Japanese fondue

Once again, it's Wednesday, a.k.a. Treat-of-the-week day!! Again we went down to HV, cos' she wanted to have the ever reliable Sushi Tei.

Sushi Tei's standard of food is noticeably higher than other Jap restaurants in the same price range, like Sakae Sushi (yucks) and Genki Sushi (double yucks), and it helps that they try to inject some of the famed Japanese creativity in presentation, even in food that isn't necessarily the most expensive.

Pre-meal focus

Soft-shell crab maki with smelt roe

Take the soft shell crab maki, for instance. Rather than simply rolling the crab in some rice (ok, I know I'm abbreviating the whole process, but I'm just trying to make a point), they take the effort to arrange the dish aesthetically. The smelt roe is a great touch, contrasting beautifully with the crisp batter of the soft shell crab (hmm, is it soft-shell or soft shelled?). The final presentation of the maki makes it look like a giant shrimp. Fantastic.

And then, there were these beautiful salmon-smelt-roe roses...

Exquisite? Oui!

Three types of smelt, three ways to spell heaven. I realise now that I really do like roe. Crab roe, prawn roe, smelt roe, salmon roe, I like them all. I guess it's like the poor man's caviar, but hey, now no $$ so boh pian.

Don't you agree that these look absolutely gorgeous?? And now... on to my all-time favourite Jap dish:

The dish that can do no wrong.

SABA SHIOYAKI!!!!! (Grilled Mackerel) at Sushi Tei is consistently one of the highlights of any meal there. You genuinely taste the flavour of the fish (sweet) and the flame (smokey), with minimal seasoning (salty). It helps too, that the texture of well-made saba shio is tender without being flaky, which is exactly what Sushi Tei's is like.

Sushi Tei
Holland Village

Taste: 4/5
Value: 3.5/5
Ambience: 2/5 (way, way, way too squeezy. And it's not just cos i'm fat)

One bowl of noodles later, we headed off to The Coffee Club, our new go-to place for dessert. We will try out everything there soon enough, I fear. Haha.

Fondue: $12.90

The people who queue for not-as-nice-but-more-expensive fondue at places like anderson's and chocz, should just come here. The chocolate could be of better quality, but it's already damn good, given the price. Plus the fruits are sweet.

Sweeeeeet.

Coffee Club
Holland Village

Taste: 4/5
Value: 5/5
Ambience: 4/5