Wasabi Tei Japanese Cuisine

Alas! it is almost apt to announce the death of this fine establishment...
not realising that there has been a change in chef, we headed on down to Wasabi Tei one fine day for our fix of their amazing chirashi don.

Now Wasabi tei, i must say used to serve the most awesome Chirashi don; overflowing with thick (and i mean, like thick cube-like slices) and fresh chunks of sashimi often with Ikura or Uni for S$22 flat. It's so good, that after trying this, u will find the Chirashi don at Nogawa or Sushi Yoshida or any upscale sushi restaurants anemic and strangely skimpy with the portions.

Upon reaching, the first thing that struck us was there was no queue, thinking we happen to be lucky enough to come on a lull day we sat down happily. That was when i realised the Nazi chef is no where to be seen! In his and his assistant (wife?) place, were 3 chefs and one lady helper. I also realised that they had opened 2 branches elsewhere. Thinking that maybe Nazi Chef decided to expand his business, we proceeded to place our orders. I got a sashimi set instead for today (not feeling too greedy) whilst SO got his usual Chirashi and Chawanmushi.

Thats when the nightmare started. The sushi chef looked unsure and frazzled. And he was really... really... slow... like the fact that there was a pile of orders didnt seem to make him wanna move faster. He was really inefficient like he will take out a fillet of fish, slice one piece off, den slowly wrap it back in the cling wrap and put it back. Den realise that the next order also needs this fish take it out slice it and repeat the whole process again instead of multi-tasking and doing a few orders at the same time.

we waited almost 40 min for the food. and the fish slices in the Chirashi were thin and sad.
the Sashimi set was still relatively generous though. The chawanmushi was the last dish to appear, and it appeared it was overcooked with bubbles in the egg, without the usual lil ebi with its tail hanging over the cup.

I asked the lady what happened to the 'boss' and according to her, Nazi Chef was just an employee and he has decided to retire... hence the new staff..

I grieved that the most perfect Chirashi Don is never available. Wasabi Tei will never be what it was and i know i'm never going back. I hope Nazi Chef is happier now upon retirement at least.

My friend tried queuing up early to get in for lunch. But we found out later that the management has changed. The food was good, but the portion no longer appears huge, so I guess the great value for money factor is lost now. No more bad-tempered chef/staff anymore - so different dining experience. Still quite an interesting place, amidst a very tight place.

It used to be worth queueing for as long as 90 minutes just to get a seat in this place, but after the change in management, the standard has plummeted so bad it is almost ridiculous.

1. More staff, but much slower in service. It took me forever to place an order. There is a lady and her assistants and the lady was just so confused: even though i came in first, i was served last. and our repeated attempts to get her attention for our orders were blatantly ignored. even the lady's assistant was slightly embarrassed that we were just stuck at the corner waiting for the cows to come home.

2. The appetizer is changed to some slices of preserved cucumber, a stark contrast from the warm and tasty kelp. and they didnt even serve my boyfriend his appetizer and soup until the end when we asked for it.

3. But all these can still be overlooked as I eagerly waited for my chirashi don (mix sashimi with rice) with my hungry stomach after queueing for so long. but I was in for a rude shock. In the past, the chef used to give 3 to 4 thick slabs of sashimi each (such as salmon, swordfish, tuna etc). now, all the portions are halved (the usual slab is sliced into half) and are not as fresh anymore. they don't even give ikura in the don!

4. And I am so sure I was not the only unsatisfied customers that night. being so tightly cramped into the 16-seater restaurant, I saw a few dissatisfied looks from a customer, and saw another customer asking the lady about his sashimi. Something about it being lesser or having one less component or something.

So it was definitely a disappointing experience to say the least, after being an ardent fan of that place. I asked the staff what happened to the previous owner, and she said the chef decided to retire, and in his place is his brother. I don't know if it is true, but this is what she said.

Granted the food is not BAD or inedible, but all I can say is, if they wanted to carry on the name of the restaurant, better be able to uphold the standards. dont leech on the reputation if you cannot deliver the reputed food.

It is never the same again - all portions at least cut by 25%. Not worth queuing anymore, even if there is no queue, I won't be back.

Had the worse meal I ever had since I started going for meals there like 7 years ago.

The change of management meant changes in not just the taste of the food but also the whole dinner experience.

We ordered the sashimi set, unagi set and the grilled chicken. The sashimi was still fresh but the serving has been reduced by at least 30%. The unagi contained loads of bones and didn't taste all that fresh as it was fishy!!! The grilled chicken was undercooked and we had to send it back!

Give me a food Nazi that can provide good food with passion over a crew that doesn't take pride in what they serve,

Furthermore, service was slower than ever...

Boy do I miss the good ole days ...

I went there many times before after seeing the reviews here,
satisfying experiences previously with yummy and affordable Jap food,
and this was the only time I was truly disappointed.

The sliced rawfish now comes in thin and small portions,
and I realized they've also cut back the portions for appetizers.
The sushi rice was also not well done with too much vinegar.
It's no longer value for money will small portions and
bad food.

Service was VERY slow compared to the past,
and some of the food came lukewarm.
Eg appetizers.

Don't expect prompt refills of green tea anymore.

the most delicious part of the meal was probably the watermelon which needed not much preparation.

Will not be back.

A reminder of Tsukiji, and not because of the fish. Well to be fair, I didn't try the sashimi although the large chunks of fresh looking salmon did look rather enticing. We had walked past Wasabi Teh several times before, and decided to brave the queue to try it just once.

Food: Came with the folks so we ordered four sets to share, i.e the salmon claypot, the grilled saba, the teriyaki beef and the teriyaki cod. The claypot wasn't all that great, I didn't try the saba, the beef was pretty good and the cod was just OK, have had better elsewhere. I liked the pork and seaweed appetiser, and the watermelons for dessert were quite sweet.

Service: So-so.

Ambience: Reminds me of the miniscule sushi bars in Tsukiji.

Queued for 40 mins not cos it was popular but 'cos food came slowly and the place was tiny. Food was just average and I wouldn't care to repeat the experience. Wasn't THAT cheap either.

Singaporeans seem to be fond of standing in line, something I am unable to comprehend after all these years. From Hello Kitty to Louis Vuitton, Wasabi Tei should be added to this distinguished list.

I have seen people queueing for over half an hour for a place at this 16-seat hole in the wall. I would like to state right off the bat that this is not something I would do. If you wish to dine here, I recommend arriving just before they open for either lunch or dinner (12pm and 530pm respectively, I believe). This should ensure a place in the first seating.

Wasabi Tei seems to inspire strong emotions in the people who dine there. These range from a cult-like following to vitriolic hatred. Indeed, diners should be prepared for grumpy and unfriendly proprietors. Customer interaction is kept to a bare (really bare) minimum.

There are certain taboos to watch out for when dining here. Some are reasonable, such as being charged extra for making a second order. I believe this is only fair to the customers who have been waiting patiently outside the restaurant. Others are idiosyncrasies peculiar to the couple running the place, such as not placing your personal effects on the table, or placing anything at all on the sashimi display case. These are fairly simple conditions to comply with. If one feels that a paying customer should not be obliged to do these things, don't bother dining here and making yourself unhappy.

Food-wise, I'm going to borrow a phrase from an earlier reviewer. The hallmark of this place would be generous portions of above average food. Cooked food worth trying include the teriyaki salmon ($10 for the set), unagi with rice (about $13?) and the cod hot pot ($18 set). The portions are big and make for a hearty meal. The ingredients are fresh and have never given me a stomach ache. If you're on a budget, but still remain unsatisfied, top it off with a portion of salmon maki ($3) which is again, generous for the price. It's really comfort food. I don't think teriyaki flavoured/hotpot cooked food could be anything else. If you're not expecting fine cuisine, you're less likely to be disappointed.

If raw fish is your thing, the sushi set ($15), which comprises of (I think) 2 pieces each of maguro, sake and tai (tuna, salmon and sea bream). The fish is generously sized and rather fresh. I'd rate the fish as being of higher quality than your standard conveyor sushi chains, but below that of Dining Sun/Waraku/Sushi Tei. Everything above applies to the sashimi set (also $15), which comes with a bowl of rice and several slices of sashimi of the same varieties. Again, the raw fish here has never given me a stomach ache, despite my rather delicate digestive system.

There is no service charge here. Some might find this appropriate because there doesn't seem to be any service. However, the food is served to you fast, and your green tea (if this is your beverage of choice) is frequently refilled. An arbitrary charge of 2 dollars is charged per diner, which gets you a drink.

Contrary to what some people claim, the proprietors do not actually glare at you for talking loudly. Then again, my idea of being noisy might not be considered as such by some. If you feel restrained by being unable to indulge in rowdy, uncouth behaviour, you might find dining her to be an unpleasant, repressive experience. I find it rather pleasant not having to be regaled by the stories of other diners, despite the close proximity in which everyone is seated.

Food might not be of the highest quality, hygiene might not be of the highest level, but everything is decent and quite affordable. A meal can cost as little as $12 and rarely exceeds $20 here. Taking into account its centralised location (adjacent to the Orchard Road belt and right outside the thrice-damned ERP zone), I'll probably return for the value and convenience.

We were there at 5:45pm to avoid the dinner crowd and luckily there were 7 seats left available although they operated at 5:30pm.

The service was not great, some may even feel offended. But viewed it as those traditional family oriented restaurant with tasty value food BUT limited seating capacity. Not a place for wine and dine or to impress your gal sort of restaurant.

Freshness was their main attractiveness and the standardization servicing like all corporate restaurant was non existence there. For example, some grilled items may be more charred, Maki may not be fully coated with roe. The imperfection did not affect the taste but enhance the visual effect of home cooked food.

We definitely will be back for more!

One of the things you notice about this place is the ridiculous queue outside the place nearing dinner time even thou there were tons of eating places around there. Waited 1 full hour in the queue before we got a seat, only because the gf REALLY wanted to eat there.

Food is very cheap for the portions. Chef is very generous with portions and doesn't hold back. The cod hotpot and the various sashimi sets are very value for money and are popular. That's about all that's good about the place. Generous above average food.

But good heavens, the service. Maybe the couple running the place is spoilt by the very patient queues daily to believe that they are now doing us a favour to serve us food. Or maybe they are just both clinically depressed.
I'm a self professed patient diner and usually try to be nice and patient to service staff. But is it really necessary to act like they resent every single one of their customer? The black faces, the barking at customers at any sort of "extra" requests, the weird 20% extra if you dun make all your orders at 1 go rule, the throwing of dishes at your table, etc etc. I can almost swear they roll their eyes everytime a customer walks in.
Really, if they feel that their customers are a burden to them, they really should wind it up. It's not just bad service, it's plain rude and agitating.
As a result of their attitude, the whole dining experience is very sombre and depressing. Nobody talks, nobody laughs, nobody smiles. Everyone just dutifully eats up and pay up and leave, probably afraid of being told off if they linger.
It feels like everyone is on death roll and having their final meal. This is NOT the way to dine.

Just because they are willing to have a thinner profit margin (with increased cost of bigger food portions) is absolutely no excuse for them to act this way. It's so rude that it's unacceptable even if WE are the ones getting paid and THEY (the owners) are the customers.
Yes, for the portions and the fare, it is cheap. But if you really want cheap shashimi, better off buying it off Cold Storage sushi counter and eat at home. At least you don't have to face someone serving you like you stole their childhood sweetheart.