Almost felt like being left stranded in Orchard Road with no clue where to "jiak jiak jiak" (eat, eat, eat)! I was pondering for a long time on where to find chow that can fill me and friends up and yet worth blogging about. It must be something different from the norm. Something worth the praises or deceivingly good but deserves more bashing than praises. I am never familiar with Orchard Road, since I had shun away from this place for god knows how long! Reason is crowd! I dislike crowds. Next is money! To really enjoy being in Orchard Road, I need to have loads of cash to splurge and shop, shop, shop, and shop. Nevertheless, since my bro mentioned that he wanted Japanese cuisine, hence we are going Japanese today, on Christmas Day! We visited Restaurant Hoshigaoka, one of the two Japanese restaurants at Isetan Scotts.
Agedashi Tofu
S$5.80
Huge cuboidal chunks of silken tofu (beancurd) dusted with potato starch and deep fried till a golden brown. The tofu is served on a light tentsuyu soy broth with nori (seaweed strips), small mushrooms, chopped spring onions and grated daikon (white radish). The texture of the fried 'skin' of the tofu is crispy, but when soaked in the broth, it becomes a sticky gooey layer. So the idea is to eat before it gets soaked completely. I am really amused by the mini mushrooms, that I was so tempted to munch it with my incisors.
Steak Ju
S$14.80
I believe this dish is actually Gyudon (beef on rice) with Enokitake (金针菇 or golden needle mushroom), onions and sprinkled with white sesame seeds. This dish comes with miso soup with strangely, taupok (dried beancurd). Apparantly, no additional comments from my bro, but he just said "nice".
Katsu Don Set
S$16.80
The ala-carte Katsu don (pork cutlet on rice) alone costs S$12, so I thought why not go for the set? The set comes with a smaller box of Katsu don, small udon soup, salad and two pieces of agedashi tofu (less the toppings). The katsu is fried to a crispy golden brown, then topped with sauteed onions and egg sauce and laced with shredded nori strips. The udon comes in a clear soup that tastes like tea and not miso at all.
S$5.80
Huge cuboidal chunks of silken tofu (beancurd) dusted with potato starch and deep fried till a golden brown. The tofu is served on a light tentsuyu soy broth with nori (seaweed strips), small mushrooms, chopped spring onions and grated daikon (white radish). The texture of the fried 'skin' of the tofu is crispy, but when soaked in the broth, it becomes a sticky gooey layer. So the idea is to eat before it gets soaked completely. I am really amused by the mini mushrooms, that I was so tempted to munch it with my incisors.
Steak Ju
S$14.80
I believe this dish is actually Gyudon (beef on rice) with Enokitake (金针菇 or golden needle mushroom), onions and sprinkled with white sesame seeds. This dish comes with miso soup with strangely, taupok (dried beancurd). Apparantly, no additional comments from my bro, but he just said "nice".
Katsu Don Set
S$16.80
The ala-carte Katsu don (pork cutlet on rice) alone costs S$12, so I thought why not go for the set? The set comes with a smaller box of Katsu don, small udon soup, salad and two pieces of agedashi tofu (less the toppings). The katsu is fried to a crispy golden brown, then topped with sauteed onions and egg sauce and laced with shredded nori strips. The udon comes in a clear soup that tastes like tea and not miso at all.
Verdict
At these reasonable prices, Hoshigaoka Saryo can be classified as a 'family restaurant'. Do not expect premium quality and service at here at Hoshigaoka, though the overall experience is rather welcoming. I did not have to wait long before I was served. The food presentation can be worked on. IMHO, the taste of the dishes that I had, cannot be compared to other Japanese chain restaurants. I would make such a statement because most of the time, I boringly stick to either Curry Katsu Don, Katsu Don or Oyako Don. On the whole, I enjoyed my meal.
Off the record, after this, we were at the Isetan supermarket in the basement, when we spotted a counter selling katsu don and also croquettes sets at prices around S$6-S$8 nett, and sure looked more tempting than Hoshigaoka. We might just try it someday.
Restaurant Hoshigaoka
Shaw House Branch
Level 4, Isetan Scotts, 350 Orchard Road,
Singapore 238868
Tel: 6734-9725
technorati tags
Singapore Food Japanese Cuisine Katsu don Beef Ju Agedashi tofu Orchard Road Isetan Scotts Shaw House Hoshigaoka
Off the record, after this, we were at the Isetan supermarket in the basement, when we spotted a counter selling katsu don and also croquettes sets at prices around S$6-S$8 nett, and sure looked more tempting than Hoshigaoka. We might just try it someday.
Restaurant Hoshigaoka
Shaw House Branch
Level 4, Isetan Scotts, 350 Orchard Road,
Singapore 238868
Tel: 6734-9725
technorati tags
Singapore Food Japanese Cuisine Katsu don Beef Ju Agedashi tofu Orchard Road Isetan Scotts Shaw House Hoshigaoka
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