Omoté Japanese Restaurant - Chirashidon & Tokyu Gyudon @ Thomson Plaza (Next to Upper Thomson MRT Station) [Singapore]

I have fond memories of Thomson Plaza; from the Old Yaohan department store, the KFC outlet that served fried chicken on porcelain plates with waiters like a typical restaurant, and the fun fact that I used to work as a retail assistant at Pet Lovers Centre. 

It has been a while since I last paid it a visit and the reason of my patronage this time was simply because my mom was meeting my sister for a massage and didn't know how to get there. While some of the older outlets were still there, there were a few new faces too. 

Omoté isn't new as it first opened at Thomson Plaza in year 2015; albeit at a smaller location. I actually heard about this restaurant from a friend who advised me to check it out, knowing my immense love for Waa Cow's chirashidon. 

Frankly, my last meal was just two hours ago at Hup Hup Mee Siam and I wasn't thinking of filling my tummy again. However, the queue outside the dining establishment was cleared by the time my mom and sister bade farewell and I guess a bowl of chirashidon might be manageable. 

Accolades won by the restaurant; should you decide to check out the place, I would suggest that you make a reservation to avoid an extended wait. You may do so via https://tableagent.com/singapore/omote/.

Interior of the restaurant; unlike typical Japanese restaurants which tend to focus on a zen theme, Omoté  was modern yet with infusion of both manga (mural wall) and art (the somewhat private sections). 

Going through the menu; I realized I was slowly swimming into a dilemma. I was aiming for sushi bowl but there were so many to choose from; over 20! Eventually, I just opted for the cheapest; the namesake, Omoté Chirashi.

Shall be back to try this gigantic, eyepopping chirashidon with my friends in the near future. As the name suggests, it is super instagrammable! 

Even though I was alone, my mind was thinking if I could stomach another rice bowl when I flipped over to the mains page on the menu.... I would love to try everything, despite being alone! In my youth days, I might be able to woof down two mains easily but age has severely tamed the voracious appetite. 

Whatever, I shall try my best! 

Ordered a glass of cold green tea - do note that it's not refillable. 

Don't you just love the way the bear mascot 'hugged' the chopsticks? 

Omoté Chirashi - at just S$12.80 for this seafood bowl, I wasn't expecting the portion to be huge as the price was even cheaper than Waa Cow, which resides within a university. 

What I didn't expect was the sheer generosity of the ingredients! There were ikura (fish eggs), pieces of scallops, octopus, squids, prawns and thick chunks of salmon, tuna etc! In our local lingo, super shiok! 

Even though I was prepared to forgo the rice, I simply can't resist enjoying the fresh seafood with the vinegarish Japanese rice that was drizzled with soy sauce! On one hand, I was feeling all guilty as I had definitely breached my carbohydrate limit for the day, yet on the other hand, my mind was screaming max satisfaction!  

Tokyu Gyudon - I must be crazy to order another rice dish but the picture of this gyudon looked extremely tempting on the menu and I will regret if I were to wait till my next visit. 

And judging from the picture above; I think the portion would be fine.

Totally enjoying the thin, tender strips of beef with a savoury, smoky flavour that complemented the sweetness of the caramelized onions! It was so luxurious as I took on a large spoonful although I had to stop after a while as my stomach was bursting with all the rice! 

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A meal that I would love to relive again and by that time, I would ensure I bring along a few friends and drop by with an empty stomach. Feeling so guilty to waste all the delicious, Japanese rice!  

Address

301, Upper Thomson Road, 

Thomson Plaza, #03-24A,

Singapore 574408

(Upper Thomson MRT Station)

Map

As above.

Website

https://www.omote.com.sg/

Operating Hours

As above. Closed on Tuesdays.

Pricing

Omoté Chirashi - S$12.80

Tokyu Gyudon - S$15.80

Iced Green Tea - S$2.80 

(Subject to GST and Service Charge) 

Finally Changed My Computer Table

It's been five years since I moved in to my own place and there had been one thing I was dying to change as the item, purchased via taobao.com, didn't meet my expectation! 

I locked in for pure white and the delivered product was purple white! Personally, it was an eyesore for the past few years but I didn't want to waste money by throwing it away. Hence, with the stability of the table getting increasingly bad in recent months; it's a perfect excuse for me to get a new one! 

As I didn't want to trouble the housekeeping team for the estate, I decided to dismantle the computer table myself earlier this morning. 100% satisfaction as each piece was taken out and I didn't have to hammer to break up the pieces.

Usually not a neat freak, it's weirdly pleasing to separate metals from wood. Oh well, I remember seeing that the blue recycling box at the void deck accepts metal, and thought I might as well do my little part for Mother Earth.

For ease of movement and reduce any risk of accident, given how clumsy I am, removal of this kind of jutting out nails would be necessary. 

Oops, broke the surface and revealing the chipped wood within. Quality wasn't great and I couldn't recollect the price I paid for this table, except that it's about S$200 plus, before shipping. 

Segregating the items for recycling purpose! 

So what's going to happen to the slabs of wood? I was contemplating whether to put them at the void deck but as the bin centre was just a short walk away; I decided to just bring them there myself; took me three trips as Alex was too busy with his bloody games. 

The empty space; to be frank, it's too narrow for me to get omnidesk and I could only accommodate tables with a width of only about 50 centimeters. Good for me though as omnidesk would have put a serious dent on my paltry savings.

Therefore, I got this functional beauty from vhive instead; it's in grey which is one of my preferred colors for furniture and came with drawers, which I didn't have previously. Costing me S$231.20 (including delivery and installation), let's hope it lasts longer than 5 years! 

Ah Tee Ko Ko Mee - Teochew Fish Ball Noodle in Gourmet Street Coffee Shop @ Jalan Berseh [Singapore]

To be honest, I would not have ventured to this part of Jalan Berseh, behind Berseh Food Centre, if not for a documentary on Channel NewsAsia that showcases hawker culture.

One of the hawkers interviewed for the show was the current operator of Ah Tee Ko Ko Mee, who is a second generation hawker with a 50-year recipe inherited from his father! 

Obviously, I was enamored by the bowls of teochew fish ball noodle and my first attempt to try it was thwarted when it was sold out shortly after I joined the queue. I returned a few weeks later, and this time, I dropped by before the peak lunch hour. 

With less than four persons in the queue, I secured my bowl of noodle at no time; a small bowl at S$3.00 with mee pok and a bit of chilli. 

Noodle was cooked al dente but the flavour didn't wow, unlike the Chao Zhou Fishball Noodle in Toa Payoh. Nonetheless, it's still a hearty bowl of noodle that nearby residents would likely crave for every now and then. For someone living in Yishun, it's a lot less likely. 

One thing to note is that teochew fish ball noodle stalls usually don't include ingredients like minced meat, char siew and fish dumpling and for S$3.00 a bowl; the pricing was more than reasonable to fill one's tummy, albeit with more variety of ingredients. 

Fish balls were chewy and tasty although they were not of ping-pong size. Fish dumpling, the craze nowadays in many local noodle stalls, was good and didn't stinge on the meat. Char siew was a surprise as such leanness doesn't appeal to me and I will associate it with blandness. 

Simply not the case here as each slice of char siew had a good bite with a decent flavour. Granted not as unforgettable as those juicy, fat, charred ones, but amongst lean style char siew; one of the better ones around. Needless to say, I cleaned up the bowl in no time! 

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Address 

27 Jalan Berseh, 

Within Gourmet Street Coffee Shop,

Singapore 200027

Map

As above.

Operating Hours

5.30 am to 1.30 pm / till sold out

(Closed on Sundays)

Pricing

Teochew Fish Ball Noodle - S$3.00

Wen Kang Ji Wanton Noodle (文康記) @ Golden Mile Hawker Centre [Singapore] #goldenmilehawkercentre

I enjoy going around hawker centers as it gives me a better understanding of the popular stalls and I would then decide if the dish(es) for sale would appeal to me. At times, the aroma seals the deal.

As it was already an hour after lunch, the hawker center was pretty quiet and the lack of a queue made it harder for me to zero in to a specific stall to satisfy my brunch. But something from Wen Kang Ji Wanton Noodle (文康記) drew my attention.

The beautiful strings of mouthwatering looking char siew! 

At minimally S$5.00 for the wanton mee, it might feel pricey but judging from the plate of goodies passed to me, with thick chunks of char siew; I guess they did justify the higher pricing.

First to go into my mouth would be the char siew! The thickness was satisfying, aided by the smokiness of the meat which wasn't overly charred; definitely one of the better ones in Singapore even though I would have a preferred a sweeter tinge. 

Noodle appeared to be relatively dry as the entire portion got pulled up when I attempted to use the chopsticks on the strands of noodle. I am unsure if it was because of the one or two minutes of "rest" as I was taking photographs. 

Let's mix up with the sauce to improve the dryness and take a bite! Slurpy and delicious, I suspected this had to do with the sauce which kind of reminded me of Kok Kee from the former Lavender Food Square! Of course, Wen Kang Ji gained an upper hand with its amazing char siew! 

Wantons were pretty meaty too.

Perfect combination; had to mention the large, fresh and crispy pork lard, for which I was blessed with a generous serving! At that moment when I ordered, the operator was frying a new batch and I was extremely tempted to ask if they could sell me maybe about 500 grams.

Soup was surprisingly milky in colour and taste wise, not bland like the many wanton noodle stalls in Singapore. Whatever the case, it's not so good to the extent of playing a huge role in my review.

S$5 but worth the money and the calories intake.

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Address

505 Beach Rd, Golden Mile Food Centre, 

#B1-29,  Singapore 199583

Map

As above.

Operating Hours

10.30 am to 6.30 pm / while stocks last

(Closed on Alternate Sundays / Mondays)

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Wanton Noodle - S$5.00