Entree Kibbles: Ajiya Okonomiyaki Restaurant @ Jurong Kechil (Near Beauty World MRT Station) [Singapore]

Sunday, May 29, 2022

Ajiya Okonomiyaki Restaurant @ Jurong Kechil (Near Beauty World MRT Station) [Singapore]

Nowadays, I am pretty hooked on Facebook Watch where I was shown never ending videos on summaries for movies, dramas, amazing places of interests, interesting documentaries and of course, mouthwatering recommendations on food.

I was craving for okonomiyaki after watching a video on the Japanese pancake and remember that the Great Kon mentioned about the supposedly famous Ajiya okonomiyaki restaurant near Beauty World, and decided to pay it a visit! Craving is such a hindrance to dieting!

Thankfully no queue as it was already the tail-end of the Friday lunch crowd. Do keep in mind the above conditions, especially the dining limit of 75 minutes and the minimum spent of S$15 per seat / adult.

This section would have caught your eyes upon entering the restaurant; that large teppanyaki table with the grilled plate. While okonomiyaki is the main draw, teppanyaki options like beef tongue, pork. Japanese wagyu beef etc were also orderable.

Slightly more private tables were offered for groups of at least four persons. Since there were only Alex and I, we were brought to the main teppanyaki table instead.

Seat that also doubled up as a bag storage!

Only issue; I forgot about my bag when I left!

Refillable boiled water was chargeable at S$0.80 and we decided to just go with homemade houjicha instead since the price differential was S$1.70 and I never quite liked paying for water. Iced houjicha as it has been crazily hot these few weeks.

Awaiting my food to be cooked right in front of me.

I was wondering initially why there was a paper placemat in front of me, where it showed the step-by-step instructions on how to make okonomiyaki! You can cook the okonomiyaki yourself using the iron griddle in front of you (eatery shall provide the ingredients) and there's a 10% off!

Ingredients were ready and even the oil was put in place.

Guess which option would I undertake? DIY?

Given my pathetic cooking skill with an extreme optimism that I can perfectly managed the actual timing that the food would be ready right before they charred; I think it's better to leave it to the professionals. I am not going to waste my S$17.50 okonomiyaki!

It appeared simple enough; pour, flatten, flip, smear with the okonomiyaki sauce, decorate with the mayonnaise sauce, sprinkle with seaweed flakes and top with bonito flakes. Okay, I shall attempt next time! Maybe upload the entire process to my tiktok account.

Anyway, time to indulge! The ingredients I choose for mine octopus, fish roe and prawns, and you can select from 12 others from across seafood, meat & dairy and vegetables. I presume seafood would be more worth it and totally ignore the rest.

This okonomiyaki was more cabbage than flour, providing a good, healthy crunch in every delicious bite. While the mayonnaise and okonomiyaki sauces supplied the essential tastes, the strongly flavored bonito flakes and seaweed flakes played a key role in enhancing the flavor. And strangely enough; the seafood ingredients I requested didn't play that important a role.

Octopus was on the hard side whereas the other two failed to result in fireworks. Alex's version was prawn, crab meat and grilled onions, and the unassuming onions would have won my seafood ingredients any time! With 15 ingredients, I bet there will be one combination (out of 455) that would satisfy you.

Chawanmushi - smooth texture and nice tasting with little pieces of prawns, chicken and mushrooms. Even though it didn't wow, there was really nothing to complain about for its pricing of S$4.00.

Done! Sufficiently full although the okonomiyaki wasn't doughy and I have no other starch-heavy dishes for this late lunch!