japanese infatuation

"Tomorrow let's go for a proper date in a nice restaurant," I said. "It's been a while since we treated ourselves."

"But every dinner together is a nice date," she retorted. "It's the company, not the food, that is important."

At that moment we passed En Japanese Dining Bar, which had newly opened a branch in Crown Centre next to Coronation Plaza. The banner outside read "Opening 30% discount until 31 May". The date was 31 May, so I said, "Why don't you call them and if they are extending the discount we will go tomorrow." Turns out the discount was extended till 15 Jun, so we went. And loved it.

We ordered several items to share of the a la carte menu, and each one was magnificent. First there was the unagi fried rice, which came in a long log dish. The unagi must have been very well blended into the rice, because it was not noticable at a cursory glance. But once on the palate, the rich taste of eel just wafts over the taste buds, leaving you no doubt that the rice is indeed steeped in the fragrance of freshly stewed unagi.

Another fond memory is of the beef carpaccio, which came as thin slices of finely marbled beef. Some slices appeared almost milky white in appearance, and were so rich in fat they simply melted in the mouth.

Even an ordinary dish like agedeshi tofu came with an interesting topping that looked like turnip paste, but turned out to be some sort of tangy chilli. And the sashimi salad on lettuce came drizzled in a deliciously sour dressing that hinted at ginger and fermented tofu. Even a carnivore like I was tempted enough to down some of the greens.

We were really sad that we didn't have a camera for that meal. Usually we each carry one, but sadly we were both travelling light that day, so we could not capture the lovely presentation of each dish.

All in all, it was such a good meal that I just had to blog about it, and remind everyone that if they would like to have a good meal, the 30% offer is valid until 15 June. Better call to make a reservation, because the place is always packed!

En Japanese Dining Bar @ Bukit Timah Pte. Ltd.
557 Bt Timah Rd #01-14/16 Crown Centre Singapore 269694
Tel : 6468 5131