First time at this Yakitori dining. Decided to go as it was a recommendation from my fellow Japanese friend. I went for the Omakase, and it was really nicely done. Reasonable pricing for the quality, and a really nice experience at a very hidden restaurant. Stick around for more details.
Fukuda Yakitori Dining Singapore inside Orchard Plaza
#01-39 ORCHARD PLAZA, 150 ORCHARD ROAD
Let's get right into it.
The entrance
The first thing that stands out is how small this restaurant is.
This tiny hidden yakitori restaurant in Orchard plaza is so small that - it only has 1 table and 5 counter seats or so! Yes, that's all.
There are two entrances. The one pictured above is not the one we used - but it's the one that leads to the table. The one that we used is also a sliding door entrance that when you open it leads you directly to the counter seats.
So it's like, door - than seat. It's so small that the shoes don't go inside.
There is a shoebox in the outside of the restaurant! So you take your shoes off, put them into the shoebox, and then crawl into this place.
You almost feel like a rabbit crawling into it's cozy cave... and the inside is cozy indeed!
Two staff on the other side of the counter. The gentleman is the master who cooks the Yakitori, and the lady does everything else.
I was quite surprised but I don't think the master is a Japanese. He doesn't have a "Fukuda-san" look!!
But either way this comfortable cozy atmosphere is truly magnificent. They took this very small space and re-imagined it for it to become a plus-point rather than a negative characteristic. This definitely adds to the guru-rating!
Let's get into the Menu next.
The Beer Menu
They carry Coedo craft beer from Saitama Japan. They also have Sapporo bottled beer in the normal menu as well. It seems like they don't carry draft beer, which is understandable due to the size of the restaurant.
The master's recommendation for the Coedo beer was the "White" and the "Maihana". They're priced at 14.40 for 333ml bottles.
The food menu starts like this, by introducing the "Fukuda Yakitori Omakase"
The "Fukuda Yakitori Omakase" is $68 per person. This includes...
5 kinds of appetizers
10 kinds of omakase kushi
Small rice bowl with soup
That seems to be the only course that's available as the other options are crossed out.
Below is their ala carte menu.
I went for the "Fukuda Yakitori Omakase" and the "White" Coedo beer.
First thing's first, I suppose this is the otoshi. This is not a part of the course, but would be charged separately as a part of the seating price. (I actually didn't check how much the otoshi was so I'm not sure.)
I guess it's a pickled Hakusai (Chinese cabbage) dish. And from the taste of this dish alone, you can basically tell the style of cooking that this restaurant goes by.
It's a very lightly pickled Chinese cabbage with a hint of Yuzu. It's the kind that's really easy on your body because the seasoning is nice and light. This is really important because Yakitori will tend to get quite salty and strong quite easily.
So it's more on the home-made side of the taste. Fantastic. Can't wait for the other food to come.
So here is my Shiro beer. Just reading off the copy.
Wheat beer is instantly recognizable by its bright hue, tinged with a soft, milky white glow. Yeasts selected specifically for their ability to bring out sweet aromas from the wheat are complemented by fruity notes for a rich yet refreshing brew that is smooth on the tongue and goes down with a flourish. We chose the Japanese word for white for our Hefeweizen as a way to capture not only its bright color, but also its distinctively gentle character that is at once comforting and unique.
I felt I should just copy that as I won't be able to explain the taste better. But I think it's a nice balanced craft beer. I don't like it to be too fruity - and this beer worked for me.
As I'm trying my beer, here comes the appetizers.
Beautiful display.
From left to right:
A chicken liver paste on a cracker, and a walnut on top.
Tofu - They said it was tofu but it's almost so rich that it tastes more like a cheese.
Marinated Salmon
Scallop
All delicious and tasty.
This is chicken meat with sesame sauce.
As we're enjoying our appetizers, the yakitori are starting to be served one by one. Here comes the first few skewers.
The hotate (scallop)
The uzura (quail egg)
Sasami with wasabi
Liver
If you don't like the organs, you can kindly ask the master to substitute them with something else. He will happily change.
Personally, I love the organs. The Liver here is one of my favorite.
On the skewer plate, there's something you don't see too often at a Yakitori restaurant - which I felt was brilliant. The pickled ginger or the "Gari" (upper right hand corner) is usually for sushi restaurants, but was served here too.
At a sushi restaurant, it serves to refresh the taste after having that fishiness in your mouth. Here it refreshes the mouth from the meatiness of the Yakitori. Brilliant.
Now, this is where I'm starting to get confused, as I've already finished my 5 appetizers and I don't think there was a salad as a part of the course.
But this is a gizzard salad, with delicious gizzards placed on top. Gizzard is one of my favorite Yakitori, so I would have been sad if I didn't have any in my omakase. It didn't come as a skewer, but it came as a salad which is okay as well.
I don't see a mention of "salad" in the course menu, but I guess this comes as a part of the course as well Can't complain! That's an added bonus!!
The yakitori continues to come.
Hatsu (Heart)
Negima
Mune (breast)
The Hatsu and Negima are absolutely delicious.
I'm not going to go into the taste of each and every Yakitori, but they are all honestly really nice. Good quality Yakitori.
The quality of meat is good and well stored - which is a crucial component. The seasoning is relatively light and just right rather than it being too strong. The Yakitori are grilled to perfection.
By this time I'll require another beer. The food is too delicious I can't stop drinking.
I went for another Coedo Kraft Beer. This time the India Pale Ale.
So here goes the explanation for Marihana.
Marihana, which means "hop flower" in Japanese, has a delicate, citrusy hop aroma. With the contrast of its light golden hues and fluffy white head, this session IPA delivers a highly drinkable beer without sacrificing on flavor. The beautiful aroma and sophisticated bitterness, combined with the balance of hops, gives this beer everything one could want in an IPA, with a lower alcohol content for drinkability.
The hop is quite defined on this one. I like less hop actually, so I liked the "Shiro" Coedo Beer better than this one.
Anyways, back to the Yakitori!
Tsukune with egg yolk dip.
Really nice as well. But by this time I'm already starting to get quite full actually...
Then comes the soup.
This comes at the perfect time.
It's a rich in collagen but super light soup with very little saltiness. It washes away the taste of the Yakitori and relives some of the alcohol I drank.
Again, this homemade gentle taste. So heartwarming and healthy. I love it.
Last couple of skewers to go.
Zucchini
Tebasaki (Chicken wing)
Both of which I loved as well!
So that's a total of 10 different types of Kushi - which honestly felt like there was a lot more.
But the final part of the meal - the small bowl is yet to come!!
Now, at this point you can probably tell that this is really tough to finish. I felt like I ate so much already, and that's when the master flashes out a laminated paper showing the choices of the small bowl.
OMG!
So, for the small bowl there is a choice. The Oyako-don or the Soboro-don.
Either way I'm already full.
So this is the Oyako-don.
The Oyako-don is a bowl with rice and egg.
It's called Oyako because Oyako means "parents and kids", and however disgusting the notion of it is, the chicken and egg are just that. This is a solid choice, but keep in mind, you're already about 120% of your stomach's capacity with mostly chicken.
In which case, I'd recommend you going for the soboro-don.
The soboro-don is also actually a chicken as well. It's like a ground or a minced chicken bowl, but at least you can step away from the taste and texture of the chicken.
Both were nice :)
So just to recap what was in the Fukuda Yakitori Omakase at $68 includes.
The 5 Appetizers
A chicken liver paste on a cracker, and a walnut on top.
Tofu - They said it was tofu but it's almost so rich that it tastes more like a cheese.
Marinated Salmon
Scallop
The 10 Yakitori
The hotate (scallop)
The uzura (quail egg)
Sasami with wasabi
Liver
Hatsu (Heart)
Negima
Mune (breast)
Tsukune with egg yolk
Zucchini
Tebasaki (Chicken wing)
Salad
Gizzard Salad (Don't think it was mentioned in the menu)
Donburi and soup
Chicken soup
Choice between the Soboro-don and Oyako-don
I must say that this course is so reasonable when compared against the content. This means each of the piece of the module is on average about $3.7 SGD.
Guru Rating
As a Yakitori Restaurant 9.5/10
I absolutely recommend this restaurant. The combination of the taste, price, volume, and the very unique atmosphere is really special. This set the bar high - very difficult to overcome honestly.