Izakaya Nijumara ~ 050511

Last Thurs, I met YP for dinner after work. This time round, we are going to check out Izakaya Nijumara tucked at one corner on the 2nd floor of Cuppage Plaza which I have heard raving reviews about! This was my 1st time inside this dodgy building & wow, this place is full of Jap restaurants! (haha, what an eye opener to a mountain tortoise me). As it was only 610pm when we reached, there were not much people inside the restaurant. Typical Japanese setting with warm yellow lighting. Loves the cosy ambience of this place. The aunties staff there were also very friendly and service was prompt! :)

Izakaya Nijumara

Cosy place

We ordered a Nijamaru Bento, Okayu don & chawanmushi for sharing. The Nijamaru bento ($20) consisted of assorted sashimi, grilled saba fish, tempura & Jap style braised pork. Value for $, isn't it? We get the best of 4 worlds, LOL!

Bento

A close up of the Grilled Saba fish! (Keke, one of my many Favs in Jap rest). The meat was juicy & the skin lightly charred! I like! *slurps*

Saba fish

We did not really like the texture of the Prawn tempura (though the batter was thin). The prawn was not the springy type and tasted rather soggy. The vegetable tempura tasted much better.

Fried tempura

Woo, this is a MUST order when having Jap!!! This was so....YUMMY!!! The fish were very fresh & look at how thick each slice was! Simply a sweet indulgence! =)

Sashimi

I love this dish, Jap style Lor Bak (braised Pork). It was soft & tender & you must eat it with the fat deposits which melted in the mouth! The sauce was slightly sweeter than the usual braised pork & I was telling YP that it reminded me of those canned braised pork used when frying bee hoon! Do try it for yourself!

Braised meat

Chawanmushi ($5) is what I would order (without fail) when I have my Jap. Loved the smoothness of the egg here. Look, there were no air bubbles on its surface! The only downside to this was I found the price to be on the steeper side (even for a good chawanmushi).

Chawanmushi

This is YP's must order of all times. The eggs were not overcooked and the onions gave the don a sweet tangy taste. However, the chicken was slightly hard and required more chewing than usual. The portion was rather huge & despite the sharing, we still did not manage to finish it. *oops* (FYI, this is really value for $ as it was only $8 for this generous serving!)

Oyaku Don

I would definitely be back! So next time, if you are craving for authentic Jap food in town, you may want to check out this place! =)

Izakaya Nijumara is located at 5 Koek Road #02-10/12 Cuppage Plaza.