Affordable Japanese eatery serving mentaiko takoyaki & $9.90 lunch units with 2 sides at Bedok

I’ve not often come throughout Japanese institutions at HDB neighbourhoods until my editor, Pavin and I occurred to identify one throughout our latest journey to Bedok. Located alongside Bedok South, Izumi Japanese Restaurant is an 8-year-old Japanese spot with simply 5 tables which might accommodate 18 individuals.

As we entered the petite eatery, the very first thing that caught my eye was the retro ground tiling. They had been from the 80s, similar to the tiles again at my home. I noticed an aged aunty manning the eating space, and an uncle wearing a Japanese chef outfit was making ready the meals.

We thought he was Japanese till each of them began conversing in Teochew. I wished to take footage of him in motion, however he stopped me instantly. Oh nicely, Uncle was shy.

Izumi Japanese Restaurant additionally doubles up as a mini Japanese grocery store. There had been cabinets promoting sushi, sashimi-grade items of fish, Japanese drinks, in addition to a smorgasbord of frozen snacks.

What I attempted at Izumi Japanese Restaurant

From 11am to 4pm day by day, Izumi Japanese Restaurant serves S$9.90 dine-in lunch units with 10 sorts of mains so that you can get giddy over. The set additionally comes with 2 sides… now that’s positively a steal!

Itadakimasu, it was time to fill our rumbling tummies. My eating companions and I acquired the ball rolling with the Smoked Duck Udon, with our selection of California Maki and Potato Salad for the lunch set.

The bowl contained udon doused in a transparent dashi broth, 4 slices of smoked duck, a halved onsen egg, kelp slices, and a pair of slices of fish cake.

The ivory tubes of udon possessed the right consistency (chewy with out being too arduous) whereas the kelp slices offered mild savoury notes of the ocean.

The dashi inventory was seasoned so nicely. The notes coming from the bonito flakes and kombu had been strong with out being overly salty, permitting me to have extra with out scrambling for a glass of water.

The smoked duck items had been thick and deliciously greasy. The runny yolk and luscious egg white from the onsen egg had been an influence couple, working hand-in-hand to fill my mouth with creamy deliciousness because it disintegrated inside.

The California Maki was your default combo: avocado, Japanese cucumber, tamago and crab stick wrapped in Japanese rice with seaweed and coated with tobiko.

The Potato Salad was amazeballs! It had pillowy-soft fork-mashed potatoes with skinny strips of Japanese cucumber, carrot and onions wearing buttery mayo.

Currently, there’s a mentaiko promotion occurring. We ordered the Mentaiko Takoyaki (S$5) which had 5 golden brown balls dressed with a beneficiant drizzle of mentaiko, and wonderful strips of bonito flakes.

It was the yummiest takoyaki that I’ve ever eaten. The texture was not like the standard, as an alternative they had been crispy on the surface, and tremendous fluffy on the within with bits of chewy octopus inside.

The umami-ness of the mentaiko and bonito flakes along with the crispy spherical balls labored so nicely collectively. My goodness, I might’ve eaten 5 extra!

I made a decision to splurge a bit by ordering the Deluxe Bara Chirashi (S$18.80) as a result of (flips hair)… I deserve a bit deal with infrequently.

The towering bowl consisted of cubes of tuna, salmon, yellowtail and swordfish sashimi, tako, tamago, Japanese cucumber, pickles and pickled ginger. There was additionally a beneficiant serving of tobiko, salmon roe and sesame seeds piled on high.

I rigorously pried the components aside with my chopsticks and spoon to disclose the hidden Japanese rice beneath, which had a sprinkling of furikake. Wow, there was a lot occurring!

Every particular person number of sashimi was nice in its personal distinctive manner. The tako was tender whereas the buttery flavours coming from the tuna and salmon cubes melded rather well with the salty bursts of salmon roe and tobiko.

My eating accomplice felt that the yellowtail was barely on the fishy facet, however I used to be completely wonderful with it.

You positively can’t go unsuitable with pairing sashimi with the reliable wasabi-shoyu combo.

We ended issues off with the Soft Shell Crab Curry Don (S$9.90). It got here with a plate of Japanese curry served with rice, with a facet dish of fried soft-shell crab.

I’m normally not a fan of Japanese curry as they have a tendency to swing to the sweeter facet of issues. But this was surprisingly smoky and fewer candy. The potato and carrot cubes had been additionally gentle and had absorbed all of the flavours of the curry like a sponge. Yummy!

The soft-shell crabs had been fried to a crisp, and paired rather well with the mayo dip.

Final ideas

With no GST and repair cost, Izumi Japanese Restaurant is certainly a hidden gem positioned inside the Bedok South space. Every single dish that we ordered was nicely executed and scrumptious.

Argh! Why am I not dwelling in Bedok? I’ll be a daily right here in any other case.

Expected injury: S$9.90 – S$20 per pax

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