Akanoya Robatayaki

The door is always closed, whether or not the place is opened for business. On the left of the entrance, you can see its opening hours. My dining companions and I made a reservation for dinner on a Saturday. Sliding the doors apart, we stepped in and saw three U-shaped counters where diners sit around. Behind each are two chefs and separating them from us are raw ingredients – some in their packaging while meats were skewered on sticks and seafood covered with ice for freshness. Like a marketplace as the staff who served us, shouted our orders with the respective quantities in Japanese and the rest (if they were not busy) acknowledged as loudly together. Food was slow-grilled and passed to diners via a wooden oar, just like how Japanese fishermen used to grill their catch over an open fire using an oar.

Gyoza Ya

Gyoza Ya first opened last year at the basement of Robinsons Orchard between Laurent's Café and Sushi Goshin, also by the Akashi Group. It has since expanded its presence to B4 of Ion Orchard opposite 4 Fingers Crispy Chicken. I have been to both branches on different occasions and tried its Yaki Meshi or Seafood Fried Rice, Tokusei Tonkotsu Ramen, Pan-Fried and Boiled Dumpling with Pork. There was a lovely wok hei in the fried rice with every grain evenly seasoned nicely and no lack of ingredients to go with every satisfying mouth of rice. Special pork bone soup was flavourful yet light and springy ramen was cooked just right. But the only piece of chashu was so chunky that the fats were too cloying and the meat tough. Skin of gyoza was thin with the pan-fried version crispy on one side. Preferred this to the boiled ones. Both were packed with generous filling of delectable and succulent pork. Sit at the counter if you want to watch how these are uniformly wrapped.

You may also be interested in Gyoza King by Keisuke Takeda.

London Fat Duck

Do not confuse London Fat Duck with Four Seasons Chinese Restaurant and the acclaimed Fat Duck restaurant in Bray, England, by celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal. Four Seasons Chinese Restaurant is a Hong Kong-style restaurant well-known for its roast duck, from London and located on the 2nd floor of Capitol Piazza. While London Fat Duck is a joint venture between the Fei Siong and Akashi groups, located opposite Maison Kayser at the basement of Scotts Square. Fei Siong's stable of restaurants include Eat and Legendary Hong Kong at Jurong Point. Other than the Akashi Japanese Restaurant, Akashi's include Akanoya at Orchard Parade Hotel, Gyoza-Ya and Sushi Goshin at Robinsons Orchard. A chef with experience in Hong Kong's Yung Kee was hired to roast the "wagyu of ducks" supplied by a farm in Ireland.

Sushi Goshin by Akashi

Sushi Goshin by Akashi opened its 1st branch on the 2nd floor of Suntec City last year. The 2nd, located at the basement of Robinsons Orchard where HMV used to be the anchor tenant at The Heeren, was almost empty when I visited on Monday evening. Replacing the physical menu (it would probably be useful to also provide a copy) is an iPad at every table to be shared between two, which I found a hassle to "flip" especially when comparing items across pages. Did not try any of its sushi but had a bowl of braised pork belly noodle soup instead while my dining companions ordered set dinners served with miso soup, rice and watermelon slices. We also shared a very small portion of sweet puffer fish, reminiscent of bak kwa and cuttlefish, sweet potato tempura I could not rave about or fault and a seasonal whole fish sashimi – thinly-sliced and a tad warmer than I liked with sweetness accentuated by its dipping sauce instead of the familiar lemon slice, wasabi and/or grated radish.