Sunday (10 Feb 08). Came here for dinner with SC, AL and ET. I had a good impression when I first arrived. There was a nice 'sushi-bar-like' area with seating facing the counter. The ambience was quaint with a nice homely feel to it. SC liked the rounded arch over the entrance. Once seated, I felt that the table for the 4 of us was actually a little small; and we indeed experienced some tight and squeezy moments on the table during our meal.

I saw that there is an ongoing OCBC credit card promotion whereby a Salmon Sashimi will be given free with every order of 3 a la carte dishes. So we decided to get 3 a la carte dishes in addition to our main dishes. As we were celebrating SC's and AL's birthday, we decided to order some booze as well. Our damage came up to $94.60 after 10% service charge.

Agedashi Tofu, $6
Chicken Teriyaki, $12
Prawn Tempura, $18
Salmon Sashimi, complementary with OCBC promotion (usual $17)
Cha Soba, $8
Miso Ramen, $10
Shoyu Ramen, $9
Ten Don, $13
Japanese Hot Sake, $10

It was my first time having Japanese Hot Sake. It came in a little bottle and the sake was almost boiling hot. I was glad that the alcohol content did not give my throat a burning sensation as I drank it down. I can't appreciate the distinct taste of fermented rice.

I enjoyed the Salmon Sashimi because it was fresh and it came in nice thick slabs.

The Agedashi Tofu was decent. It was served hot and the texture was nice.

We all agreed that the Chicken Teriyaki was not very appetising. Firstly, it did not taste like teriyaki. Also the chicken was not juicy and succulent – it was pretty dry and bland. There was not enough flavour locked into the chicken.

The Prawn Tempura was served piping hot. However, I found the piece that I had not that fresh.

For my main course, I had the Cha Soba. It failed to excite me. Somehow the texture and taste just did not do it for me. I enjoyed the recent sobas I had at MOF (Marina Square) and Ichiban Sushi (Toa Payoh) a lot more.

As we brought a cake along, the staff kindly obliged our request to leave the cake in their refrigerator. During the ordering and our meal, the service was warm and friendly, but lacked the initiative to fulfil the basics. We had to ask for our tea to be refilled, and had to deliberately place the used plates near the edge of the table to make a not so subtle hint to clear the plates.

Final verdict: Overall, I found the food easily forgettable and would rather spend my money to try out other f&b establishments.

I've been a longtime fan of Tamon, a wee alcove that sits discreetly on East Coast Road. If homestyle Japanese cooking is what you're looking for, then you should give Tamon a shot. The service is friendly and relatively prompt, and the food is certainly delicious, delicately presented and decently priced. Being a vegetarian, it's not always easy to find veggie offerings in Japanese restaurants, but the lady boss is always happy to accede to my request for yasai tempura (vegetable tempura) with rice, not something that is found on the menu. I've also tried the cha-soba, which was lovingly cooked to al dente - something that, to me, marks a good noodle-based dish... most other cold soba dishes I've tasted in restaurants tend to get gloopy and soggy after a while.

My bloke (the non-vegetarian voice here) is a keen fan of the katsu curry rice - sliced breaded chicken cutlets covered in a bed of thick, fragrant Japanese curry on rice, which isn't as horrendously sweet as some versions of Japanese curries can be. He also has wonderful things to say about the grilled dishes, and I'll take his word on that (since he can be quite fussy about grub).

Do note though that the restaurant has very limited seating, and because it can get quite crowded at night, it's best to give a call to make a reservation first. There're a few seats outdoors, though frankly, you'd do much better getting a seat within the mahogany interior than having your nosh so close to the crazy traffic on East Coast Road.