Takoyaki is a popular Japanese dumpling made of batter, diced or whole baby octopus, tempura scraps, pickled ginger and green onion. It is then topped with okonomiyaki sauce, mayonnaise and katsuobushi flakes.
Takoyaki Gindaco has come all the way from Japan to Singapore. They has more than
300 stalls all across Japan that served takoyaki ball, yakisoba and macha drinks. So be prepared to wait, as there is always a indefinite queue at the new outlet located in Basement 4, ION Orchard. But lucky today, we managed to get our food in less than 15 minutes despite of the long queue.
Tsukiji Gindaco has many choices of menu in Japan, you can take a look at the link provided (here). We have only one and only favour in Singapore and the Takoyaki are fried till outer crust is golden brown like shown in the picture above.
We ordered the Takoyaki & Macha Drink set which cost S$6.00 rather than the Takoyaki itself which is S$4.80(for 6 dumplings). The cold Japanese Macha drink is great, it's really thick and full of flavour. It is pure green tea without even a hint of sugar. I find that this Macha drink taste best when chill and it's really a great drink to go with these Takoyaki. Do grab a set of this when you drop by ION basement 4.... it's worth queuing if you love Takoyaki.
Had being working in CBD area for more than two years plus and yet I have no ideas about this budget Seafood Restaurant. It is located near the Boat Quay Shop Houses which is about less than 10 minutes walk from Clarke Quay MRT. The outlet at Circular Road consists of upper and lower dinning area which draw large crowds during office lunchtime hours.
Although the outlook of the shop and their menu is not well presented, but they do offer seafood delicacies such as shark fin and abalone at an absolutely cheap prices. The cheapest on their menu is about $5.50 to the most expensive at $12.50. So this is indeed a good budget tips for those who craves for abalone, shark fin, sea cucumber or scallops.
Look at the generous amount of ingredients found in this "Buddha Jumps Over The Wall - 佛跳墙". It consists of Fish Maw, thick Abalone slices, Shittake Mushroom, Chicken Shark's Fin, Scallops and etc. Overall the soup was very fragrance, thick and full of taste that is well absorb by the ingredients.
This Set A which is at S$9.50 comes with a personal serving of Mini Buddha Jumps Over The Wall, Rice, Balanced Beansprout, Tea and complimentary dessert. This is sure worth of penny to have such a delicacies for a hearty meal.
We also ordered Set B "- 鲍鱼"@ S$8.50 which included a generous topping of baby abalones and shiitake mushrooms braised in their special thick fragrance gravy that serves with extra balanced vegetables and rice. Even though the so called "Baby abalone" might be as good as the full size Abalone but the gravy and its contain is good enough for you to eat with a second helping of rice. Each set meal is also given a complimentary bowl of dessert, ours for that day is "Snow fungus with dried logan".
Other than the above sets, we also tried their special signature "Spinach Doufu - 菠菜豆腐" dish. The doufu has a very crispy outer layer and soft texture inwards that tops with some shredded spinach leaves. As usual, this deep-fried doufu dish is also served with their special sauce that makes this simple doufu more appetising. This dish can be order as a rice set or as individual dish at S$2.10 each.
