Saboten (Parco Marina Bay) 2nd Post

Saboten is a Japanese restaurant chain well known for their Tonkatsu (fried breaded pork loin cutlet). Saboten was first started out in Shinjuku, Tokyo in 1966. Today, it is one of the biggest Tonkatsu chain in Japan with over 500 outlets. It has also expanded overseas to South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore.

In Singapore, Saboten has two outlets. One located  right in the middle of the city at Parco Marina Bay, next to Suntec City while the second is located at Changi Airport Terminal 1.

As we were in Suntec City, we decided to pop by Saboten at Millenia Walk for dinner during the weekend. 

Thus far, we had enjoyed our dining experience (food, ambience, service) at Saboten. Hence, the repeat visits. Another reason why we are back is because of their tonkatsu!

Their tonkatsu (Pork Tenderloin and Pork Loin) are so delicious because only a certain breed of pork is used. In addition, these pigs are grained fed. Barley is added into the feed to make the meat sweeter and tenderer.  Saboten uses only mature pigs of more than 180 days of age as they would have higher fat ratio. 

I like the environment and ambience at Saboten. It is quiet, clean, spacious and bright. With its Japanese wooden furnishing, it gave a cozy yet classy feel to the restaurant. Although the restaurant was full, we were quite lucky as we did not need to queue and got a table immediately. 

As Saboten was having the Oyster Fest, I could not resist the chance of savouring freshly imported oyster from Japan! Hence, I ordered the Oyster and Loin Set $23. The partner on the other hand ordered the Saboten Special Set $25.

Both sets came with free refill of Rice, Miso Soup and Cabbage. 

The 'tools' for grinding the sesame seeds - bowl and wooden stick. After the you are done with the grinding, scoop the tonkatsu sauce from the earthen urn into the bowl with grated sesame seeds. Mix well and dipping sauce for your Pork Loin and Pork Tenderloin is ready!

Left to Right: Yuzu (Citrus) Vinegar, Creamy Sesame 

Shredded Cabbage

While waiting for your mains to be served. Start off with the cabbage. The fresh cabbage are served cold. Choose either the Yuzu (Citrus) Vinegar or Creamy Sesame or both sauces and mix it with your shredded cabbage. Its very addictive. We easily polished the cabbage off and requested for three refills! Personally, I prefer the Creamy Sesame!

Oyster & Loin Set $23

The Oyster and Loin Set consisted of Pickled Vegetable, Rice, Miso Soup, 2 Oysters and Loin Cutlet.

Oyster & Loin Set $23

The 2 oysters were coated with bread crumbs and fried. They were big (fat), juicy and more importantly - fresh. 

The loin (fried breaded pork loin cutlet) is one of Saboten's signature item. It did not disappoint. The pork loin cutlet coated with crisp golden bread crumbs was tender, soft and slightly moist. The fat to lean meat ratio gave it a melt to mouth sensation. It was a joy savoring it, sinfully delicious. Best eaten when it is warm. 

Saboten Special Set $25

As for the Saboten Special Set, consisted of Pickled Vegetable, Rice, Miso Soup, Breaded Shrimp, Mini Pork Tenderloin, Half-size Pork Loin and Crab Cream Croquette. If you want to try a little of everything, this would be the set to order. 

Saboten Special Set $25

The Pork Tenderloin was darker in colour (slightly pinkish) compared to the Pork Loin. Although it had lesser fat, it was surprisingly soft. The long Breaded Shrimp was fresh. Its meat was firm and succulent.  

 Matcha Ice Cream

As usual, the norm here is to ended of the meal with a scoop of Matcha (green tea) Ice Cream. Milky with a mild sweet yet bitter green tea taste. 

Another great meal at Saboten! Although the items were deep fried, the chef perfected the heat and timing. Each piece was deep fried perfectly and were not oily. Service was good too. I has been since I encountered such good service. The staff promptly refilled our hot green tea (without us requesting) and also cabbage. I will certainly be back for more! 

Saboten (Parco Marina Bay) 2nd Post

9 Raffles Boulevard

#P3-01 Parco Marina Bay, Millenia Walk

Tel: 6333 3432

Opening Hours: Daily 1130am to 10pm

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Location

Other outlets:

Saboten (Changi Airport T1)

80 Airport Boulevard

#031-004 Changi Airport Terminal 1

Tel: 6214 9504

Opening Hours: 8am to 1030pm

Saboten (Changi Airport T1)
2 Jurong East Street 21
#01-19 IMM Building
Singapore 609601

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Yayoiken Japanese Restaurant (Bugis+)

Yayoiken a well-known Japanese restaurant chain specialises in serving Japanese-Western cuisine. The Japanese restaurant has come a long way with its first stall opened in Kayabacho, Tokyo more than 125 years ago! At that time, western cuisine was rare in Japan. Today, Yayoiken has 180 restaurants in Japan and 60 in Thailand. In Singapore, Yayoiken has two outlets. The first was opened Liang Court in December 2011 while it's second outlet is at Bugis+ which was opened in May 2012. 

Miso Katsu Set $13.90

Ordered the Miso Katsu Set which consisted of rice and soup along with a main dish (Miso Katsu) and two side dishes (Pickles and Beancurd). Yayoiken follows the traditional culinary concept called 'ichiju-sansai' which literally means 'one soup and three sides'. This refers to a three dishes (one main and two sides) along with rice and miso soup.

Miso Katsu Set - Pickles

Free flow of pickles, every table has a bottle full of 'tsukemono' pickles placed at the side.

Miso Katsu Set - Miso Katsu

The Miso Katsu, pork cutlet simmered with miso paste (sauce) was served with potato and an egg. The Miso Katsu was well flavoured but too tough for my liking. In addition, the miso paste made the crust of the katsu soggy. I should have have realised that before ordering. The upside was that the the miso paste complemented well with rice. 

Service wise, had a hard time getting the attention of the service staff. They seemed to be under-staff and unable to cope with the crowd.

Yayoiken Japanese Restaurant (Bugis+)
201 Victoria Street
#01-08 Bugis+ (former Iluma)
Tel: 6636 5448
Opening Hours: Daily 10am to 10pm 
Website
Location

Yayoiken Japanese Restaurant (Liang Court)
117 River Valley Road
#B1-50 Meidi-Ya Supermarket, Liang Court
Tel: 6338 7170
Opening Hours: Daily 10am to 10pm

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Kazokutei 家族亭 (Bugis Junction)

Kazokutei 家族亭 is a restaurant chain that serves Japanese cuisine, specialising in serving Udon. Established in 1947, Today, Kazokutei is one of Osaka's most well-known brands of udon restaurant with more than 200 outlets in Japan. The restaurant chain pride itself in offering delicious and high quality handmade udon. Kazokutei serves 2 type of Udon and 2 types of soup bases; Kokudashi Udon from Eastern Japan with a stronger flavoured soup and Shira Dashi Udon from Western Japan with a sweeter tasting soup. 

Udon Lunch Special

The Udon Lunch Special is only valid from Monday to Friday till 5pm only, excluding eve of public holidays and public holidays.

Kokudashi Udon + Katsu Don Set $10.90

Ordered the Kokudashi Udon and Katsu Don Set from the Udon Lunch Special.

Kokudashi Udon (Kokudashi Udon + Katsu Don Set $10.90)

The handmade Udon from the Kokudashi Udon was thick, firm, springy and chewy with a smooth texture. While the soup was made from Katsuo Bushi (Dried Bonito) for a stronger flavoured soup.

Katsu Don (Kokudashi Udon + Katsu Don Set $10.90)

Katsu Don, a popular Japanese cuisine, is a bowl of rice topped with egg, deep fried pork cutlet, onions, seaweed and condiments. I seldom order this dish and am not an expert in this dish (as in I do not know what to look for in a good bowl of Katsu Don). To me, I like how the egg was cooked, it was cooked just nice and was still soft, not to the extend of runny. In addition, having each mouthful of the rice together with the egg, the sauce and caramelised onion was delectable. On the other hand, the Katsu (deep fried pork cutlet) was just average, sliced too thinly for my liking.

On another occasion..

Omurice Lunch Special

Omurice Lunch Special comes with 1 Free Soft Drink/Soda Drink. It is vonly valid from Monday to Friday till 5pm only, excluding eve of public holidays and public holidays.

Pork Cutlet Omu Rice $11.90

Ordered the Pork Cutlet Omu Rice from the Omurice Lunch Special.

Omu Rice ( Pork Cutlet Omu Rice $11.90)

The egg was cooked just nice, soft and a little runny (not too hard). Underneath the egg was fried rice flavoured with ketchup. It was tasty and not oily.

Pork Cutlet  ( Pork Cutlet Omu Rice $11.90)

The Pork Cutlet was average. The cutlet was crispy but thin and dry.

Fries  ( Pork Cutlet Omu Rice $11.90)

To be frank, the fries were just average. A tad too dry.

 Soup ( Pork Cutlet Omu Rice $11.90)

Flavourful and tasty soup. I was pleasantly surprised that there were a lot of ingredients in the bowl of soup such as mushrooms and onions. The downside was that it was on the salty end.

After having lunch over at Kazokutei on two occasions, I find that the lunch sets here are very reasonably priced for the amount of food. The Kokudashi Udon and Katsu Don Set was delicious. As for the Pork Cutlet Omu Rice, the Omu Rice and the Soup are the ones that will make me want to order this again. Service wise, the serving staff was prompt in refilling the drinks, taking the orders and serving the food. Overall, quite a nice place to come for Japanese cuisine.

Kazokutei 家族亭 (Bugis Junction)
200 Victoria Street
#02-49 Bugis Junction
Tel: 6338 0187
Opening Hours: Daily 11am to 945pm
Website
Location

Other outlets:
Kazokutei 家族亭 (Causeway Point)
1 Woodlands Square
#03-43 Causeway Point
Tel: 6893 6940
Opening Hours: 1130am to 10pm


Kazokutei 家族亭 (Junction 8)
9 Bishan Place
#02-34/35 Juntion 8
Tel: 6259 6698
Opening Hours: Daily 1130am to 945pm


Kazokutei 家族亭 (Plaza Singapura)
68 Orchard Road
#04-01 Tokyo Walker, Plaza Singapura
Tel: 6333 9285
Opening Hours: Daily 1130am to 10pm

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Saboten (Parco Marina Bay)

Saboten is a Japanese restaurant that is well known for their Tonkatsu (fried breaded pork loin cutlet). Saboten first started out in Shinjuku, Tokyo in 1966. Today, it is one of the biggest Tonkatsu chain in Japan with over 500 outlets. It has also expanded overseas to South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore.

This is my 2nd visit to Saboten, my first visit was slightly more 2 years ago (before I started FoodieFC). My impression of Saboten was good then, I remembered how addictive the salads were and also how good their Tonkatsu was. The main reason why I did not make subsequent visits was because of the location. I seldom venture to Parco Marina Bay. Their other branch is at Changi Airport, which I also seldom venture to. 

Japanese wooden furnishing bright cozy restaurant .

I ordered their signature Loin Katsu Set (L) which cost $23. It consisted of free flow of cabbage, rice and miso soup, breaded pork loin cutlet and ice cream. 

A bowl of sesame seeds with a wooden stick. Customers will need to grind the sesame seeds themselves with the wooden stick. After the seeds are finely grated, scoop the tonkatsu sauce from an earthen urn on the table into the bowl with grated sesame seeds. It will be a perfect dip for the tonkatsu (fried pork loin cutled). 

Shredded Cabbage

Left to Right: Creamy Sesame Yuzu (Citrus) Vinegar

As mentioned earlier, each set comes with free flow of shredded cabbage. The fresh cabbages are best eaten with either the Creamy Sesame or Yuzu (Citrus) Vinegar dressing. Highly addictive and tasty combination that caused me to indulge endlessly.

Fried Breaded Pork Loin Cutlet

The main star of the night was (of course) the Fried Breaded Pork Loin Cutlet. The grain-fed pork loin cutlet was tender and soft, coated with crispy golden bread crumbs. A plus point was that it was not greasy. Certainly delish!

It was accompanied with free flow of rice and miso soup.

Matcha Ice Cream

The meal ended off with a Matcha (green tea) Ice Cream. It was milky with a mild sweet yet bitter green tea taste that concluded this meal with a sweet ending. 

Saboten (Parco Marina Bay)

9 Raffles Boulevard

#P3-01 Parco Marina Bay, Millenia Walk

Tel: 6333 3432

Opening Hours: Daily 1130am to 10pm

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Location

Other outlets:

Saboten (Changi Airport T1)

80 Airport Boulevard

#031-004 Changi Airport Terminal 1

Tel: 6214 9504

Opening Hours: 8am to 1030pm

Saboten (Changi Airport T1)

2 Jurong East Street 21

#01-19 IMM Building

Singapore 609601

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