Grande. Eats : 312. Tetsu (哲)

Tetsu (哲), prides itself on being Singapore's most famous Japanese restaurant for authentic Kushi-style (meaning on skewers) Tempura and Tonkatsu menu. They have come up with a new menu recently. It was my first time to Tetsu even though I have always put Tetsu on my list after seeing the raved reviews by LIC.

Kani Tofu @$8 (L), Sashimi Salad @$9.80(R)

Kani, or I should say imitation crabmeat was added to the tofu. The tofu was not the silken kind but the kind with egg added. Kani gave the sweetness to the tofu and the slightly pungent century egg balanced out the eggy taste.

Sashimi Salad, greens with sashimi cubes. Drizzle the vinegary sauce over and you get a healthy dish. I realised that carrot was very finely minced and added in the sauce. That's one more vegetable to your garden salad. This is the Tetsu's specially concocted wafu dressing. I felt it's always good to have a salad before feasting on the fried food.

Fugu Mirin Boshi @$10(L), Kawa Ebi Karaage @$8(R)

Again, it's my first time to taste fugu (puffer fish). I have seen chefs in a drama preparing puffer fish sashimi. Don't be deceived by the cute appearance of the puffer fish. Cute can also kill! Fugu is lethally poisonous. It is the second MOST POISONOUS vertebrate in the world. On Tetsu's menu, what you get is dried puffer fish seasoned with sake. It tasted like bak kwa minus off the greasiness. It's a great beer/sake snack. You should give it a try!

The kawa ebi karaage, deep fried river shrimps, were not small. They were short and fat. Sashimi Moriawase @$55

Assorted Sashimi. I looked at it, I beamed. I ate them, my beam broke into a laugh. Amari desu~ Oiishi desu~ The sashimi was very fresh and they were sweet. DELICIOUS.

Yaki Niku @$16

Grilled beef tenderloin slices. The succulent hand-grilled beef slices were coupled with a sauce which tasted like the Japanese worcestershire sauce newly created in the hands of Tetsu's chefs to suit this dish. It managed to seduce one who turns away from beef everytime to say that the yaki niku was tasty and didn't reject a second slice. It was this good. Must-try!

Hiyashi Udon @$6.80

I like udon but most of the time I had my udon fried. This udon was very different from those that we get from supermarkets. 3 reasons why you should eat udon. First of all, it was air-flown from Japan. Second, it was thinner. Thirdly, the udon was surprisingly very tangy. The cold udon was light and refreshing.

Katsu Curry Rice @$16.50

I loved curry but my heart is more receptive to the Japanese curry. Singaporeans loved spicy food. Tetsu's curry rice had a mild spiciness and hey, it did not have a powdery taste. Once, I watched a Taiwanese variety show on food, featuring a famous braised pork trotters outlet in Taiwan. When asked why is it that their pork trotters is so good, the chef replied that it was because they have been using the same pot of braise sauce to cook the pork trotters for many YEARS!

Fear not, Tetsu's curry has not been re-cooked for many years. I came across Tetsu's interview on papers and got to know that their curry could only be served after a night of rest. The chef said this will make the curry tastier as the contents in the curry had submerged, thus making the taste matured and then it's ready to serve. Ah....the cooking knowledge in there. The pork katsu was very different. The breaded crust went "ka-cha" as I took a bite. So crispy. The meat was juicy. If you like curry rice, try Tetsu's.

Grilled Wagyu Slices

Extra. Out of the menu, a courtesy of Chef 谢. While waiting for our other dishes to arrive, Chef made us this dish. Take a closer look at the marbling and notice the hand-grilled to perfection skills, I don't mind another plate. It was very delicious, chef!

Yuzu Ice-cream on Strawberry Sherbet @$5.80 (L), Goma Ice-cream

The yuzu (柚子) ice-cream was unique because usually we see the very common choice, matcha ice-cream in Japanese restaurants and not yuzu. The ice-cream was smooth and also very refreshing as it was with a tinge of sourness. It tasted like a hybrid of lemon and grapefruit and/or sour mandarins. A citrus fruit. Lots of vitamin-C. Makes the perfect ice-cream in this hot summer.

Tetsu's new menu at a whole new level brought with it good food and service. I had a very good lunch at Tetsu.

Extra: Tetsu's "Summer-licious" brings you summer favourites at a special price from just $4.80 on Mon-Thurs evenings.

Thanks to Tetsu and Racheal for the hosting.

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