Chako restaurant visited by Mr. President

Incidental free dinner

this is the most expensive jap dinner i ever had.
the place located at the ulu part in the west is a famous yet nobody knows place.
upon reaching the car park, this place thats not decorated eleborately is hard to find. have to explore a bit before noticing.
the interior of the place transports you back to japan, but 1960s japan.
with wooden sliding doors and wooden tables and chair tat seems like it has been ard for quite some time.

i chose this place becos, Mr Nathan (Singapore's president) patronises this restaurant

this place operates in a special way. the lady boss of the restaurant is a japanese and she is the only cook in the kitchen. this is a way to ensure that wad u put in your mouth is authentic japanese food. the daughter is her kitchen helper while the husband who can speak singapore english is responsible for taking reservations and serving some drinks.
dinner time last from 8 to abt 10. i had ordered my food before hand as the menu was emailed to me when i make a reservation.
explanation: lady boss prepares everything from scratch only when u reach, no terriyaki sauce, no pre prepared, pre fried stuff. wad ever u eat is hand made food from the heart.

this explains the price. :)
for $20 you get 4 tempura prawns. so make sure u let them know before hand if u have 5 or 6 guest with u.
the batter used was well seasoned, not tasteless.
the sauce accompanied was served hot and wad is most special is they actually added seaweeds to heighten the taste. look at the comparison with my finger is so omfg huge.


this was one of the orders we had later on as the boys were so super hungry while waiting so they kept ordering. hahaha. only to realise they are so full after their own main.
this is omu rice. eggs were flowy on the inside, wrapping the rice that was flavourful. the orange thing on the side is potato and onion being mashed up together, its as delicious. side salad was generous as well.


OMU RICE $16.00
Tomato fried rice with chicken, mushroom and onions wrapped in egg
Set: Served with cold beancurd, salad, sweet pickled radish & miso soup.
this was boy's order.
SHIROMI SAKANA HAMBURG $19
fish meat patty with spagetti. i'm sorry for the half eaten food picture.
but anyway, the spag was slightly spicy and the fish patty had a peppery taste. i personally like pepper a lot so i somehow love the fish. the taste of the fresh swimmer was still evident even though it was already beyond recognition. the egg by the side makes it a well balanced meal.

this is breaded prawn, the other version of prawns that is commonly served in japanese restaurant. the same large prawns used for this, same price also. however the main big difference was the whitish sauce. if i am not wrong it should contain: tar tar, mayonaise, onions, pepper, potato. this is jus speaking from exp. the prawns are juicy, succulent, and the coating is super crispy. not the kind tat scratches ur mouth when u bite on.

this is platter for miss tong. its a combo for white fish.

SHIROMI SAKANA FRY $16

Bread-crumbed deep-fried fillet of cuts of white fish served with salad
Set: Served with cold beancurd, vinaigrette, pickled radish, rice & miso soup

yummy yums yums.

this is chako set $19.90

the set is very feng fu. got grilled mackeral, salad, agashi tofu, pickled veg, and a seasoned veg, plus a piece of chicken plus 2 calamari with rice and miso soup. value for money right? the veg also actually some japanese seaweed, with long beans and lotus roots and sesame. the miso soup has got clams in it, posh right... plus the mackeral is double sided, not dry at all, and the skin was crispy. the lump beside the salad is potato and onion.... everything was well done, nothing overly seasoned and the food had the original taste.

a close up look of my yummy chicken and calamari.

auntie note: this place is expensive with no doubt. the wait was very long. be prepared to wait for 1 hour even when u already ordered before hand.

134, WEST COAST WAY
HONG LEONG GARDEN SHOPPING CENTRE
TEL: 6776 3919/6776 4613

RESTAURANT CHAKO IS OPEN DAILY FOR DINNER (6 TO 10.30PM)
LUNCH IS OPEN DAILY EXCEPT WEEKENDS & PUBLIC HOLIDAYS (12
TO 2.30 PM)

Tonkichi

Chicken Karage....
this looks like any other fried chicken yet its the legendary tonkichi.
i believe every restaurant big and small will have its own signature dish, then i question, is it then fair to review on everything? or should we jus focus on the chef's rec or should we also try to include the rest? what makes a good judgement then?
given the senario:
restaurant A:
5* chef's specials
3* side dishes
1* appetizer

restaurant B:
4* chef's special
4* side dishes
5* appetizer

which one will you place your bets on?

but anyway chicken karage was normal. slightly dry and nth impressive
tonkichi now offers sets that comes w ramen as well. good for those who dislike eating rice or maybe craves for hot soup on raining days. i chose cha shu ramen. at first sight, chashu looked appetizing with even amount of fats and meat. slightly brown means it has been well simmered. tenderly soft and thinly sliced. first thing to do with ramen is to taste the thick broth. thats wad everyone does right? well tat was a mistake for me. the broth tasted horrible. too much of a pork taste. it was like slightly pungent. jus like eating pork tat was cooked without defrosting. ppl who cook will understand this. it makes a lot whole of a difference. plus. i doubt the chef made an effort to clear the pork off the blood and impurities by running it with boiling water. i continued eating abt half a bowl of it and couldn't stand it. boy simply took a few mouths and declared full surrender.

a summary for all the fried fried stuff is definitely EXCELLENT!!!!! bread crumbs were crispy, juice flowing out of the meat once u bite on it. wad was good is that the temperature of the food was still hot. (becos i totally despice restaurants serving fried food that was pre fried). and look at the thickness of the pork that was served. even though it was thick there wasn't any problems chewing it at all. not tough and not dry.

notice the salad veg that is beside the meat? normally ppl leave it untouched right? let me warn you not to forget the salad as it is amazing!!!!! why???? if not for boy i wouldn't know that its actually refillable and you are suppose to eat it with the salad dressing placed on every table. i don have a picture of the dressing thou. but it was refreshing. the dressing i presume contains vinegar, sesame oil and perhaps mirin. it was so good i guess i refilled it 3 times? the veg also made sure that u wont get sick of all the fried stuff. plus, well balanced meals are impt right.....

this was boy's set, it was very feng fu and had boy's fav prawns. loving it. his came w rice. so nice hor.....

this was my set. overall it was still value for money. this set cost less than $25 if i am not wrong.

auntie note: free veg, better eat a lot a lot..... hehehe. value for money as serving size is super the huge.

Tonkichi

i visited the one at TAKA.

new branch located at tamp mall. for the east siders.

to get ur stomach full you will need: $25 per person

timbre mobile

hangout. chill. lepak. slack. this is the best place.
visited timbre mobile to get away from the usual crowd of timbre.
the furniture look kind of woody, i think mostly made from cheap chipboards, felt a bit uncomfortable after sitting down for long. i guess the height of the chairs were too low, even the waiters had to kneel in order to take our orders.
the band of the day was fine, was kept entertained even though i felt that their breaks in between could have been shorter. i mean as compared to other live band bars, timbre can do better.

alright, getting on to the food. buffalo wings. must try.
the wings here are less well marinated i should say. but it was still tender enough for me to use fork and knife to get this into my mouth. peanuts were added for the extra oomph but i personally preferred without.
if you wan to use ur fingers, it will be finger licking too. slightly spicy and even after u wipe it off with tissue ur fingers still feel sticky. honey? perhaps. tht explains the tinge of sweetness it in. jus like an add on version of honey wings with extra spices.

wad's timbre without pizzas? perfect. if i am not wrong this is cajun chicken something.
the pizza was served pipping hot, with thick layer of cheese, thin and crispy crust.
its not cut up in the tradition pizza size but in squares. approx 15 pieces? because the crust is overly thin to take the weight of all the ingredients if it was cut up the traditional way. the cajun chicken was not dry like normal breast meat, flavour filled and full of exciting flavours. i guess some italian herbs were the culprit.

Drinks for chilling. this is Milo peng. looks kind of diluted cos i took the photograph after drinking half of it. hehe. the drink had milo taste. but kind of disappointed as it does not taste creamy. the milo was like milo kosong. the taste of liquor was jus nice, not overpowering. a good choice i should say.

this was my proud order. grandma's remedy. this was a perfect concoction of chrysathemum and vodka with a tinge of lemon. the flowery taste infused seamlessly with the lemon and experienced a boost with the vodka. after taste was not the awful alcohol bad smelling breath. you can even zoom past the traffic police by saying you jus had flower tea. haha. although it was stated on the menu that it was subjected to availability, try your luck because this is A MUST HAVE!!!!

auntie note: drinks aren't exactly cheap ard here. so get here on time during the happy hour is till 9pm. (order them early even if the band starts at 10 plus). some drinks are entitled 1 for 1, the others has got special prices which can be approx $4 cheaper. some food items are also cheaper during happy hour. if you are planning to come on a weekend, do book a place. simple as it is, book online and you will also receive mails on the upcoming events of timbe.

timbre mobile

east coast park, near big splash area.

also visit the one near SMU.

haven't had the chance to patronise the other 2.