Tampopo Part II - The Side Dishes

I am slightly more satisfied with the side dishes in general, although there are some I really would not order again.

Light Cheese Chiffon Cake

This is an easy one to review. It is just as its name suggest. Light, a bit of cheese on top, no cheese taste in the cake, ultra holey and spongy = chiffon, and in the shape of a cake.

The crust was not crispy, and it didn't have resistance. I am not sure if chiffon cakes should have resistance, but the pandan cake that I can get from no name shops at the neighbourhood market has resistance, so I don't see why others shouldn't. What I mean is you bite the cake all the way down to something like 0.5cm, and feel a sort of stop because all that sponge packs up to a point, like when you squeeze a dish sponge, you can't squeeze it all down till 0.00001 mm right. Then you give a final bite, and it breaks.

Rating: 0/5
Have no idea what this is supposed to be. A creation to waste your money. I ordered because I saw that this only left one in the display refrigerator, while the others had more left. I know Hokkaido steam cakes are a delicacy, but light chiffon cake??? More like a modern creation.

Red Bean Green Tea Ice Cream

Ah, yes, this is good. I quite like to see the red bean in whole (even though I like prefer red bean to be slightly mashed because the best red bean desserts around all have slightly mashed beans, such as Toa Payoh ice kachang).

I like the way the red bean doesn't taste like sugar soaked, because it is unhealthy and also void of any bean taste. Well, if you had the misfortune of venturing so far as to eat the red bean glutinous rice ball green tea ice cream at Ramen Play, a spin-off of BreadTalk, you'd get what I mean by sugar soaked. If you haven't tried that, then thank your lucky stars, because it's not nice.

The green tea ice cream is very strong with green tea taste! I always say bringing out the matcha green tea taste is another culinary art. Green tea taste in green tea is already not easy to bring out, and lots of times, you will find that tea bag green teas are bland. Trying to make that taste into the main character and bloom is a challenge especially when Singaporeans are lovers of strong tastes, because it means you get your money worth and the ingredient is what we call 真才实料, real and truthful, not just out to make $$$.

The consistency of this ice cream is more Westernized, and closer to cream than ice. Japanese ice cream is actually more towards ice than cream. In fact, you'd find that most Japanese ice creams are close to 100% ice, like Azabu Sabo's. So this really depends on whether you're a purist or just want to eat ice cream.

I like both, and I think if want to make an ice cream, either you make it ice, or cream. If the quality is somewhere in between, then the review marks given will also only be somewhere in between. Yup, this is nice. I really don't mind going in to Tampopo and sit down with some friends for chit chat, just eating this. =)


Rating: 4.5/5
I think Haagen Dazs is still the best for cream green tea ice cream, so no full marks.

Pan-fried Gyoza

I ordered pan-fried because the waitress said it's better, even though they have deep fried, which is the latest.

I think this is okay. It passes, but okay. The juice doesn't squirts out, and it's kind of really, really tiny. The taste is quite nice.

Rating: 3/5
Eat if you die-die must have gyoza that day. But not a must-try. And it's tiny, so not worth it. You can get better ones at the same price nearby.

Salmon Sashimi Sushi

This looks very appealing. I think I can announce that gone are the days when you get tiny pieces of ingredients, especially salmon, like those at Sakae. I have been seeing more and more and more of sushi with size of ingredients like this and little rice (preferably in the range of 250 - 300 grains).

However, the salmon wasn't quite as fresh as I'd like it. I think Watami has the freshest seafood so far, and Itacho is above average too.

Also, the rice wasn't really vinergarized. And even if it was, it is not the sweet that should be. Try Itacho for this feeling.


Rating: 3/5
Okay. Again, no need to order unless you are craving for salmon sashimi.

Will I go back?

Maybe, merely for trying the rice dishes. However, there are too many Japanese restaurants in the Clarke Quay area that it is highly unlikely.

Will I recommend this place to people?

No. Despite the commendable service, and big space, I find it hard to give a reason to people to come here. It's like Yoshinoya. I tell my friends, go there during peak hour when you can't find seats no matter how, because it's always empty.

Overall Restaurant Rating: 5.5/10