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.

Laurent’s Café – Full Menu in Orchard

My dining companions and I were looking for a place to eat dinner on a weekend when we chanced upon Laurent's Café, tucked away in a quiet corner at the basement of Robinsons Orchard where Costa Coffee used to be. Most of us have tried the sweets from Laurent Bernard Chocolatier, with presence in Robertson Quay and Portsdown as well as takeaway counters at Takashimaya and Hitachi Tower. But not its savoury dishes and decided to give it a shot. As brunch was only served 'til 6pm, we settled for other items on the menu. We started with cold Laurent's Lemonade (orange, lemon, grapefruit, lime juice, brown sugar and soda), hot Double Cappuccino and my disappointing Café Mocha that was too diluted for my liking. Ordered a French Onion Soup and Lobster Bisque for sharing – the former was nothing like the one my dining companion had in France while the latter also turned out very different from all the versions we had in Singapore, France and other parts of Europe.

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.