Izakaya Nijumaru Restaurant

Went there with the wife and baby at 6pm. restaurant largely empty. Told by waitress curtly to go queue up at other end. Then scolded me saying we cannot get table unless all have arrived. Told her there is only the 3 of us!<br>Then told me curtly to leave baby pram outside but I told her my baby was sleeping in pram, can't leave him out of sight in a mall like this!<br>Then told to sit bu entrance cos any where else in restaurant would be of inconvenience to them.<br>Excuse me, aren't u guys the waitresses and me the customer? how about my convenience?<br>Never go to this restaurant unless u r single, love bad service and is masochistic enough to enjoy a scolding by fat 40 yrs old female waitress!<br><br>

For photos and more reviews, visit my blog at ms-skinnyfat.blogspot.com

Located on the corner of the 2nd storey of Cuppage Plaza lies this pretty huge restaurant that serves tasty bento sets at reasonable prices. I was pretty impressed with the selection the first time i had dinner there with S and we have introduced it to our friends after. The bento and sets range from $8- 25, with most of the sets being priced below $15. Other than that, choose from a variety of yakitori (there is a grill counter in the corner of the restaurant where the chef prepares the grilled items), sashimi, tempura and cooked items. Items are written in Japanese and katakana so it helps if you know a little Jap. If not, simply tell the servers what you feel like having and have them recommend. I'm a visual person so i really need pictures to help me decide what to eat. So read on to find out what are some available dishes over here.

Nijumaru Bento ($20). This is one of the more popular sets. I would go for this for its sheer variety. Love bento sets for that reason. Fresh and firm sashimi, stewed dish (usually pork), tempura, grilled fish (saba). The stewed pork is nicely braised and tender. This goes very well with the rice. The tempura is crisp and light so you don't quite feel guilty from consuming all that deep fried food. All sets are served with rice, miso soup and fruits. 

S had the Sashimi Bento ($15)- 9 pieces of Sashimi. Usual suspects as shown from picture. Try not to order this dish on a Sunday. Fresh sashimi is usually flown in only a couple of times a week and never on weekends. Nevertheless, the sashimi wasn't too bad. It's kinda weird that they don't serve Chirashi don though.

The Unajyu Bento with Sashimi set ($25) is another popular dish. According to the server auntie, this is the upsized version of Unadon. The generous slabs of grilled eel, nicely glazed and tenderly sizzled over the charcoal flame, were indeed very tasty. R was quite amazed at the texture of the meat and repeatedly told us to try some. The Kabayaki sauce was wonderful with the starchy Japanese grains.

Here comes the negative. On my last dinner visit, we had a terrible run in with the servers. We made a reservation for 7pm for a large group of 10 (on a sunday). The aunties refused to let us into the restaurant until everyone has arrived. They claim it to be a company policy. Even though more than half the group was present and the place was empty, they were reluctant to let us take a seat. 

After we were finally seated, they kept rushing us to place our orders. Then we noticed that some of these aunties were giving us the dirty look and grumbling and complaining in the corner. Seriously WTH? It's just really bad service. It's not as though we were going to cancel our reservations. We felt very harassed throughout our meal because they kept trying to clear our dishes even though we were not done. 

Read more about my experience at Nijumaru here.

For pictures, please visit http://hungryinsingapore.wordpress.com/2011/06/07/izakaya-nijumaru-dinner/

This restaurant is located in Cuppage Plaza, and they actually occupy a few shop spaces so this is a very big restaurant in a way.

In another unit, they have traditional Japanese seating where you sit on the floor.

Their menu, written in Japanese, is a bit hard to comprehend if you have no prior knowledge of the language. The prices here are not expensive and comparable to budget Japanese restaurants like Sakae Sushi or Nihon Mura.

Gyoza – $6.50++

The gyoza was good.

Shogayaki Set (Pork) – $12.00++

This is stir fried pork with ginger and onions. It comes with appetiser, rice, miso soup and fruit.

According to my friend, the pork tastes like regular Chinese stir fried pork.

Nijumaru Bento – $20.00++

Tempura, sashimi, fatty pork, saba. It comes with rice and miso soup.

According to my friend, the sashimi was not that good. The tempura was normal but not awful. I tried the pork and it was flavourful.

Gindara Teriyaki Set – $19.00++

I ordered this. It’s teriyaki cod, with rice, miso soup, appetiser and fruit.

The rice was good. it comes with furikake which made it more tasty. It wasn’t too hard or soggy too but was sticky enough to be picked up by chopsticks.

The miso soup had tofu cubes in it. It tastes normal.

The appetiser was similar to that served at Chikuwa Tei but it was served cold. I’m not sure which is authentic, but the one served at Chikuwa Tei was served warm.

As for the cod, I liked it a lot. The portion was generous and it was cooked to perfection not dry. The skin was of ample crispiness and was tasty on its own. The teriyaki sauce was very tasty too. I would recommend this.

Izakaya Nijumaru has a simple dining concept; tasty food at affordable prices while offering an extensive selection. The menu is almost entirely in Japanese so if your romaji sucks and you have no idea what’s the difference between an aji and an ika, you will probably find it much easier to just talk the menu through with one of the many “aunties” who are standing around, though they will probably just recommend you something super generic and safe like the Nijumaru Bento or the Unajyu Set.

Started off the meal with a Japanese staple of Chawanmushi($5++). Silky smooth with no visible trapped air bubbles, that’s all I can ask for and that’s what I got.

Ever heard of Japanese Yong Tau Foo? Well, today’s my first time trying it. It’s calledOden($8++) and comes with 7 pieces, from fish cakes, egg, konnyaku and some other types which are unknown to me. I can imagine this would go down really well on a winter’s day or in our case, a rainy day.

I like the Nijumaru Bento($20++). It’s created for people just like me, people who want a bit of everything, from assorted sashimi to tempura, braised pork belly and grilled saba fish. The sashimi was fresh, especially the salmon. I also loved the grilled saba fish, lightly charred and fatty. Was expecting much more from the braised pork belly though, I felt it was a rather tough and rubbery to chew. Tempura was decently executed.

Unagi lovers will be pleased with the Unajyu Set($20++). Two thick slabs of unagi over a generous bedding of rice. The unagi was really quite charred on one side, but my friend dismissed this quickly and rebutted, “aiya same as eating bbq”. Guess it was just too irresistible for my soon-to-be doctor friend, despite being acutely aware of its carcinogenic properties.

So if you are ever hankering for a casual Japanese meal in town, I’d recommend you those casual Japanese chains you know so well like Sushi Tei, Sakae Sushi orWaraku and try Izakaya Nijumaru instead. After all, every meal is an adventure!

Bon Appetit!

For the full review/pics, do visit http://yumyumformytumtum.wordpress.com/2011/02/24/izakaya-nijumaru-is-it-still-a-secret/

Portions are quite huge here for the price you pay, which is very reasonable.  We usually order the beef teriyaki, oyako don (huge portion) and a yasai salad.

Quite a few Japanese customers frequent this place, but they are segregated into another room which are only reserved only for them (hmpfh!).  Would that alone qualify this place as authentic japanese?  They also have rooms which you can book if your group is large enough.

The only problem I have with this place is the menu is all written in japanese but with english pronunciations, have to ask the aunties here what each item is (they converse in mandarin), a little difficult for us to wander from our usual order when we are feeling adventurous =|  

Do make a reservation over weekends, as this place can get really crowded.

I went there and order a buta kakuni,ika batayaki and yaki gyoza.The kakuni meat is hard.Ika batayaki too much of butter and watery.Gyoza was just acceptable.Really the service should be improved.The auntie is just like the 'kopitiam'.Loud and rude.

 

I love eating at Izakaya Nijumaru. Will always visit there if I am around somerset area and do not want to squeeze with the crowd at 313, orchard central or centrepoint.

Please be prepared cos the menu is in Japanese. Do ask for recommendations and their daily special. The waitress here are all aunties. Do not expect maid cafe style waitresses to be serving you. Some aunties, however, are very friendly and will give very good recommendation.

Nijumaru Bento ($18) is worth every penny. The bento has sashimi, tempura, saba fish and a very fatty lor bak (pork). It comes with rice and miso. The saba fish and the lor bak is damn tasty. The rice is sprinkled with sesame seeds and seaweed, making it very tasty and fragrant.

I will usually order the somen (cold noodles $7), which taste very good with the sauce. I will also order the stir fried beef with veg ($8) to go with my somen. Like the stir fried beef with veg a lot. If you are a veg person, you should go for this dish.

I will also order Tako Wasabi ($8.50) as an apetitizer and it is super delicious. Very fresh and refreshing and chewy. If you drink sake, you should order this to go with the alcohol.

Don't expect fantastic service. But if you meet the nice waitress, the experience in this restaurant can be very homely and comfortable.

Will definitely be going back there again!

We started the meal with a yakitori order, grilled mushrooms that sounds and probably looks oh-so-ordinary. These are no pushovers, grilled so fragrantly the mushrooms are well flavoured.

Chicken balls with a side of mustard, reminded me of Tori-QQ somehow.

Asparagus wrapped with bacon, yums!

Potato salad, potatoes mashed and embedded with potato cubes...somehow it just tasted so good.

Four orders of bento sets, we made an attempt on a variety of meats. Each arrived with an appetizer, miso soup and seaweed flavoured rice.

Beef cubes that were slightly tough but otherwise flavourful, loved the sauce!

Braised fish with tofu; I loved this! The fish meat was cooked to the right doneness, sauce was slightly sweet but overall very light on the palette!

The appetizer that tasted like the chinese fungus, not too bad!

Yummy rice that you cannot stop after a mouthful.

Tender pork breaded so lightly, fried food that never tasted so guiltless...it has not toppled Tonkichi's crown as yet but pretty good!

$99 for 4 pax, I found it a steal for quality of food even though I reeked of my food stepping out of the place and our order of rice balls was forgotten. I doubt I had the space to accomodate another mouthful either. The service rendered was quite alright though the servers are mostly chinese aunties.

Cuppage Plaza is one corner of Orchard that I have overlooked in all the foodie conquests and I am so regreting I did not discover this food gem earlier, well better late than never! I'm sure at least...no more Sakae from now on!

http://thefoodchapter.blogspot.com/2009/08/izakaya-nijumaru-cuppage-plaza.html

Eating in Japan very often is about squeezing into their Izakayas and having "little eats" with your sake, beer or shochu. These places are rarely posh and squeaky clean but full of character simply because of the characters that populate these places.. from different walks of life, usually the working class, coming in to de-stress after a hard days' work. The food therefore is more hearty than refined cuisine.

Tucked into a corner on the 2nd storey of Cuppage Plaza, the Izakaya Nijumaru attempts to bring this slice of Japan to the Japanese workabees of Singapore. Even the Chinese and Hokkien speaking wait-staff have expanded their language repertoire to include Japanese to cater to them and somewhat adding to the atmosphere.

The menu is not hugely extensive but does what it does competently - and to increase the alcohol intake of its guests.

Although it's not known for its raw cuisine (and does not serve sushi since they don't make the rice), we start off with the Sanma (Pacific Saury) sashimi, which is the "catch (or flown in) of the day". Roughly chopped up but a good size to enjoy the moist and fat fish, it was pretty good even if not the best. The choice of wasabi or minced ginger/ chopped spring onions to go with your shoyu was also available without request.

The butter grilled squid was a succulent combination of garlic butter and squid juices although the squid was a tad overcooked and bordered on rubbery in some parts but the sauce accompanied by more Japanese mayo was a nice sinful combo which would help you down more sake than you can say sake.

To round off, we had the katsu curry rice and stir fried mixed vegetables. Although the pork cutlet was not the best cut (it's not black pork) I've had, the curry tasted every bit home-cooked and rich in the stock it had been stewing in all day. Coupled with the red pickles, very very good.

Almost like being transported back into a back street in Tokyo and enjoying as the locals do..

For photos, go to

http://edeats.blogspot.com/2008/08/singapore-izakaya-nijumaru.html

If you want no frills, fuss free Japanese, Nijumaru is the place to go. Embedded in the Japanese and KTV filled Cuppage Plaza (so that's how this place keeps going!) is this very rustically charming home style Japanese restaurant where food is simply made and prepared - most of it tastes like if you had made it yourself which basically is probably something bordering on edible but not very refined.

Their skewered dishes were not very well done, and if this is what you want then Kazu upstairs of Kushigin in the same building are better, but they specialize in that so they better be. The sashimi was fresh but it probably wasn't the most quality fish they bring in, so if you want raw food go elsewhere.

Nijumaru is a place for more value for money set bentos or set menus. This is also the kind of place where you would enjoy your Japanese curry rice in an unpretentious and relaxed atmosphere befitting the dish.

Service was fine and most of our dishes came out pretty quickly, although in no particular order - whatever was ready they just brought out.

So overall, not bad, but I would go to the specialty restaurants for those types of foods that I am looking for.