My close friends, together with us, HT couple, decided to give it another try. Any place deserves a second chance for HTs. We were welcomed by a guy in a Japanese uniform and advised us that it's now self-service and pay as you order. It works just like our usual kopitiams, different stalls, no gst and no service charge but has a more posh interiors and serves mostly Japanese fare.
I love those faux Sakura blooming on top of the table haha. Plus, the full windows just made the place looked brighter and more spacious.
I was craving for a bowl of noodle soup but I have to skip their ramen after the last time I had it. Besides, there's a lot of choices. So I went to the Don/Udon section. As an oyako don fan, I ordered...
Chicken and Egg Udon (3/5) - for a little bit over $5, I had this small bowl of udon in miso soup with egg, chicken pieces, green onions to complete that oyako twist. My first glance, hmm, it looked watery. I first tried the soup, it's ok, it has the japanese miso taste, soothing for my tummy and way better than the ramen soup I had before. The noodles were bland and a bit overcooked but still manageable. I was surprised that I still got about 3 decent pieces of chicken with the price. Overall, it's palatable.
Hubby saw this long queue and decided to try one of their okonomiyakis.
Okonomiyaki is a Japanese style pancakes or pizza, whatever you call it, where anything you want is cooked together into a disc-shaped savoury meal.*
Pork Okos (3.5/5) - anything with bacon is always nice. Hubby didn't think twice of getting this type of oko. Cabbage, bacon strips, egg then topped with oozing special sauce and mayo creatively done by the chef, hubby just can't wait to dig in. It was his first time to try an oko so he liked that tinge of sweet taste of the sauce on his pancake. It was nothing special but definitely, not bad for a lunch meal.
Moonlight Special Oko (3.75/5) - this was the winner for the day and my friend's favorite. It's thicker than the pork okos and topped with bonito(fish flakes) and a sunny side up egg. The same special sauce was used but this has more flavor with the chopped squid, shrimp, pork mixed together in this dish.
looks yummy isn't it?
Overall, I think it was smart of Manpuku to change how they operate the place and made sure that they focus on making sure that the food is satisfying enough and affordable for all groups of people living and working at the east side of Singapore. Give it another try...
Price Summary (in SGD)
Chicken and Egg Udon $6.50
Pork Okos $6.50
Moonlight Special Okos $13.00
*Drinks vary from $1.50 - $4.00
no GST and no SVC CHG
Manpuku Japanese Gourmet Town
#03-16/19 Tampines 1
Opens daily 11 am - 10 pm
*information are taken from Wikipedia
i like the moonlight special okos! one's gotta share it with at least 2 other people though, otherwise you'll get sick of the taste.
ReplyDeletei like it too but thanks for the heads up! I was planning to order 1 just for myself :)
ReplyDeleteNice pics! But I can see you weren't the most impressed (neither was I went I last went actually). Still, something for a change once in a while :)
ReplyDeleteHarris! Thanks! Yes, it was so-so. With the new prices, it's worth to try again.
ReplyDelete