KOH GRILL & SUSHI BAR

Location: Wisma Atria 4th floor
How to get there: Orchard Road Mrt
Opening hours: 1130am - 2230pm daily
Contact Number: 9180 3805

Hi all!! How have you been doing, it has been almost 2 weeks since our last review!!! It's been a rather busy 2 weeks for May&FJ as we're starting our revision lectures in school! Whew! Together with the recent erratic weather, we're all getting sick! Take care of your health yea!!! Gotta be healthy till the end of exams!

Anyways, May&FJ visited Koh Grill & Sushi Bar today! We got to know it through a friend's introduction. He said that this is one place we SHOULD visit for great Japanese food, and mind you, we were absolutely not disappointed with it! We were there during dinner hours and the queue was so so so LONG! Thank god we've made a reservation or we'd be standing till we die of hunger! We gotta say that the place is uber pack as they try to squeeze you in any way possible. So we got seats far end of the table corners! (kinda hard to catch the server's attention)

But, what's a little bit of uncomfortable-ness hindering good food? We had half a plate of Shiok Maki ($9), half a plate of Pitan Maki ($9), a plate of Salmon Sashimi ($8), a set of Soft Shell Crab ($7) and a glass of Ice Japanese Tea ($1.50). Our bill came up to about $36.90. They have a very vast menu which offers you a huge variety of sushi and grill! I have included the sushi menu for you reference! Here's a first hand warning: there are a lot of pages, scroll down if you ain't that interested in the menu!

Shiok Maki:

• Aburi Salmon, Charcoal Grilled Eel, Ebi Roe and Avocado topped with their special salted egg sauce makes the whole eating experience an awesome one! There is no better name for this dish; SHIOK!
• The Ebi Roe is really juicy! Every burst in your mouth is absolutely heavenly!
• However, we couldn't really taste the salted egg until we looked for it. It's kinda overpowered by the grilled eel; the grilled taste is rather strong
• But overall, we say that this is good and a MUST to order!
• They have a 2nd Generation Shiok Maki which consists of: Crispy Prawn wrapped with Aburi Salmon. (This sounds good too! But we've yet to try it~)

Pitan Maki:

• Consists of Swordfish and Salmon Sashimi, and Avocado. Together with the Pitan sauce, we've gotta say this is love. Even for people like me who don't really enjoy Pitan have to put my hands down on this. GOOD.
• May absolutely loves the Pitan sauce!
• It's a very good combination!
• I gotta say that the Swordfish was very Q! Love it!

Salmon Sashimi:

• There are 5 pieces of fresh and thick slices of sashimi. (My dear friend May was VERY happy. I stress, VERY)
• It's smooth~~~~
• But it would be nicer if it'd be slightly colder.

Soft Shell Crab:

• There are 3 pieces of Soft Shell Crab. We felt that it was kinda little, but for the price, guess it's kinda reasonable.
• It tastes best when you drizzle it with lemon and dip it with the mayo provided! Awesome!

Advantages:

• We felt that the prices were rather reasonable.
• Also, they give you a flexibility of order the quantities of Maki. You can choose to half it to try a variety. But this only applies to certain types of Maki, you have to check with the staff there.
• For a full house, the amount of time food takes to come is rather reasonable. 
• They only charge you GST, no service charge. (Wells, all for the better since the service ain't much)

Disadvantages:

• It was kinda squeeze for us as the place is PACKED.
• They are understaffed. You have only about 3 serving staffs at dinner hours to clear tables, take repeating orders, man the counter and do cashiering. This was mainly the reason why it was kinda hard to catch their attention to make orders.

Note:

• If you wish to make a reservation, just TEXT that number provided. State your name, date of reservation, time of reservation and the number of people arriving. They will take some time to reply you, it's afterall human, but they will definitely get back to you. (We would suggest that you make reservations at least a day before just in case.)
• They only accept credit cards if you spend $30 or more.

Overall, we would say that it's worth the squeeze at Koh Grill & Sushi Bar! May&FJ would definitely make repeat purchase (throwing in some marketing terms here, gotta revise my work) here! So if you're near Orchard, this is one food place you should NEVER miss!

On a side note, May and I had dessert after that too! We had an Oreo Layered Cake from Patisserie at ION food hall. It's good!!! The chocolate layer has a slight bitter taste and the cream provides the sweetness. You can say that this concluded our dinner in a good note! Here's a picture!

There are other flavors like: Matcha, Cappuccino and Original. Prices range from: $6.50 for a slice and $12 for two slices! Be sure to check this out when you're in town too!

Till next time lovelies!

<3 May&FJ




***Update on 19/12/2013

Hi all:) This is the season to be jolly for Christmas is coming in 6 days!!!! I really love Christmas; to be exact I love any season that allows me receive gifts.

I have visited Koh Grill's recently and tried some new stuffs with a couple of my primary school mates last week. So I'll update you peeps on the stuffs that we've tried that wasn't included in the first post^^

Cold Soba ($7):

• The dip sauce was good, it's good that it's chilled.
• The noodles are chewy.
• Overall, it is not bad; worth the try.

Shiok Maki Second Generation ($16.80):

• There were 8 pieces of it in total.
• What's different from Shiok Maki First Generation? Instead of having eel, ebi tempura is used instead. They have also included this green chewy vegetables (which I have no idea what they are).
• Overall, it's no bad. However, I still feel that the first generation is better.

Unagi Maki ($10):

• The eel was nicely grilled. There's this slightly charred taste that was awesome.
• The cucumber provided a fresh taste to the dish.
• The unagi sauce drizzled was slightly sweet.
• However, the whole dish was rather dry which made my friend rather disappointed with it for he was actually quite looking forward to the dish.

My trip down to Koh Grill this time round had me realizing that they charge their mains cheaper than their Maki. (Actually a friend of mine pointed it out to me.) On a side note, many people have ordered their curry rice and they fried noodles. It's either it was super good or it was just affordable.

The next trip down, I would definitely give it a try and let you peeps know^^

<3 FJ

SHIMBASHI SOBA

Location: NEX B1-K1/02/03/04/78/79/80 
How to get there: Serangoon Mrt Station, Bus: 105, 101, 109, 100, 151, 153, 147 and so forth! (Use IRIS darlings)
Opening hours: 1100am - 2200pm daily, last order: 2130
Contact  number: 66344786

Hi all! How's your week going? Hopefully it has been fun and fulfilling so far! Have you ever decided to spend a day alone? Just alone, without any socializing, having inner peace and romping around town to just window shop or really indulge in shopping? Well, I have spent a day like that last week. I caught a Jack Neo Film: Ah Boys To Men II (laughed till my stomach hurt~good lame jokes), had a late lunch, and took a walk in the ArtScience Museum to view the Lego Exhibition by Nathan Sawaya. (It's a must go, it gave me so much insights to life in general and I took away a lot of thought from it.)

Before I start jumping into the food review; let me just add that while this one day alone for myself with no other peoples interrupting may seem easy, to actually fully allocate one whole day to yourself is never easy. To quote one of my favourite authors, Francois Lelord: It's ever so hard for one to find time for themselves. Food for thought? Wells, its good to give things like these more thought. More especially since we are in the midst of a busy lifestyle. I should also say that I thoroughly enjoyed my me time :) So perhaps you guys should squeeze out some time for yourself too?

Okay, back to Shimbashi Soba. To set the record straight, I was never a soba fan and had never ever tried cold soba because it just feels weird to have cold noodles if you know what I mean. But there I was wandering around in NEX wondering what's new for me to try and this little place caught my eye. So my mind thought: Why not? Plus, the prices are very enticing. They have a tea time special: Dessert Special at $6 and Soba Special at $8.80. I have included the menu at the bottom so you guys can get a better look! I have also included the choice of desserts you guys can choose from for the Dessert Special. I had a Mini Yukke Don which consists of a Cold Soba and a Spicy Salmon Don ($8.80), and a Matcha Tiramisu ($6). I paid a total of about: $17.40.

Cold Soba:

• Noodles are very chewy
• Sauce accompanying it is slightly salty, together with the seaweed, it's a good combination.
• Pickles go very well with the soba! It does not override it's taste.
• Seaweed provided ain't the packet seaweed (I have been to some places where they served my friends packet seaweed on top of their soba-.-)

Spicy Salmon Don:

• They have included sesame oil inside the rice. ( I love sesame oil!) This combination makes the food so much more appetizing.
• Salmon is fresh! 
• Plus, they give you a good amount of salmon!
• It is not too spicy, hence it doesn't override the salmon taste!
• The egg yolk is little, but when mixed with rice it gives this extra stickiness to the rice which is just nice.

Matcha Tiramisu:

• Has a strong coffee taste.
• Rock melon goes very well with the Tiramisu! (Actually all the fruits they have chosen goes very well! But I love rock melon the best!)
• Red bean is goooood!
• They are very generous with the Vanilla Ice Cream!
• I can't really taste any cheese! (good for me! I'm not much a fan of cheese)
• Matcha taste isn't very strong. There is only a faint taste of it.

Advantages:

• While those portions might look mini to you, trust me, they are way from mini when you down them in your tummy. They have loads of carbohydrates (rice and soba) hence they contribute to your full stomach.
• Staff there are rather polite. They ask about your meal when you pay the bill and refill your tea without needing to be prompt.

(Pickles) 

(Fried Tempura Flour)

Disadvantages:

• The fried tempura flour is tooo oily for liking. Doesn't taste nice alone or with the soba.
• I felt that the orange was a little too messy to eat. They should just stick with watermelons. (But this is on a personal basis)

Note:

• Dessert Specials start from 1430pm - 1730pm daily.
• Tea comes together with the dessert.
• Soba Specials start from 1500pm - 1730pm daily.
• GST and Service Charges apply.

Overall I would say that I had a rather enjoyable experience at Shimbashi Soba! While the prices are low, they do not bent on quality. I would say that this is a place I would definitely visit again when I have the time to spare! So you darlings, perhaps you can visit this place when you've decided to take a me time trip for yourself around Singapore:) Till more food to come!

<3 FJ

FATBOY'S THE BURGER BAR

Location: Far East Plaza #01-16
How to get there: 105 or take to Orchard Mrt and exit at Tangs Exit (Scotts Road) 
Opening hours:
Monday - Thurday: 1600pm - 0000am
Friday - Saturday & PH: 1200pm - 0000am
Contact number: 6252 8780

Hi you all! How's it going? Today May&FJ are gonna be introducing you one of the cheapest eats in town! It's THE BURGER BAR! It's a Fat Boy concept! But unlike Fat Boy, you get to customize your burger the way you want it. They have a variety of burger buns, patties, sauces and toppings! It's like Subway, but hamburger style. It gives you a say over what you wanna have in the burger, cool huh?

The black and white mini restaurant filled with interesting graffiti stood out among the colourful food and clothing stores beside it. You do the ordering yourself naturally as it's  a customized hamburger in your style. So they've provided 2 iPads for ordering and a polite staff to assist you in any way you need. We had one Honey Oat bun Grilled Chicken with mayo and teriyaki sauce ($7), one Honey Oat bun Cheese Burger with Pork Patty ($7.50) and a French Fries ($3.50). The bill totaled to a $18. We have included the menu at the bottom here for your viewing! (The choice of meat patties and burger buns ain't included here! Sorry!) There's is a slight difference in what's offered for Hamburger and Cheese Burger; we'll include them in the menu pictures as well!

(The add ons for Hamburger) 

(Choice of Cheese for Cheese Burger) 

(Add ons for Cheese Burger)

Advantages:

• The bun is really soft!
• Patties are juicy and tender.
• The cheese (Monterey Jack Cheese) for the cheese burger is rather elastic! Just like Mozzarella Cheese!
• Moreover, cheese serving is generous!
• The burger looks rather tiny, but! Do not judge a book by it's cover! It's soooooooo filling!
• Fries are done on the basis of "fry upon order only"~fresh! (we had a filling burger and fries totally killed us!)
• Service staffs there are knowledgeable on their products. (They recommended May the type of cheese according to her preference!) 

(Honey oat bun, Roasted Chicken with mayo, Teriyaki Sauce, Lettuce and Tomato)

Disadvantage:

• Wells, the normal burger itself already costs more than usual already and yet many of their add ons are charged like $0.50 to $2 depending on what you wanna add. So it's kinda a turn off in price if you wanna order more stuff. 
• The whole restaurant can only sit 12 people at one go. (Guess they are targeting the come and go crowd.)

(Monterey Jack Cheese Burger with Pork Patty, Mayo and Lettuce)

Note:

• NO GST and Service charge.

(Fries)

Overall, we would say that our stomachs were really FILLED to the brim with the burger and fries! WE suggest that you can order a burger with your friend and spam on the add ons to have a variety and then maybe add a side. It'd be about the price of ours as well! So if you're out shopping at Far East Plaza, here's a great bite place:)
Till next time folks!

<3May&FJ