Poké Lulu - A Hawaiian, Not Japanese, Dish @ Orchard Central [Singapore]

After trying the "entertainer" app for the first time at "a spoonful of sugar" and realized it wasn't that difficult, i decided to give it another try at Poké Lulu in Orchard Central shopping mall, which shared the space with (and appeared to be under the same management as) Nunsaram Korean Dessert Cafe!

Customize your poké bowl - contrary to common beliefs, this dish is a "traditional Hawaiian seafood dish made of cubed raw fish, seasoned and topped with a variety of ingredients"! Don't be like me and assume it has some kind of relation with pokémon.

Pass the order list to the cashier, pay up and wait for your order to be prepared. In the meantime, chill and grab a cup of fruit-infused water from the dispenser!

The selection of six pokes (protein for your meal which is marinated raw fish) consisting of original tuna, wasabi mayo tuna, spicy tuna, original salmon, wasabi mayo salmon and spicy salmon. What does poke mean? According to this article, it means "to slice or cut in Hawaiian"

Choose four complimentary add-ons (mix of fruits, nuts and vegetables) and one free superfoods (avocado, chia seeds, quail eggs and salmon roes).

Need more flavour for your healthy meal? You can take additional sides like kimchi, spring onions etc after the bowl was passed to you!

Extra dressings and even wasabi paste to further whet your appetite! I was interested to check out the 'original' flavour and hence, refrained from adding the sides or dressings.

Musubi - said to be good from some blogs, my friend and i bought the last piece on the tray even though i am doing my best to cut down my carbohydrates intake!

And unless i am famished, you wouldn't see me woofing down a rice ball. In my opinion, they usually don't taste great with a sole objective to fill the tummy; not to make your taste buds happy.

I was expecting something good from this rice sandwich with spam (luncheon meat) and it's disappointment that said hello when i chewed through its content; bland! How could spam be tasteless?! Maybe i should add a dose of dressing to hype up the taste...

Small Poké Bowl - i would have gladly gone for the medium with double the raw fish at 150 grams but we were aiming for Don Don Donki's baked sweet potatoes as desserts right after this meal!

With a salad base and original salmon as the poke, my small bowl comprised of corn, walnuts, sunflower seeds and golden raisins as the add-ons and salmon roe for the superfood selection.

In comparison, my friend's selection appeared a lot healthier with cherry tomatoes, seaweed and shredded carrots! Oh well, to each his own.

Absolutely loving what i had; the original salmon thankfully didn't have that fishy taste and i so adored the freshness from the salad, the crunch from the walnuts and sunflower seeds, the sweetness from the corn and raisins and the saltiness from the popping ikura!  

Saving the best till the end! 

Please remember to clear the table and return the tray! I almost missed out the supposedly glaring spelling error from the notice; returning and not returing.

Another reminder - do not throw your cup of water in the bin. The heavily-infused water (given the amount of fruits in the dispenser) was thirst quenching and i think it's such a waste to dump it. Just gulp it down your throat for goodness sake! 

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Location

181 Orchard Road, #05-51/52,

Orchard Central, Singapore 238896

Facebook Page

https://www.facebook.com/pokelulu/

Order List

As above.

Pricing

Spam Musubi - S$3.90

Small Poké Bowl - S$11.90

(Inclusive of GST, No Service Charge)

Log House Wagyu Bibi Restaurant (Said to be the best in Hokkaido) near New Chitose Airport @ Hokkaido [Japan]

My love for steak should have enticed me to search for a wagyu restaurant when i visited Japan for the first time last August but truth was; it never did cross my mind until i read from a blog about this supposedly amazingly good wagyu beef dining establishment known as Loghouse Bibi.

We made our way there on our way from Noboribetsu to Sapporo and i didn't realise it's only about a 10-minute drive from New Chitose airport! So for those who are self-driving in Hokkaido, you may want to pay the restaurant a visit once you arrive or before you depart.

To be honest, its location was in the middle of nowhere and if not for the directions on google map, i don't think i would be able to navigate to Loghouse Bibi that smoothly.

There's a reason why it's called the log house.

A statue (of non-Asian origins) greeted us as we stepped in to the warmth of the wooden cabin. It will be nice on a cold winter night but in summer, the warmth wasn't something we preferred.

It's not just a facade; the restaurant was indeed made entirely of wooden logs!

Place wasn't crowded at 30 minutes before noon and we were provided with an English menu. Although pricing was on a high side, i thought we should just pamper ourselves midway through our Hokkaido trip! Think about it, i am eating authentic wagyu beef from its origin; Japan!

Wah, it's like a charcoal graveyard when the griddle was removed! Unlike the cheapo charcoal we used for barbecues, the quality here appeared to be of a much better grade; no smoke.

Where the pieces of red hot charcoal came from; happened to pass by the 'workroom' when i went to take a pee. Must prepare oneself when eating wagyu beef for the first time in Japan.

Complimentary iced water (refillable)! That slab of meat-like thingy was in fact a piece of fat to lubricate the griddle; similar to the pork lard used for mookata!

Our orders - assorted vegetables, 180-gram assorted Japanese beef and our star today; the 200-gram prime sirloin steak! According to a Japanese blogger, the grade of wagyu is A4 with A being the top grade and 4 referring to the meat quality (highest is 5).

Let's start with the assorted vegetables and beef!

The aroma of sizzling beef was so alluring and even Alex, who isn't really into beef, was looking forward to having a piece of it in his mouth!

One bite and you know it's totally worth the slightly more than S$20 we paid for the assorted beef. These Biratori Wagyu were just so tender, so delicious.

Frankly, the assorted vegetables were ordered to make us feel less guilty but as they were not that easy to grill and i left them for too long on the griddle; I think i should have spent the money on beef instead.

Now the star and no, i didn't have any more pictures to show as i needed to control the time and Alex is helpless when it comes to cooking anything (even instant noodles)! Sadly, i sucked in grasping the timing and before i knew it, the steak was seared for too long on the griddle.

Saving grace was that it remained to be the best piece of steak i ever have in my whole life; the tenderness and juiciness flowed with every bite and i didn't even require a steak knife to cut through it!

Only noticed this small container of sauce after we had satisfyingly cleaned up the entire slab of prime sirloin steak. Not that it matters to me since i don't require any sauce to go with my steak except for maybe chilli sauce.

I used the sauce for the grilled onions though and it was pretty palatable; i didn't put it in my notes but if i recall correctly, it was like a mix of teriyaki and yakiniku sauce.

Essence at the end of the meal - the delicious piece of fat!

Serviettes are so eco-unfriendly; over here at Log House Wagyu Bibi Restaurant, a semi-wet towel was provided for me to wipe my mouth. Such high SES (Socio-Economic Status) provision is so not me and i definitely can't afford such meals in the long run!

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Location

8-5 Misawa, Tomakomai,

Hokkaido, Japan

Location Map

Check out under the label for "Log House Wagyu Bibi Restaurant" under header "Sapporo (08-11 Aug)".

Look out for the signs when you drive along the road! 

Operating Hours

11.00 am to 9.00 pm

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Assorted Vegetables - 650 yen

Assorted Japanese Beef (180g) - 1,800 yen

Prime Sirloin Steak (200g) - 5,000 yen

(Inclusive of Tax)

Additional Information

Do check out the Bibi River at the back of the restaurant; aside from clear water with many fishes, you may have the opportunity to chance upon a snake, as i did. Click here for the posting! 

For my 8 days, 7 nights Hokkaido itinerary in summer, click here.