[review]
Being an avid user of social media, needless to say I’m always surfing blogs, twitter, plurk, forums and other social media tools. There’s where I would usually looking for good places to eat and all.
When I first saw a few tweets on this place called Standing Sushi Bar, I was a bit intrigued. Friends who know me would know that my 2 favourite foods would have to be sashimi and steak.
This owner of Standing Sushi Bar was answering queries, making conversation, talking about his food all on Twitter! This was one of the few places I knew who would do so.
I decided to give it a test by making reservations on Twitter and made arrangements to go.
The whole concept of Standing Sushi Bar is basically to stand and eat but being lazy people, Gracey and I chose to sit. (Chairs are only provided during dinner time.)
We ordered an assortment of sashimi, sushi and some other snacks and it was really yummy!
Howard, the owner of Standing Sushi Bar kept plying Gracey and I mad amounts of sake.
Had way too many.
Howard and Chef Roy smiled gamely for my camera.
I am no food blogger or food connoisseur but I do think that Standing Sushi Bar serves really fresh sashimi. Food is good, service is good however… the food might be a bit expensive for those on a budget compared to other sushi joints.
In which case, I would advice you to try omakase.
From Wikipedia:
Omakase (???) is a Japanese phrase that means “It’s up to you” (from Japanese ??, entrust).
The expression is used at sushi restaurants to leave the selection to the chef. It differs from ordering à la carte. The chef will generally present a series of plates, beginning with the lightest fare and proceeding to heaviest, richest dishes.The phrase is not exclusive to service of raw fish with rice, and can incorporate grilling and simmering as well. Customers ordering omakase style expect the chef to be innovative and surprising in the selection of dishes, and the meal can be likened to an artistic performance by the chef.Ordering omakase can be a gamble; however, the customer typically receives the highest quality fish the restaurant currently has in stock at a price cheaper than if it was ordered à la carte. From the restaurant’s perspective, a large number of customers ordering omakase can help in planning for food costs.
Howard told us about the concept of omakase and Gracey and I decided to come back together with her friend Celeste and my friend David to try the omakase.
We waited in anticipation (and a bit of fear). We had set a budget of $70/pax (you have to set a budget, it goes at a minimum of $50/pax) and we were really excited about the food.
Guess who was beside us?
Stephie and Mr Stephie! If you find that (side profile of) Stephie looked familiar, that’s because she was one of the Blogathon participants and she writes the fantastic fashion blog Fashion Nation!
The food soon arrived.
1st course: Sliced beef.
I found this really yummy and tasty. A nice appetiser.
2nd course: Salmon, the soft bone bits.
I’m not a big fan of salmon and honestly this dish didn’t do it for me. However, I gamely ate more than half of it.
3rd course: Assorted sashimi
Needless to say, this was our favourite course. There was even scallop! Really yummy and really good!
4th course: hamachi.
Usually I’m not a big fan of fish but this dish was really delish. There was no strong fishy aftertaste (which I really detest). Much nicer than salmon imho.
5th course: oysters.
If I remembered correctly, there was a cheesy sauce on it. Interesting dish!
6th course: Seafood + brinjal
Extremely sinful but extremely yummy! The sauce on this dish was really tasty! Wonder if I get the recipe from Chef Roy… hmmm
Miso Soup was served after the 6th course and I mistook it as the 7th course. Oops.
7th course: assorted sushi
I think it was salmon, scallop and unagi. Reallly goood! Check out the huge unagi piece!
8th course: Icecream
The final course was a scoop of delish black sesame icecream. Totally hit the spot!
We really enjoyed ourselves and I returned for another omakase trip with some other blogger friends the week after. In fact, I’m heading back tomorrow! Go for the omakase, I’m absolutely hooked to it. Great value for money! 😉
nadnut’s rating on ambience, food, service and value for money:
If you’ll like to check out the place, here are the details:
Standing Sushi Bar
1 Raffles Place
#B1-02B OUB Centre
Singapore 048616
(t) 6 533 7078
(e) eat@standingsushibar.com
Open Monday – Saturday
11:30 AM – 10:00 PM
Heh, I rem that scene when you and Gracey were piled with sake – cos I was just sitting right beside you! Bravo – you live to tell the tale!
Anyway just to clarify a few points:
1) Their seats come out after the lunch crowd is over which usually means 3pm or so, not exactly dinner time.
2) And that huge piece of sushi isn’t exactly unagi, but Anago – its boiled salt-water eel brushed with sauce. A more prized version of the eel.
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Me like jap food!!!
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Ooh! The food looks great! I’ve heard about this place, never had the chance to go and take a look.
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HFB: Thanks for the clarification!
Princessa: We should go there soon!
San: You should totally check the place out!
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