hits a home run: Hanabi with Sow

Arranged for yet another of my food expedition...this time with Sow!

Being nice and all (*ahem* self-praise), I let Sow chose our dining place for that evening!

Settled upon Sow's recommendation since she emphasized that some blogger said the Japanese food was good!

So there we found ourselves...at Hanabi!

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More information on Hanabi:

It's actually a Japanese restaurant that offers ala carte buffet from their menu and these include Agemono (deep fried items), Noodles, Teppanyaki, Yakimono and most importantly, Sashimi Moriawase (mix platter of sashimi)!

Download the full menu here!

FYI: We paid about S$35 per pax for their dinner and oh yeah, we went to the Odeon Tower outlet!
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Met Sow at City Hall MRT and we walked over to Odeon Tower, which was near Raffles Hotel and CHIJMES by the way!

Just plot your way through, using the MRT map and google map app, and finding your way there would be a walk in the park!

Anyway, one hilarious matter I must bring up was this!

Earlier on, I had made a reservation for two at the restaurant and at the same time, inquired about how to get to the restaurant!

Me: "Hi, may I know how to get to the restaurant? Do I have to walk past CHIJMES in order to get there?"

Restaurant Staff: "Uh? CHIJMES? What is CHIJMES? (FYI: I nearly fainted upon hearing this and for that split second, I was deeply reminded of the time when I had to explain what was watermelon to my mentee) You know Bras Basah Complex? We are located directly next to it."

Me: "Oh yes, I do know where is Bras Basah Complex! Thank you so much! I'll see you tomorrow then! -_-""

Anyway, when we reached the restaurant, we were quickly ushered in after they confirmed our reservation by (I think) the restaurant's manager, who was smartly dressed in a formal business top!

To be honest, I was quite shocked to see few people in the restaurant as I had expected more then I recalled that it was a weekday night!

Interior of the restaurant!

As you can see, the chefs were busy at work and

the fresh sashimi were stored in the mini fridge bar there!

Quickly settled down and we ordered a little bit of everything in the menu!

As usual, I almost ordered everything in the menu such that Sow had to stop me from over-ordering! Lol!

Anyway, Sow that silly girl, almost forgot about today's appointment and had a heavy lunch with her colleagues! Damn, so "not worth your every buck"!

Took some photos while waiting for the food to arrive!

Sow studying the menu!

Me wearing a sandbag! Lol!

...And our food arrived!

1st up:

Sashimi Moriawase!

A platter mixture of Salmon, Maguro and Tako!

Sow and I agreed unanimously to order this first to recover our "investment"

as this dish can easily cost you up to S$30 at Jap. restaurants!

It is one of the definite must order here because it is super fresh!

Yummy Rating: 3.1/5

Shangri-la's The Line still has the best and freshest sashimi ever in SG's buffet!

California Maki!

It was rather yums! I kinda like it!

But the rice was a little too stiff and dry!

Yummy Rating: 3.0/5

Jellyfish or Chuka Kurage!

Tasted average like those you can buy off supermarts, nothing spectacular!

But then again, I prefer those Jellyfish from Chinese Restaurants!

Yummy Rating: 2.5/5

I forgot what dish this is and how it tasted like! Oops!

Chawanmushi!

Yummy, hot, smooth and delicious!

I even ordered and ate up two bowls of it!

The broth was just nice, not too overly oily or thick!

Yummy Rating: 3.2/5

Agedashi Tofu!

A rather disappointing dish!

The fried tofu skin was too thick, gooey and tasted more like "mochi"

Yummy Rating: 2.2/5

...And it was time for 2nd round of food!

Sashimi Moriawase...again!

This time, Salmon + Ika (Squid)!

The Ika was rather delectable, firm and chewy!

No fishy taste either!

Yummy Rating: 3.1/5

Tori Teriyaki/Yaki Tori

(can't remember which one)

But Oyishi!

Meat was tender and the sauce was rather sweet and nice!

Yummy Rating: 3.2/5

Hiyashi Ramen!

Cold noodles in vinegar!

Taste was alright but seriously lacking in that sugar-vinegar kick!

Yummy Rating: 2.6/5

Sakae's Hiyashi still the best around Singapore!

Shishamo!

It's like a pregnant fish with plenty of fish roes inside!

Sow ordered this but I dislike fishes that are too "dry" in nature

so I shall refrain from commenting!

Sow eating her Sake Karashi Temaki (Spicy Salmon Temaki)!

After we were thoroughly stuffed, gossiped and then chatted about pretty general things like work, colleagues, overseas work opportunity and future plans!

Kimmie's verdict:

Food wasn't as impressive as I had expected and at the price we are both forking out (S$35 per pax), it is quite affordable (if you eat like two plates of Sashimi Moriawase all by yourself) as you are able to try out everything in the menu but it could have been better if they improved on the other unsatisfactory dishes on the menu (as I have highlighted above)

But if you are a fussy eater for quality instead of quantity, like yours truly, you might probably be better off topping up an additional 45 bucks to enjoy Shangri-la!

So, in short, keep your expectations low and keep in mind the old saying, "A value for every buck well spent", and you might find yourself enjoying this Hanabi ala carte buffet!

Settled the bill and we left the restaurant shortly!

Nothing like a water feature scenery to close the night!

...But wait! The night hasn't ended yet! In fact, it was was still young!

While waiting for Sow in the washroom!

Convinced Sow to head down to Raffles City for some good ol' Ben and Jerry's ice cream since we didn't had any dessert in the restaurant and we haven't had B&Js for quite some time now!

However, alas, we couldn't find the Ben and Jerry's in Raffles City as it has since closed down!

Our hopes battered but our determination still running strong, we continued our hunt for a decent ice cream parlor but though we went around in circles, we couldn't find any so we finally settled upon J Co's!

I know, I know, they aren't even an ice cream parlor to begin with but we were so desperate, we even considered Toast Box manx!