Chikuwa Tei @ Mohamed Sultan Road

My friends, sister and I have always loved what used to be a tiny establishment at Far East Plaza called Wasabi Tei. We were absolutely devastated when we heard that it was going to close down a few months back (or has it been a year?!) The sister first introduced this place to me, I remember vividly what we ordered - Mixed sashimi platter (from then onwards an item on our must-eat), unagi set, chawanmushi, and californian roll. It came up to around $52 for 2 persons, and we were so full and so satisfied. My first time trying fresh scallop then, the freshest, sweetest scallop ever, and still unrivaled till today.  Wasabi Tei was particularly known for their 45-min queue (you can't even leave your name as with those big restaurants, just gotta queue from the 1st minute to the 45th minute), grouchy, grumpy chef (also known as the "Nazi chef" and his wife, thick slabs of freshest sashimi you can ever find at really affordable prices, and cramped restaurant space that sits 16 people. 

So yesterday I had lunch here with the Smooch couple (by virtue of their names combined together, not because they kept smooching in front of me, haha!) after Sreny came up with this brilliant suggestion. I had always neglected this new restaurant although I wanted so much to try when I first knew it was resurrected at Mohamed Sultan Road, simply because it was not located in Orchard Road or City Hall shopping centres where it is easily accessible. I guess it's good in a way as well, because when we arrived on the Saturday afternoon, there was no queue at all!

Gone are the queues - reservations can even be made now, gone is the grouchy and intimidating chef  replaced by a much friendlier Chef Peter who even walks out of his sushi counter to serve you and says thank you and bye-bye when you leave and who also happens to look exactly like the Nazi chef. It's weird. He seems to have totally changed. We even spotted him interacting with a family with a kid. We were really amused. The new restaurant is also so much more comfortable now, more spacious, with nicer plates used. 

Complimentary appetizer - We missed the hijiki seaweed that is usually served, what came was the lotus root thingie, a bit sweet, a bit salty. We prefer the hijiki seaweed with the tofu thingie.

The long-awaited Sashimi Moriawase ($35) that had us anticipating, yearning, longing. There were fewer varieties this time round, perhaps because it included flounder this time, which is an uncommon inclusion on his platter. It used to be amaebi (sweet prawn) and sometimes hotate (scallop). Quality is definitely still the same, thickness as well. I put a slab of sake (salmon) into my mouth, the texture is oh-so-good, the taste sweet, yet salty, playing on my senses, leaves me wanting for more, many more. The flounder and swordfish were very good as well. Nothing to say for tuna because I really don't fancy it.

If you like sashimi and your friend(s) doesn't or vice versa, you can order their Chirashi Don ($25) for yourself which is a very popular and good choice as well. It's highly recommended because the sashimi they give is also of the same quality as you see above, unlike in some other restaurant.

 If you are not one for raw food, go for the cooked food which are very yummy as well. This is another must-try - Codfish Hot Pot ($24). The soup is sweet and nice, filled with veggies and golden mushrooms, and the fish is very fresh and not fishy at all.

Another favourite dish is the Grilled Unagi Set ($21; comes with miso soup, rice, pickles and watermelon). At Wasabi Tei, I thought I would never be able to find another restaurant with the same size of unagi grilled to this goodness at around $17 that comes in a set any more. Although the quality is still the same, the prices are slightly too high for my liking now. This is also a must-try, nevertheless.

Chawanmushi ($5) - Delicious, with pieces of mushrooms, prawn, chicken and clear noodles inside.

The Zaru Soba ($7) was not up to expectations though. We're not sure of the preparation process, but we suspected it has been left in the fridge for too long, or if not, they served it too early after taking it out from the fridge, because the noodles were simply too hard.

Spent much more than we expected, because at the old place I usually spend around $25 per person. This time it certainly burnt another hole in my pocket! My third time having Japanese food this week, haha! Can never get sick of it, though I think next week I shall not have any. As much as I would like to go back here regularly, I think I'll probably come back here only on special occasions :)


How much was spent: $37 per person.
Would I go back? Oh yes definitely.


Address: 9 Mohamed Sultan #01-01 

Tel: +65 6738 9395