in all fairness i did not try the one at cuppage but the one at circular road.. so perhaps cuppage one rocks and the circular one sinks?

anyhow we were attracted by e enthu staff n newpapers clippings n hence decided to give it a try.. we headed to e pub opp n had our meal on e high chairs (haha quite smart to rent e pub for lunch since it's close anyway n seeing bowls of ramen crossing e st is quite funni).. we had e gyozas and e tamago ramen... honestly i felt tat it is not nice at all!!! e highly recommend tamago ramen is juz average in my opinion.. e soup is erm juz bland n e noodles not as Q as other ramen joints. e tamago to me is not special in anyway n so we ain't too pleased with e ramen at all.. (we did feedback this to e friendly owner? but he reckon might not suit our tastes after all)..

e gyoza is not too bad but e skins do stick to one another n separating it tears e skin n so e fillings start falling out.. not too sure if this sld b e way but e fillings is not too bad but i tink u can have this kinda gyoza anywhere...

they did messed up my order of no bean sprouts (which came a big bowl of it) and they did promptly do a new one for me with e owner? coming up to apologise so i tot that's nice but i tink e staff needs more training since they messed up e orders of e next table as well..

overall not impressed and nothing great...

***anyway e one at circular road had closed down..***

TO ALL GYOZA LOVERS: There's a new branch at 38 Circular Road (near Raffles Place MRT), which was more convenient to me.

The gyozas there are a MUST TRY! The pan-fried gyozas, which is actually their signature dish, consists of a pearly thin skin which had the right crispt and wrapped the juicy meat filling nicely. Looks appetising when it was served. It also had its own homemade spicy gyoza sauce which was fantastic! The sauce compliments the gyozas perfectly. When you eat it, the juice practically floods your mouth.

Ordered the Tori Karage and Chahan (which was bento set A that includes the gyozas). The Tori Karage for a start, looks great on its own. Fried to golden brown colour, it is crispy on the outside but tender on the inside. When you bite it, you can hear the skin crunching in your mouth. The meat was succlucent, tender and juicy. In another words, this piece of thigh meat is more than perfect.

The Chahan (fried rice) is stir fried with yummy fragrant chashu, scrambled egg bits and spring onions. Of course, the combination created the best tasting and lasting sensation. Another must try if you are having having lunch or dinner there. Although the Chahan looks ordinary, it tastes extraordinary. You cannot get another similar fried rice in just any ordinary coffee shop.

Of course there are other bento sets there which are equally nice. You guys should pop over soon if you are working near Raffles Place MRT.

Will i go back? Yes, i will. The ambience isn't bad and it serves great food. The plus point of the day? It doesn't have service charges. Great food + ambience + cheap? You can't find it at other places. FANTASTIC PLACE FOR GYOZA LOVERS!

Over at Ohsho, you get to indulge in simple Japanese-fusion fare and I was overwhelmed. We tried the Tori-Kara-age, or the Japanese Deep-Fried Chicken, and boy was it good! A wrench of the lemon and you have the perfect combination of sour, salty, crispy and intense flavour of the chicken with each greasy bite – served fresh when ordered.

Added chunky delights came in the form of Funky Potato – a dish of Tori-Kara-age with Crinkle Cut Fries dose in Chilli Sauce, although I would have to add that this dish reminded me more of my good old primary school days than a Japanese fare.

We also ordered a serving of Chahan, or the Japanese Fried Rice. Of course, we all know that the difference between the Japanese version and its Chinese cousin lies in its grain. Japanese grain tends to be shorter and the rice – stickier, and therefore the art to cook it well lies in the emulsion process - the combination of eggs first emulsifying together with the oil in the pan, and then adding the rice later into the semi-cooked eggs, created the best tasting sensation.

And I have to say they did a pretty good rendition of it. The Wok Hei flavour was captured in the dish, but the dish could do even better with another dash of salt. Lastly, the Gyoza was also delectable. The skins are so different from the mainstream ones where it's all thick and starchy!

Although Yaki-Gyoza, or pan-fried preparation method is usually first fried on one flat side, creating a crispy skin, then, stock is added and the pan sealed with a lid, until the upper part of Gyoza is steamed, Ohsho’s version seemed to be a little too dry. However, the fact that the Gyoza’s skin is so well pan-fried makes up for it.

You can view the photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.

I was taking a calculated gamble when I ventured into this unknown territory today. This dingy little Japanese eatery is prominently located in the seedy heart of Singapore’s Little Tokyo, a Mecca for ramen-gourmands. In recent years there has been a deluge of Japanese eateries and bars in this area which see gourmands devouring many a kushiyaki stick and drinking Sapporo beers to celebrate the Land of the Rising Sun.

I once read somewhere the best gauge to evaluate any Japanese eating hole is to assess its clientele’s demographics. If the majority of its diners are native Japanese, it’s already half the battle won. True enough, there were the well-heeled Japanese salary-man tucking into homely fare, as well as ramenistas alike slurping their noodles, at this sweltering hot midday afternoon lunch hour.

Despite it being a modest eatery, Ohsho’s menu features quite a number of exciting stir-fried dishes like the ‘Funky Potatoes’, which was essentially kara-age and crinkle-cut fries doused in tomato sauce, Stir-fried Pork with Vegetables, Mapo Tofu (can you say WoW!), and a variety of ramen, fried rice and some 7-8 set combinations of the a la carte items. This was superb authentic Japanese fare served at its casual best. What I enjoyed thoroughly was the fried rice. This came in a set ($11) comprising pork Chahan ($8 as per ala carte price) and 6-pc gyoza ($4 as per ala carte price). It was a one-man show that afternoon, with a Japanese Chef (I’ll call him Mr Ohsho) manning the entire kitchen. Good, coz I knew my Chahan was in good hands then.

He who wields the wok with much aplomb. He who delivers his fare with much pompous. I could instantly smell the aroma of the fried rice emanating from the wok fry. It came hot, steaming, chockful of char siew, and imparting plenty of “Wok Hei” to acquire its flavor. Surprising, coming from a Japanese eatery, but totally delicious. Usually I cannot fathom eating just fried rice (Yawn) for lunch, but this got me so enthused I was soon looking for more grains to feed my carbo crave.

Fat, meaty, and juicy, the gyozas had skin that was paper-thin. Cooked using the steam-fry method, the bottoms were lightly crisp and browned, while the tops were still soft and delicate. Oddly, the translucent skins looked, when they arrived, suspiciously chewy and nasty, but it turned out to be pleasing surprise coz I could almost hear the crackle of the skin when I bit into it them. There were a myriad of sauces/ dips at my whim and fancy: clear vinegar, chili oil, chili paste, chili pepper, a spunky thing called the Gyoza Sauce, and even sliced green chilis, which was a misnomer coz I added them to my fried rice but those I eventually abandoned for a more bona fide taste experience. I thought the clear vinegar was a wholly refreshing change from those pungent brown ones the Chinese absentmindedly dunk their pot stickers into, which utterly mask the flavor of the dumplings. The clear one here, really pairs well with the Gyoza Sauce, allowing me to savor these neat little pork pot stickers in its almost true flavor.

Tip: They do serve ½ portions of the Chahan (Han Chahan) ($5) for dainty eaters or for those who wish to dabble in a larger range of ala carte dishes. They also have the Chahan cooked with chicken (Tori Chahan) instead of pork. But my bet goes to the pork version being tastier, as pork always lends itself much better for flavoring. And the best part? They don't charge for service and GST!

Will I be back? You bet. I’ll return for the novel Ebi (prawn) gyozas, the deliciously tempting Tamago Ramen, and the fascinating ‘Funky Potatoes’. Kudos also to Chef Mr Ohsho, who had made me feel like I’d just walked out of an episode of Japan hour.

I feel funky already.

I went here after reading so many good reviews on magazines, straits times, food blogs, etc. Being a Japanese, I was actually on a ramen hunt throughout Singapore, visiting every ramen worthy places. After trying about 20 different ramen places, I concluded that singapore had in fact no good ramen. More than half of those places were actually even done by Japanese themselves. So far, the only ones that I can commend are "Ken" somewhere in Cuppage plaza, and Kado Man near City Hall Mrt.

So back to the review of Osho. I blindly followed the hype and was hugely disappointed. How disappointed you say? Try disgusted, angry, extremely unsatisfied. Once again, I conclude that the Straits Times food reviewers should not even be employed, and people shouldn't just agree with the hype just because its on some magazines or newspapers (same goes for bad ramen like Miharu, Ichibantei, Ramen Ramen, etc). First of all, despite claiming that a real Japanese chef cooks all the noodles, the only ones behind the counter were Singaporeans, speaking in rude chinese among themselves (already a negative point because it just brings the ambience down like as if eating at a hawker centre). The portions were small, and definitely not worth the money.

Here comes the worst part: on the tables, I was looking for pepper, la-yu, etc. Guess what I saw? AJINOMOTO. Who in the right mind will put bottles of MSG on their restaurant table? What does that imply? Are they so unconfident in their own food that they have to put MSG on their tables? I could understand if they put salt bottles, but not MSG!!!

I actually went back there again because my other friend wanted to try it so badly. I warned him not to, but he insisted anyway. I didn't order anything, but he ordered the famed gyoza. As a Japanese point of view, those are NOT gyozas. The filling was so little. Imagine a big cushion cover, but only a small pillow is inside. It was just sad. It has been awhile since, so I hope they have removed the god-forsaken Ajinomoto, and maybe have the real Japanese chef actually cooking behind the counter more often, or have experienced chefs do it, not some hastily trained locals.