30th Month♥ 2.5 years♥26 mars ’10♥
Perhaps we have a funny fate with Aoki. That night, we planned to go to one of the best Japanese Restaurants in Singapore at Goodwood Park Hotel, Tatsuya! Well, but it was a last minute decision. Hence, we didnt make any reservation and unfortunately the place was full-housed! 
Slightly across the road, we find all the restaurants by Les Amis group. Knowing that one of the other good Japanese restaurants is there too, we decided maybe we should go to that instead. While we know that, it’s somewhat good, we didnt really read up on it yet. And here’s a warning, it’s pricey! |even though Vampy probably has prepared to pay for equally expensive Tatsuya.|
And if you’re not careful, u’ll just miss Aoki. There’s no signs indicating that’s Aoki or anything. The only three words that they have is what you see on the photo and my guess (based on the 2 chinese characters) was it says “opened”. It’s pretty interesting though, the entrance; very Japanese in the sense.
And even after you entered this door, what follows is a mildly lit passage way that really make us wonder if we were at the right place. Soon later, a polite lady with a Japanese accent slide the glass door open and invite us in..
The interior was quite fascinating to me. Look at those white sheets dropping from the ceiling staggering down like a stairway. They are actually some sorta paper-look-alike cloth (anyone can enlighten me on what it’s really called?). The fascinating part is such wonderful and sleek design could actually bring across such elegance results. No compliants for having that Japanese ambience (even though i didnt really see these in Japan.)
The interior
We were seated in a semi private room. And quite a few Japanese businessmen are there too.
Complimentary
I havent really know what’s exactly in this. It was of fish, carrot and some other veg but the sauce on it makes the dish too yummy! That’s what define a top-restaurant! It did give us high hopes on the coming dinner!
Spicy Cod Roe
I have doubts ordering this initially. The price tagged to this Roe doesnt really seem that worth it at first. But well, the Roe was served with crispy fresh seaweeds. I didnt really know how i should eat it initially. We figured that the Roes are to be wrapped in the seaweed.
Me – placing the roe nicely on the seaweed…unlike Vampy! Hahas.
And Vampy rolling it up!
And i have to say that this dish yielded us unexpected results! It was so nice! It’s like flavoured seaweed with Real toppings! Spicy roe, cucumber and seaweed – what great combination! But of coz, i believe that gotto start from having a good roe first! While these small roes didnt have the same outburst of juiciness and sweetness like the big ones, they are still fresh and yummy! Try this at least once if you go to Aoki! 
The napkins were also differentiated across the genders, i presumed. Reminds me of the Yukatas we always wear in Japan.
This has to be one of the other best dishes we had that day. The soft shell crab! One of the best we had in Singapore. The batter was different from the usual sort of. You really can feel every crunch in every bite and of coz being fresh makes it up to the ‘yumyum’ list ;p
Tempura
Tempura ought to be the most disappointing dish! In terms of absolute value, it’s the most expensive yet the batter was nowhere near satisfactory. Neither was the prawn fresh.
Grilled chicken thighs!
The grilled chicken was reasonably nice but nothing near to being very nice. Vampy kinda liked it though. I have to agree that it’s tender and juicy and goes well with mayonnaise. But somehow this doesnt feel very traditional to me.
Clam Sake Soup
Yes, we were both craving for Sake yet Sake here are so expensive ;9. Well anyway, this prompted us to give it a try as it sounded pretty interesting. You dont see this in the usual Japanese restaurants. And i said Sake are expensive. For the price that they charged, we were given a small lil bowl. Vampy looked alil shock when he saw the bowl of soup. It wasnt because of the size but the ingredients that came with me – the huge pieces and pieces of tofu. Since he hated any tofu related. But thank god he liked the soup. ANd im in charge in devouring the tofus all over again. For a moment, i would that this soup is pretty nourishing. Really. Good stuff.
As simple as it looked, the Soba turned out to be the BEST! By far, the best Soba in town! Bouncy and no overwhelming buckwheat taste. I will go back, just to eat this AND the soft shell crab. *GOTTO TRY THIS! I became a Soba lover only about 6 months ago -since Japan taught me how beautiful can such a simple dish be at Yamadera. Well, but Yamadera’s is still the besssssst!
Our feast!
Looks like a Ryokan meal. hahas.
Our first Japanese Fine-dining and the first and ONLY fine dining that allows me to leave feeling healthy! That’s why i love japanese food! Yummy and healthy:)
Baby, baby, baby ohh
Like baby, baby, baby noo
Like baby, baby, baby ohh
