoint (Orchard) [Singapore]

I am always in a fix on where to curb my hunger at The Centrepoint; there were just too many choices at Gastro+ and my simple mind obviously can't handle the numerous temptations!

For this lunch with my nephew, I let him make the decision and since he was most keen with Japanese cuisine; I thought it would be a great opportunity to finally check out Misato Japanese Restaurant, which I noticed when I last patronized its next door neighbor, Honolulu Cafe.

Don't you just love the catchphrase; "high end food, casual prices"? Anyway, the eatery seemed to be popular with celebrities and even on Google; it commanded a great review score of 4.5 from over 500 reviewers.

Everything looked so darn delicious on the menu that I was once again in a fix on what to order! You can view the menu via the restaurant's face book page here.

Fill up your preferred choices in the above order list, and patiently wait for your food. Or observe the surrounding as I did; one thing that stood out was the tableware used for the dishes. They were beautiful and one was even shaped like a Japanese medieval castle.

Ice Tap Water - while unwilling to pay for plain, tap water in normal circumstances, I decided to forgo my principle as it was way more important to quench my thirst on a bloody hot day! p.s. it's refillable.

Complimentary Appetizers - it's uncommon for Japanese restaurants to serve free side dishes, unlike Korean restaurants. But since they were free, I would gladly embrace their arrival.

Loving both of them; pickled cucumber was crunchy and a bit spicy. The unique one was the seaweed with pieces of meat and strips of carrot, which would pair perfectly with a steaming bowl of Japanese rice!

Tamagoyaki - presentation alone was enough to wow me even though it was just three pieces of Japanese rolled omelette, topped with fish roes. At S$6.90, they were not crazily expensive and had a moist texture that was full of sweet egg flavor.

Yakitori Set - what appeared to be a lunchbox was placed on our table and unboxing it brought forth a sense of unprepared surprise, despite knowing they would contain the skewers of charcoal grilled "chicken wing, mushroom and chicken and leek"

Perfectly cooked; the chicken ones were tender and burst with juiciness! Of course, the marination was most important and it didn't disappoint! I was so thankful Jerald preferred to just concentrate on his chicken katsu set.

Bamboo holder for the skewers, sans the meat / mushroom!

Chawanmushi - Japanese steamed egg custard; this would be one item I would usually order whenever I am in a Japanese restaurant although this habit was primarily influenced by Alex.

What would you look out for in chawanmushi? I would look at three things; the ingredients, the texture and finally the taste. This had large pieces of chicken and texture was smooth. Only issue? Taste was on the bland side.

Sudachi Soba - this was such a cute dish that I hesitated to eat it immediately! And please be assured that it's not a bowl of lime water for you to wash your hands, which is a common feature in some local seafood restaurants.

Description as follows "kawaii rabbit-shape daikon and Japanese citrus fruit served on top of cold soba immersed in light, refreshing and cold dashi stock". There's a 'normal' cha soba on the menu and since this stunning version was just a S$1 more expensive; I thought it would be worth a try.

This was out of the world; the sour zest from the thinly-sliced lime added an incredible tang to the cold soba and it felt as if I was rediscovering cold soba all over again! Do note that for someone who was having this for himself, and have had plenty in his tummy already; the taste can get overwhelming towards the end.

Misato Matcha Dessert - friends who know me well would be aware I am not into matcha stuff, and prefer matcha in their original, beverage form. But my nephew chose this and I decided to go along with it. As expected, the premium green tea ice cream was overly bitter (I know some friends would dig this) and once again, not my cup of tea. I should have insisted on having the grilled mochi zenzai!

In case you think I have an imaginary nephew, here's Jerald with his chicken katsu set! This is supposed to be a treat for his birthday which was a few months back.

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Frankly, I was extremely happy with the food; taste was great with amazing plating. Pricing wise, I feel Misato was rather similar to Sushi Tei; mid-tier and pretty worth it for the taste and quality of food. Note: they claimed the food's 100% no MSG. Definitely another eatery to consider for my next makan trip with my parents.

Address

176 Orchard Road. #01-33E,