I had the pleasure of being treated to a delicious Japanese lunch by a vendor at Tatsu Teppanyaki, located at CHIJMES. After CHIJMES' recent facelift, Tatsu has downsized to a small restaurant which only has 1 main teppanyaki area further in and a small bar counter seating near the entrance.

All of us ordered the bento lunches (ranges from S$20++ to S$38++)because they're a lot more value-for-money compared to ala carte menu. The menu has definitely shrunk from their pre-facelift version.

I ordered the Sashimi Unajyu set (S$35++) and here's what made up the bento, starting from the top left corner in a clockwise manner:

• Salad with wafu dressing
• Hamachi head stew with radish and ginger (seasonal)
• Milk pudding 
• Sashimi
• Fish floss
• Unagi on rice

For the price, I was expecting everything to be super super delicious and here's where there were a few ups and downs. The salad was expected so nothing to fault.

The hamachi was ok but as it was from the head, there was quite a bit of bone and my boss (who ordered the same set) gave up eating it. Oddly enough, my bowl had radish while my boss' one doesn't. Same dish but they look completely different except for the colour and garnish.

The milk pudding was full of bubbles, resulting in a less-than-perfect smooth dessert, which would've been a delightful end to the meal.

The sashimi was very fresh! The fish floss was delicious but I didn't know whether to eat it alone or with the rice because it was rather sweet. The unagi and the sauce was one of the best that I've eaten in a very long time! The flesh was smooth and tender while the skin was not tough or chewy. The sauce was faultless. However, you'd think that for S$35++, we'd be served proper Japanese rice. Alas, the rice did not taste like it's 100% Japanese short grain. I could've gone 3 shops down to Onyasai Shabu-shabu to get Japanese rice and then my unajyu would've been perfect.

Was it delicious? Definitely. Was it worth S$35++? Mm...not quite. I sincerely hope that their Teppanyaki is better.

Tatsu Teppanyaki
30 Victoria Street
#01-08 CHIJMES
Singapore 187996

Tel: +65 6332 5868
Website: http://www.tatsu.com.sg/