I chanced upon this small and cosy Japanese Izakaya in Fortune Centre during one of my Saturday Bugis Temple visits. We were just strolling around Fortune Centre, looking for a lunch place, when we saw this long queue and decided to join it
The seats within the restaurant itself are limited, with only 5 counter seats and 2 other small tables accommodating 4 to 8 persons. The rest of the guests were housed outside the restaurant along the alleyway
The restaurant has mega-sized menus pasted on the walls of the exterior of the restaurant as well as standees, so that most customers can decide on their order before getting seated. The popular dishes include mega chicken karaage don, mega chicken nanban don, and kaisen don
We managed to get a seat by the open counter where the chef cooks, as the other 2 tables are planned for groups of 4 diners. It was interesting to sit by the counter to see the action, but it can also get a bit warm and oily
I love that their iced green tea comes in a huge cup with plenty of ice, but the tea was hardly diluted, so it was extremely thirst-quenching yet flavourful. Each refill of the drink also maintains the same consistency
My nephew ordered the Mega Chicken Nanban Don, which was piled high like a mountain of chicken. For big eaters, this was like a bowl of greatness, but for me, I had a few pieces and was absolutely stuffed, since I cannot eat too much fried chicken at once. Aside from the mountain of chicken, the flavours were great and on point, with a crispy skin and tender and juicy inside. The creamy nanban sauce added a layer of milky creamy flavour to the crispy chicken
I also had the mega mixed fries don, which came with fried karaage chicken, tonkatsu meat, fried fish fillet and fried ebi on top of rice. For me, I liked this combination better since it was not all fried chicken but a mixture of different fried items like chicken, pork, fish and prawns. This mixture gave me different textures and flavours to pair with my rice, although I hope there could be some sauce which I could dip the meat in for some moisture. There was some tonkatsu sauce provided, so I mainly used that with my fried items. While the chicken karaage is the same, I did find the fish a little too dry, and the tonkatsu was also slightly dry, which was overcome with the sauce
Overall, I feel the food served here was on point in terms of flavour, and the price is quite good for the amount of food served. While we went overboard ordering their main star on the menu, I think the portion is good for sharing, and I would order something more suitable for 1 person. I did see many people order the Kaisen don, which looks quite good as well, and I would go for that the next time I drop by
Address: 190 Middle Rd, #03-16 Fortune Centre, Singapore 188979
Opening hours: 12 pm to 2pm and 6 pm to 11 pm ( Sat 6pm to 11pm and closed on Sunday)
Bear Travels . Bear Eats . Bear Cooks 