Think I’d better stop be tempted by reviews on the net! Been reading quite a number of good reviews about this place, so being the very kaypoh me came here to see see. Of coz with the best company in the world! :)

Woa! I thought I walked into the wrong restaurant man! These guys are ex-Kuriya team, it’s no wonder the décor looks like Kuriya, place smells like Kuriya, food very Kuriya, people very Kuriya, even their uniforms also like Kuriya!

Set meals here are not exactly cheap. Discounting the weekly special sets which cost $21.60-$28.60, the usual sets range from $32-$40 and the monthly ones $47-$88! (haha I think I much prefer my $15 and $25 chirashi!) I ordered the Rakuichi Bento ($32.60). There’s salad, sashimi, tempura, chawanmushi, grilled cod, miso soup and rice. Sounds like a lot of food on the table lol. But it’s really only a bit of each! I didn’t like the sashimi coz it tasted really insipid! No taste of “fish”. Cod wasn’t oily at all! :( And oh yes! The (only) table next to ours ordered the same bento, but the lady had some fatty salmon belly while I didn’t get any. Well, I.F. if they were regulars then I’m ok with the differential treatment. But they were not! Can tell! Why so I wonder.

Bleah! I tried asking for fresh wasabi the waitress say have to pay! Woa! Hmm…so set lunches don’t warrant such premiums HERE ok fine…BUT I know of many other worthy places which willingly and unconditionally give me fresh wasabi if I request, even if it’s only for my set lunches or grilled fish! Sun…Akashi….Tatsuya….then hor! Aoki, Yoshida and of coz my favoritest Nogawa ONLY serves fresh wasabi. I don’t even have to ask! ‘Nuff said. :X

My favoritest person in the world ate her favoritest unagi donburi. She wanted it coz it came as part of the weekly special lunch sets ($21.60) which also included the same salad and sashimi I had, grilled tai (snapper) fishhead and soba in soup. She absolutely loves any unagi anywhere so I can’t comment on this. Snapper head was quite fresh she said but haha she didn’t like the soba coz it became so soggy!

The nicest part of the whole meal was the black sesame ice cream dessert! It’s really rich and fragrant! I always like Kuriya’s black sesame ice cream and Rakuichi’s black sesame ice cream tastes exactly the same as Kuriya’s black sesame ice cream haha. ‘Nuff said.

I note the service staff here are not friendly at all. They are so nonchalant and detached from their guests. Yes I was there to enjoy a meal with my favoritest person in the world not to get chummy with them. But at least smile one can? Think they all need a group hug.

Hmm…I think I’m happier with my Matsuo’s bento, Akashi's warmth, and Nogawa’s chirashi & everything else thankyouverymuch. :-/

A friend of mine recommended catching up at Rakuichi Japanese Restaurant at Far East as he enjoys the sushi there. Since I am always up to trying new places I happily obliged. The setting is a typical wooden Japanese restaurant except that the colors of the furniture tended to be of a lighter brown and the lighting is rather bright.

I decided on the Sushi Lunch Set, which is an assortment of sushi including hotate (scallop), maguro (tuna), ika (squid) and sake (salmon). I found the sushi acceptable but there tended to be some fishy after taste in the maguro and hotate sushi. There was some strange looking dumplings that accompanied the set but I found them to be rather bland tasting. Dessert was a lukewarm piece of mochi.

In summary, lets just say that the company I was with was great, but the great list ends there.

I can definitely recommend the sashimi, which is fresh and tasty. If you 're feeling like a splurge, ask the chef to prepare a selection for you and you'll enjoy every mouthful.

The staff were pretty friendly, with one waitress actually telling me that I had missed out one last sliver from the sashimi plate (it was hiding under a scallop shell or some grated vegetables, I forget). And another actually asked me at the end of the meal what I thought of the food.

A hidden gem in the Orchard area.

This restaurant has become one of my favourite Jap hangouts.
The sushi chef Jackie was orginally from Kuriya in Shaw centre. He's a great guy and always ready to recommend stuff.
Actually, the last few times I went he kinda knew our tastes and appetites and created a multicourse meal without us having to decide the specifics of what we wanted to have. And each time it was excellent.
Setting : old school japanese family restaurant. Kinda like Kuriya at shaw before it renovated. I like that.
The staff: well actually a number of the waitresses were also from Kuriya so we've known them for some time. Always friendly with pleasant smiles.
Food: OK this is obviously the important part. As with most of the better Japanese restaurants they get 2 shipments of fresh seafood from Japan on tuesdays and fridays. So no guessing when are the best days to go. Everything is premium grade so expect to shell out some money if you're going there. There's obviously the usual menu items and also a list of the latest seasonal offerings from Japan.
If you're into Japanese food, take a risk and ask Jackie to prepare a meal for you. Give him a budget and some preferences and see what he can create.
The sashimi is great, but more importantly the sushi is really good. I'm rank it up there with Inagiku but not so expensive. Also try the broiled sushi. The act of flaming the sushi actually helps to bring out the tastes of the fish. This he garnishes with interesting herbs from japan that really complement the sushi.
If you decide to really splurge and give Jackie free reign be ready for surprises. Had whale sashimi the last time and just this afternoon a bowl turned with with tiny live fish swimming in it!! Sounds gross right? Anyway, I decided the take the plunge and dipped the squirming fish into vinegar sauce. And you know what it actually tasted great. A fragrant sweet meat. Yummy !! Still I must confess it's not going to be on my wish list of things to eat again.
The barbequed food and grilled fish are also competently done and worth a try.
All of it washes down nicely with some warm sake....
Altogether a great place to have dinner. I especially like sitting at the counter and gawking at the selection of glistening fish!!
BTW: there's a bowl of tiny live crabs, you'll often seen patron's kids playing with them. The crabs are also for eating.

I found Rakuichi by chance – was walking around Far East Shopping Centre finding a place to eat (it was pretty late and I blame the evils that are Zara and Massimo) and it was past Shashlik’s last order timing.

Their sashimi for one pax (sashimi moriawase) was $36 for 8 slices of fish – salmon, tuna, swordfish and one more which I cannot identify. The fish is fresh and all, but really it’s a bit to stomach when after paying $36 I’m nowhere full. So I proceeded to order the Zaru Soba for $8.60. Their soba was good and did the trick.

Also ordered the buta kakuni which was grilled pork belly with teriyaki sauce. It was very good but damn fatty as you can imagine.

But the real winner, ladies and gents, was the ebi mentaiko cheese – grilled prawns with fish roe and cheese. Before you go eeewww (as I did with the mention of fish eggs on prawns - I'm quite averse to funky stuff) it was damn good. I ordered it only because I took my cue from the Japanese men who were seated next to my table who seemed to know what was good at Rakuichi. The three prawns comes in a hot plate, grilled to perfection, and the cheese and prawn combi was so shiok. The roe just looks like orange colouring on the cheese and just gave the cheese that extra kick and you don't get any sort of funky or overpowering taste with it at all. It was so yummy that my boyfriend and I were scraping the pan….very tak glam, I know.

The menu is extensive – I was rather lost as to what to order so I just observed what the next table was ordering. This restaurant passes the do-you-find-Japanese-eating-there test, and the staff are efficient and friendly.