Nirai Kanai Okinawan Restaurant
alvin and i have been deprived of leisurely dates recently, so since we're really free this week (no meeting of friends/interior designers/marrying pastors etc) we grabbed the chance to have a good meal.
and since we haven't been spending too much on food recently, we raised our budgets quite a bit.
...
i feel like i'm justifying myself to you.
anyway! after an extensive search on hungrygowhere (it's my foodie companion! though the chances of me getting turned off by a particular restaurant are higher) we decided to go to Nirai Kanai Okinawan Restaurant, Tanglin branch.
it's nestled at a corner of Tanglin Shopping Center's 4th floor (not Tanglin Mall, ya?) so it was really quiet. alvin and i were the first customers. we took a look at their menus, but i already knew we had to try their pork belly, pork ribs, pork knuckle, fried bittergourd and peanut tofu, so we ordered all of that. plus alvin's asahi and my grapefruit cocktail.
the waiter squatted down to take our order (how japanese! *claps hands with delight*) and then walked away to the kitchen.
BUT HE CAME BACK.
AND TOLD US THEY HAD NO PORK KNUCKLE THAT NIGHT~!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...
so alvin replaced it with fried fish.
here're some pictures of the restaurant:
the focus is on the shelves of sake/spirits behind me. they're all labeled with customers' names.
another shelf full of alcohol, already 'choped'.
here's my hamburgler face:
OH AND MY CURLS! i permed my hair last week and it's frizzing up a storm alright. well done.
alvin's asahi:
dish #1 - the peanut tofu
at first i thought it was like what i had for breakfast at hyoe, which was cold tofu and spinach in peanut sauce; simple and heavenly.
but this one looked more like just cold tofu in soya sauce. i approached it tentatively. hmm. the sauce is sticky... and the tofu seems to have the texture of a mango pudding.
i ate it.
and loved it.
OH MAN! it was so smooth... and although it was not soft like the usual tofu, it had this really interesting pudding-like melty feeling on the tongue. AND THE SAUCE! :D~~
dish #2 - fried bittergourd
there were pieces of pork belly in it! gosh.
the bittergourd pieces were so small and cute, i think the size of the entire fruit was the size of a pickle man! the bittergourd was CRUNCHY but not undercooked and flavored so well... mmm mmm.
i want more!!
dish #3 - stewed pork belly
one word: SOFT.
and melted in my mouth, and full of porky flavor. but out of all the dishes, i thought this one was the one i could skip. not that it's not good, but everything else was just better, you know?
i love japan's pork. it's just different.
dish #4 - pork rib soba
that was not the soba we're used to, but nonetheless still one heck of a dish. i loved how light the noodle and soup were, contrasted with the flavor from the soft pork rib. i'd take one nibble of pork rib, then wash it down with soup.
dish #5 - fried fish
it arrived looking like this.
so pro looking right? by the way i'm not fond of fish, unless it's really SOMETHING. or cod.
this was really something. there was a bowl of sauce which we dipped the fish into before sinking our teeth into... the crispy fried up outer layer and... fish meat candy floss??!?!
wow! the meat just melted in my mouth and it was so fresh! i really did not expect that!
!_!
alvin even ate the bones and the head... and attempted to steal my portion. :(
all in all, the meal came up to about $76 in total and we walked out of the restaurant knowing we ate a lot but not feeling stuffed at all.
after that we spent about 20 minutes raving how wonderful everything was. hahaha. yep, all the way as we walked to zara.
OISHI-NEH~!! :D:D:D we'll definitely go back for more.
and since we haven't been spending too much on food recently, we raised our budgets quite a bit.
...
i feel like i'm justifying myself to you.
anyway! after an extensive search on hungrygowhere (it's my foodie companion! though the chances of me getting turned off by a particular restaurant are higher) we decided to go to Nirai Kanai Okinawan Restaurant, Tanglin branch.
it's nestled at a corner of Tanglin Shopping Center's 4th floor (not Tanglin Mall, ya?) so it was really quiet. alvin and i were the first customers. we took a look at their menus, but i already knew we had to try their pork belly, pork ribs, pork knuckle, fried bittergourd and peanut tofu, so we ordered all of that. plus alvin's asahi and my grapefruit cocktail.
the waiter squatted down to take our order (how japanese! *claps hands with delight*) and then walked away to the kitchen.
BUT HE CAME BACK.
AND TOLD US THEY HAD NO PORK KNUCKLE THAT NIGHT~!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...
so alvin replaced it with fried fish.
here're some pictures of the restaurant:
the focus is on the shelves of sake/spirits behind me. they're all labeled with customers' names.
another shelf full of alcohol, already 'choped'.
here's my hamburgler face:
OH AND MY CURLS! i permed my hair last week and it's frizzing up a storm alright. well done.
alvin's asahi:
dish #1 - the peanut tofu
at first i thought it was like what i had for breakfast at hyoe, which was cold tofu and spinach in peanut sauce; simple and heavenly.
but this one looked more like just cold tofu in soya sauce. i approached it tentatively. hmm. the sauce is sticky... and the tofu seems to have the texture of a mango pudding.
i ate it.
and loved it.
OH MAN! it was so smooth... and although it was not soft like the usual tofu, it had this really interesting pudding-like melty feeling on the tongue. AND THE SAUCE! :D~~
dish #2 - fried bittergourd
there were pieces of pork belly in it! gosh.
the bittergourd pieces were so small and cute, i think the size of the entire fruit was the size of a pickle man! the bittergourd was CRUNCHY but not undercooked and flavored so well... mmm mmm.
i want more!!
dish #3 - stewed pork belly
one word: SOFT.
and melted in my mouth, and full of porky flavor. but out of all the dishes, i thought this one was the one i could skip. not that it's not good, but everything else was just better, you know?
i love japan's pork. it's just different.
dish #4 - pork rib soba
that was not the soba we're used to, but nonetheless still one heck of a dish. i loved how light the noodle and soup were, contrasted with the flavor from the soft pork rib. i'd take one nibble of pork rib, then wash it down with soup.
dish #5 - fried fish
it arrived looking like this.
so pro looking right? by the way i'm not fond of fish, unless it's really SOMETHING. or cod.
this was really something. there was a bowl of sauce which we dipped the fish into before sinking our teeth into... the crispy fried up outer layer and... fish meat candy floss??!?!
wow! the meat just melted in my mouth and it was so fresh! i really did not expect that!
!_!
alvin even ate the bones and the head... and attempted to steal my portion. :(
all in all, the meal came up to about $76 in total and we walked out of the restaurant knowing we ate a lot but not feeling stuffed at all.
after that we spent about 20 minutes raving how wonderful everything was. hahaha. yep, all the way as we walked to zara.
OISHI-NEH~!! :D:D:D we'll definitely go back for more.
posted by feline @ 2:46 PM
