It is not easy to find decent japanese cuisine after 9pm but Torikin is one of such that you can enjoy decent Japanese cuisine even after 9pm. Torikin is the first restaurant from Ishida Kikaku Group, a restaurant group originating from Fukuoka in Kyushu, to venture overseas serving Hakata-style hotpots, Mizutaki (水炊き). Mizutaki is actually a chicken hotpot which is rich in collagen. So can you imagine how happy I was while tasting it. Collagen boast for my skin. Yay!=D
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| Two Toned Beer ($8) |
For peeps who would like to have a change from the usual Kirin beer, there are options of 5 (Japanese Orang, Green Tea, Sweet Lychee, Japanese Kyoho Grapes, Mango) two toned beers available. Surprisingly amongst the 5 flavours, I actually enjoy the green tea flavours the most for that slight bittersweet aftertaste. The rest were slightly too sweet for my personal liking.
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| Bagna Cauda ($13.80) |
A variety of vegetables served with a sauce that is made of anchovies and other ingredients. I thought it was rather healthy to start a meal with some raw vegetables. The sauce was addictive and it made the raw greens very palatable. P.S: I am not speaking from a vegetable lover’s perspective, my fellow male dining partners seems to enjoy this dish as well.
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| Oden (3 pcs $9; 5pcs $14; 8pcs $18) |
One of my favourite of the night! I call this the Japanese Yong Tau Fu! With assorted ingredients such as daikon, half boiled egg, fishcakes and konjac, this is one of my kind of comfort food, especially on a rainy day. The warm clear daishi broth with simple ingredients made me feel healthy, guilt-free and clean. At Torikin, the oden was served with a small dab of mustard for people who prefer an extra punch in the soup.
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| Hakata Tonpei Yaki ($22.80) |
This is another favourite of the night which required no effort from the 5 of us to gobble down 2 servings of these. Hakata Tonpei Yaki is a kind of Toubannyaki. While Tepanyaki is using an hot iron to cook food, Toubannyaki uses a ceramic plate to cook and draw out the flavours of the ingredients used. The result was a hot sizzling plate of goodness consisted of thinly sliced pork and shredded cabbage encased in an omelette and topped with mayo and spring onions. Flavourful and delicious.
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| Tomato Okonomiyaki ($17.50) |
A must order for tomato lover! Though I wish to say that this is a healthy dish with nothing but vegetable. It is sinfully good with the okonomiyaki sauce and the mayo. Even
Big Roy was like on a repeat mode of saying “ho ah..ho ah”
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| Miyazaki Chicken Nanban ($14.50) |
As chicken is one of the main highlight for Torikin, only Sakura Chickens are used here. The difference between Sakura Chickens and other chickens is that no antibiotics and growth hormones are used during the rearing process and they have more space to move around. Thus the chicken meat is more tender and juicy. This dish is best eaten with a dash of lemon juice. Do note that this is not your usual crispy kinda of chicken chunks. Nevertheless, this is delicious and I am not saying this because it was a media invite. I truly thought it is good. =) If it is bad, I will not hesitate to share about my bad experiences as well. lol
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| Kyushu Hakata Specialty Chicken Mizutaki (S $70; M $100; L $135) |
Another highlight of the media tasting with this collagen enriched chicken broth that was boiled for more than 6 hours with the Sakura Chicken. With such effort to create a broth without any additives, the soup was indeed lighter and sweeter. Something that you will not feel thirsty or jelat after having several servings. Interestingly, there are 5 steps to enjoy Mizutaki. After tasting some of the soup in a small soba cup, which is handmade from Imari, it is time to eat the chicken with the tangy homemade ponzu sauce or yuzu pepper which is citrusy with a mildly spicy kick. Dollops of minced chicken were then dropped into the soup skillfully before the vegetables, mushroom and tofu were added in. While we were enjoying the comfort brought to us by the hot bowl of soup, the remaining essence of the broth was thickened with egg and transformed into a porridge with rice added in. If there is something for the soul, this beautiful Mizutaki concerto is indeed the chicken soul for the soul.
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| Karinto Manju |
By the time we finish the meal, we were almost all filled to the brim BUT there is still space for dessert (as usual :)). Karinto Manju is a deep fried bun with a slight chewy texture and red bean fillings. Seriously the picture does no justice to this bun. It sure does taste better than it looks. Although I was very full but I enjoyed this thoroughly.
Thank you Big Roy for the invite! I am so glad that I made it to the tasting. The food does not disappoint. Enuff said =)
Torikin
557 Bukit Timah Road #01-14/16 Crown Centre Singapore 269694
Tel: +65 6465 5908
Operating Hours: Mon-Fri 6pm to 11pm
Sat, Sun & PH 12pm to 3pm,
6pm to 11pm
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