I couldn't finish my food

Damn, there's a headline. It's true, though. I didn't finish my food not because it didn't taste good, not because there was no time to (yeah, like that's ever gonna happen), but because I was just. too. full.

On its surface, the unassuming Japanese restaurant with the plain red curtains for a front door doesn't seem to amount to much. Yes, there are the usual so-fake-they're-real displays of artificial food outside, as well as a slowly-moving queue on a saturday night.

So far, so good.

By the time you part the curtains and realise that you've only made it past the overflow room, it's too late - you're hooked, and you have just got to find out what makes this one of the best mid-priced Japanese restaurants around.

I've said before that Sushi Tei has probably the best value-for money Japanese deal in town. That hasn't changed, because Tonkichi doesn't serve sushi or sashimi the way most family-style jap restaurants here do. Instead, they focus on their speciality - fried pig

Curry udon with pork katsu set - under $20

I think that there's definitely room for speciality Jap restaurants here. Singaporeans can take just that many Sakaes, Sushi Tei's and Suki sushi - see, even their names sound so alike. We admire restauranteers who set out their stall to hawk but one speciality, honed through years of careful refining.

Not too long ago, a yakitori speciality stall opened in Vivo, and from what I can tell, it's still doing well. Ditto Ajisen ramen.

So Tonkichi specialises in fried pork. Now, NTU students before you say "But we have nice pork curry katsu from Canteen A..." allow me to tempt you:

An ode to a pork katsu

You first notice it's distinctive smell,
and observe the cracked skin of the fillet
The lines along its flesh
Run like antlers

You inhale sharply

Inevitably, your eyes close
as you lift the tender morsel to your lips
as you strip away your senses
until only one - taste - is left.

So don't compare me with Canteen A,
Damn, that's one helluva pork katsu.

Woo. Ok, creative juices exhausted. Anyhow, here's the ratings.

That strange brown thing vertically down my rice is actually japanese ikan bilis - quite yummy!

Tonkichi
Shaw - the Lido one, Level 4

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

Ok, next up, since it's Chinese New Year and all, let's talk about something traditional. This year, instead of getting Bak Kwa etc, for her folks, I'm going to get them something I saw at Anchorpoint.

Remember how I mentioned that it's now completely revamped? Well, the good news is that food-wise, it's no longer the poorer-cousin of Ikea. (Strange huh, all along Ikea was kicking Anchorpoint's ass with just one cafe)

It now includes a whole buncha eating places, notably: Jack's place, a Disney-themed cafe great for kids, a proper foodcourt (not like how it was before, where stalls looked like they grew out of the Tetris-shaped walkways), etc.

One of the outlets which caught my eye was a beautifully-presented Chinese confectionery. Yeap, that's right - a Chinese confectionery. The kind where you get lao po bing and peanut candy from.

Somehow, the people behind Yang Hua Confectionery have managed to fuse chic design with a traditional feel. The pastries and sweets are presented in a longish glass display, much like how Godiva and Royce display their chocolates.

Still, small touches such as the overall chin-chong red colour scheme and the decision to retain an old-school auntie at the counter have allowed it to retain its air of tradition. Oh, and the sweets taste good too.

I had the peanut candy, a favourite when I was growing up.

I bit into it gingerly, expecting it to crackle. Unexpectedly, all I felt was the smooth consistency of something not unlike a regular marshmallow. Intrigued, I told the aunty that this was really good.

In keeping with her old-school cred, she promptly launched into a I-told-you-so Mandarin rant about how "I never bluff you, we have been selling this for twenty years" and "All our goods are hand made in our factory".

Haha, I'm going back there! If you want to look for this place, it's at the basement of the new Anchorpoint.

Ok I'm really tired already, am going to just post the rest of the pictures. In order (Pasta Fresca, Marche Vivocity (what happened to all the other Marches!!), Buddy Hoagies, Fosters)