Uya: Live Unagi (River Eel) Specialty Restaurant in Wheelock Place, Singapore!

👍 Fresh, live, charcoal grilled eels; Manageable queue (for now).
👎 A little pricey.

Ever since we had terrific Unagi Don (grilled eel on rice) at Hitsumabushi Bincho in Ginza, we've been hankering for something similar back home in SG. Man Man Unagi, of course, is a prime candidate, but the never-ending queue is a high barrier to entry (for us).

So we were really happy to hear about a new(ish) Unagi specialty restaurant in town: Uya 四代目菊川 (Yondaime i.e. 4th generation Kikukawa) in Wheelock Place, and headed over to try it out!


Uya serves Nagoya-style Unagi, which is charcoal-grilled entirely, resulting in a crispier (but also slightly dryer) eel filet. It also keeps its eels live in the kitchen: No frozen / pre-cooked / pre-slaughtered nonsense here.


Unfortunately for us there was a short queue on a Friday night - but as it was just a five minute wait (or so) it's perfectly manageable.


We both opted for the Hitsumabushi Unagi Don (s$35 medium, but you can top up to s$48 for the entire fillet). "Hitsumabushi" doesn't specifically refer to eel - it's literally merely a combination of "Hitsu" (the wooden rice bowl) and "Mabushi" (To cover up rice) - but nowadays popularly refers to a particular style of eating a single bowl of Unagi Don (or Kaisen Don) in three different styles.


First - A closer look at the Unagi (apologies for the poor quality as we didn't have our cameras with us). As mentioned, the Nagoya style results in a crispier skin, but a somewhat less juicy/moist flesh, as compared to the Tokyo/Kanto style (which is steamed first before charcoal-grilling).


With the Hitsumabushi style of eating, you have your eel rice three (or four) ways:

1. On its own, without adding anything.
2. With some condiments - normally spring onion, wasabi, and dried seaweed.
3. With some soup - In this case a clear, refreshing dashi broth.
4. Whichever way you want.


Verdict: Absolutely delicious, although around s$43.50/pax after taxes and service isn't exactly cheap. Futhermore, adults of even slightly-above-average appetites might find the Medium-sized bowl to be somewhat insufficient, and therefore need to top up to the Large size (should be around s$58/pax). If that price tag is OK for you, though, what you do get for your money is delicious eel, expertly grilled, with just the right amount of sauce that has the perfect sweet-sticky-slightly salty balance. Oh, and (almost) no queue.

Uya is in the Wheelock Place mall (connected via underpass to Ion Orchard / Orchard MRT). Reservations not accepted.

Review: Kit Kat Chocolatory Sublime Ruby (Ruby Chocolate, Kit Kat Japan)

👍 Getting such strong berry flavours purely chocolate feels like wizardry.
👎 USD4.05/SGD5.35/JPY432 for a single stick of Kit Kat is crazy expensive.

You probably know that generally speaking, there are three types of chocolate: Milk, Dark and White. Well, apparently now there's a fourth type: Ruby Chocolate! You can read all about it in more detail on Barry Callebaut's Website, but in a nutshell, taking a special type of cocoa bean and processing it in a special way results in a chocolate that is naturally pink (in colour) and tastes like berries.

We're not exactly sure what the commercial arrangements are between the companies involved, but the world premiere of this new chocolate rests in the hands of Kit Kat Japan, which has produced a limited run of Ruby Chocolate wafers under the Sublime Ruby name!


When we were in Japan last week we picked up a 7-pack Sublime Ruby gift box for ¥2592 (yes, you counted right, that is on average SGD4.50 per stick of Kit Kat), which includes two sticks of Sublime Ruby, and one each of Milk, Bitter (Dark), White, Green Tea, and Raw Kit Kat Fingers.


You'd think that at this price point the wafers would be a little larger but no, they are exactly the same size as regular Kit Kats.


The verdict? Well, it's actually pretty cool to get a pink chocolate that really does taste like strawberries / mixed berries (and yet there are no berries, or berry flavours, or any pink colours).

But the pricing is really something else. Kit Kat sells single sticks at ¥432 (USD4.05/SGD5.35), which to be honest is eye-bleedingly expensive. When the exclusive arrangement expires, I'm sure that Ruby Chocolate will start appearing in more products in more countries, and prices will hopefully / surely drop.

In the meantime if you really must try this new chocolate type before anyone else, then get somebody in Japan to buy one for you; or if you're a resident in USA, Europe, HK and Macau, you can order some directly from Japan: 10 sticks of Ruby Kit Kat + 24 mini sticks of Green Tea Kit Kat will "only" cost you ¥10000. Happy eating!

Creme Caramel Cake at ESSE DUE (エッセドゥエ) - Kantaro: The Sweet Tooth Salaryman Episode 10

If you're reading this then you're probably a Kantaro: The Sweet Tooth Salaryman fan like we are. And like us, you might be thinking of paying a few of the shops a visit on your next trip to Tokyo. To help you a little in your quest, today we bring you a short write-up of the Creme Caramel Cake (Caramel Pudding) at ESSE DUE (エッセドゥエ) from episode 10 of the show!


Follow this link to go back to the master list of all the other dessert shops / cafes.

🍨 I guess Creme Caramel needs no introduction - it's a really popular custard dessert topped with a layer of soft caramel. What's a little different about ESSE DUE's version is that it's served as a slice of cake and topped with whipped cream. Aesthetics aside, though, it's superbly executed: the custard's smooth, jiggly but firm, and the caramel has been cooked/burnt just long enough to impart the perfect amount of bitter. Divine.

🍴 Unlike many of the other shops on Kantaro's list which are dedicated dessert joints, ESSE DUE is first and foremost an Italian restaurant. During our lunch visit we shared a pizza lunch and salad lunch (there's also a pasta lunch option), which comes with pizza, salad, and your choice of cold or hot coffee/tea.


Ultimately, we thought that the food was mediocre/subpar, so ask for the dessert menu if you just want cake!

👥 Crowd: We visited on a Friday lunchtime, and the ground floor dining area shop was around two-thirds full. Do note, though, that ESSE DUE is firmly in the middle of office territory, so it's possible that they are less crowded on weekends.

🚄 Access: As always, directions via Google Maps rarely ever fail me in Tokyo, but if you won't have Internet connectivity then the restaurant is a few minutes walk from exit B6 of the Akasaka Station (Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line).

Tabelog Link for your quick reference on opening days / hours. Reservations not accepted.

Bavarian Matcha Cream at Kinozen (紀の善) - Kantaro: The Sweet Tooth Salaryman Episode 6

If you're reading this then you're probably a Kantaro: The Sweet Tooth Salaryman fan like we are. And like us, you might be thinking of paying a few of the shops a visit on your next trip to Tokyo. To help you a little in your quest, today we bring you a short write-up of the Bavarian Matcha Cream at Kinozen (紀の善) from episode 6 of the show!

Follow this link to go back to the master list of all the other dessert shops / cafes.

🍨 Bavarian Matcha Cream is an East-meets-West sort of dessert: The Bavarian Cream itself originating from somewhere in Europe (Wikipedia seems conflicted whether it's of German or French origin), and the Matcha (green tea) and Anko (Red Bean Paste) originating from Japan.

If you don't want to ask for an English menu, the Japanese name of the dessert is "Matcha Babaroa" (抹茶ババロア). There's also a Chestnut Bavarian Cream ("Kuri Babaroa," 栗ババロア), which was unfortunately not in season when we visited in the winter.


As is somewhat standard with most (all?) Japanese dessert shops, the waitresses give you hot green tea and sometimes some small snacks once you're seated; Here at Kinozen (紀の善) the snack is a somewhat vaguely cat-shaped Senbei (rice cracker).


We asked for two orders of the Bavarian Matcha Cream / Matcha Babaroa / 抹茶ババロア. The dessert was really good: The green tea flavour profile accompanying perfectly the red bean paste. We weren't so sure about the whipped cream, though - Bavarian Cream is after all primarily a thickened milk-and-cream mixture, and adding more whipped cream on top of that was a tad bit much on the dairy. In hindsight perhaps we should have shared two different desserts.


👥 Crowd: We visited on a Friday afternoon, and the two-storey shop was around 80-90% full. If you visit on a weekend, it's probably pretty likely that there'll be a queue.

🚄 Access: As always, directions via Google Maps rarely ever fail me in Tokyo, but if you won't have Internet connectivity then take exit B3 or B2a of the Iidabashi Station (JR Chuo-Sobu Line; Tokyo Metro Tozai, Yurakucho, Namboku and Oedo Lines); Kinozen is a a minute or two walk away.


Tabelog Link for your quick reference on opening days / hours. Reservations not accepted.