Ichiban Boshi (Esplanade Mall)

This place has great ambience! It’s quiet, peaceful and classy. The Japanese fare is also pretty good. The sashimi they served was fresh and fatty – you could see thick white stripes of those healthy omegas. I had too many of that fantastic lobster sushi and I’m still craving more. That’s a must try!!

This meal was an impromptu thing.

I was at my desk drawing then my boss asked me to join him down at the Civic District to observe a Learning Trail. Whoosh! Off we go!

Next thing I knew, we were at Esplanade Theatres by the Bay, and we need lunch asap so as not to be late for the start of the learning trail. Looking around, most shops were not opened around noon time. So we decided to have a quick fix at Ichiban Boshi since a lunch promotion was going on.

My boss had the Beef and Mixed Fry Set for $15.90++.

And I had the Chicken Miso Butter Yaki Set for $15.90++ as well.

Each set came with 4 pieces of salmon sashimi, chawanmushi, a bowl of rice, a bowl of miso soup and 2 slices of orange (finally a break from the watermelon regime)

The Beef and Mixed Fry Set was described as Pan-fried Beef and Assorted Vegetables with Teriyaki Sauce, Potato Croquette and Fried Prawn. Nothing to wow about, my boss felt that the beef was quite flavourful and he was happy with the set. Having tried a slice of the beef, I would agree it is flavourful though not tender enough, quite tough to chew.

The Chicken Miso Butter Yaki was described as Pan-fried Chicken, assorted vegetables and oyster mushroom with miso sauce. This dish seemed to be a Ichiban Boshi version of the Korean BBQ Chicken. The miso flavour wasn’t obvious and it came across as the familiar as the sweet teriyaki sauce that most of us know. I like that there are vegetables to add a touch of freshness and crunchiness to the dish. The chicken is a little tough, nothing out of the ordinary. It tasted like teriyaki chicken, with a hint of miso (very very subtle)

The Chawanmushi is okay and I like that there are quite a few stuff inside, mushroom, a piece of crab meat stick, meat and gingko nut.

The sashimi was alright for me.

Overall, the set was quite filling, nothing much to complain, it was alike what Thomas had said about Ichiban Boshi earlier on, decent value for money.

About the same price as a Botan Bento, it doesn’t have as many dishes as Botan, but it is good enough.

The service is okay, they could help to smile more often.

http://the4moose.blogspot.com/2010/04/ichiban-boshi-esplanade.html

Ichiban Boshi is owned by the same people who run the Kuriya group of restaurants so you're assured of a certain standard in the quality of their food. Ichiban Boshi is similar to Sushi Tei in terms of price points and customer base. However, Sushi Tei's traditional sushi is better in terms of quality and they generally serve fresher sashimi (raw fish). Whereas Ichiban Boshi shines in modern and unusual takes on sushi (they use pork floss and turkey bacon in their sushi), and cooked food.Just stay away from the raw fish here. 

We ordered:

1) Crispy Spicy Tuna Mayo ($2.10), the sushi version of a tuna sandwich. One of my faves.

2) Aburi Maguro ($2.10), with seared tuna, garlic mayo, sesame seed, spring onion and chili powder. This was a big mistake, the tuna was stale, bland and sinewy.

3) Fried Salmon Skin ($2.10) to nibble on. Ichiban Boshi's version is better than Sushi Tei, mostly because it's crispier and skinnier.

4) Mini Chasoba ($2.10), green tea buckwheat noodles served chilled, which was already dunked into the dashi sauce. This was refreshing enough but a little limp. Still, the small portion made it palatable.

5) Ten Don ($13.90), Japanese rice bowl with assorted tempura carrots, lotus root and prawns. This was satisfyingly good. The rice was nicely drizzled with just enough sweet teriyaki sauce, the tempura was crispy and plentiful.

6) Enoki Kinoko Yanagawa ($7.90), assorted mushrooms with egg in dashi stock. I love mushrooms, so obviously I had to get this. This was really really yummy. Shitake, enoki, shimeiji and oyster mushrooms in a light soy-based stock, topped with scrambled egg, this was luscious and heavenly.

7) Bacon Maki ($2.10), with cereal turkey bacon, egg crepe and shrimp roe. We asked them to hold off the mayo. This is an example of how Ichiban Boshi's sushi stands out with their unconventional fillings. It was served fresh and hot, and really yummy as well.

8) Unagi Shiitake Maki ($2.10), with chili padi, eel, shiitake and teriyaki sauce. This was also a winner.

Read more abt it at http://thehungrybunnie.blogspot.com/2010/03/ichiban-boshi-japanese-restaurant.html