Welcome to Japanese Food Paradise!
Here's the lowdown about Sakana Tei.... it's located on the 4th floor of Cuppage Centre and is surrounded by upmarket sleazy health centres and KTV lounges, it is a 10 seater restaurant and all seats are at the counter facing the chef, it has one chef that does the cooking, serving and washing up, the chef is not even Japanese, there is no menu so you do not get to choose what you eat, it isn't cheap....
Who in the right mind will want to come here for a meal?!?!? :P
On the contrary, this is Japanese Food heaven. This little known restaurant was recommended to us by Wen's buddy Pauline (who by the way is a real artist when it comes to manicuring and pedicuring... She's the best really...) We were blown away by the food the first time we went to Sakana Tei and ever since then, we've basically bitched about all other Jap food that we've had. This would be our regular haunt if it wasn't for the fact that it's really bloody expensive to dine here especially since it's no posh restaurant...
And so with a hearty greeting to our favourite non-Japanese Japanese Chef, he proceeded to prepare a bottle of our favourite sake in the restaurant...
This Sake has got absolutely no English words on it's labeling so i shall just name it "Very-Good-Sake". Now Very-Good-Sake is an absolute delight to drink. It is very flavourful, smooth and easy to drink. Best thing is that it pairs very well with the chef's cooking. In terms of quality, it is pretty close to our favourite Sake which is a Junmai Ginjo Sake called Kokuryu. Sake is served in a little Sake Pot that does what it's suppose to do, keep it cold! It's a really pretty pot and has a container in the middle to hold the ice without letting it melt and ruin the sake and apparently, you can't get this in Singapore. Hmmm, business idea here...
For starters, we were served a mean dish of "Tang-Oh" with Shitake Mushrooms. Perfect way to clear the palettes and wet up the appetite!
Next up was a dish specially created by the chef himself. I've never seen this done in any of the Jap restaurants i have been to. It basically fried prawns wrapped with fish roe.. this is AWESOME!!!
Then came our favourite dish.... the beef tongue! I cannot emphasize just how good the chef makes this dish. I know many people shiver at the thought of biting into a cow's tongue but if you can just remove that fear, this will be one of your favourite dishes of all time. I guarantee you that... We've spoken to the chef on this dish in depth and he was educating us on how it is so important to eat the inner part of the tongue rather than the tip. It's the inner part that ensures the juiciness and tenderness. If i had to write a book about the top 10 things you need to do before you die, one of them would be to try this Chef's Beef Tongue....
The one thing i hate about writing food blogs is that i end up getting really hungry when i write them! And it doesn't help when i take such good pictures of the food *Gloat*. So, i need to give my stomach a rest now and talk about something that is food related but not food itself.... The Chef! Chef Ming Fa is a Malaysian that has been well trained in the secrets of Japanese cuisine. His family in malaysia runs restaurants as well and i guess he has been blessed with the cooking genes. He had been training under a real Jap chef over the last few years and through his hardwork, gift and creativity has managed to come up with a list of specialty jap dishes you will never find anywhere else. Ming Fa is about the nicest person you will ever meet. He is always very jolly, friendly and very chatty. When Wen and I go to Sakana Tei for dinner, we always go with the mentality that we will be having the chef as our guest for dinner :)
Ok back to the food.... and i'm not even a quarter way through yet!!!
Next up was the Beef fillet.... Done the way we like it... medium rare... so juicy, so tender, so tasty, Yummmy.....
Then came the vegetables... First off was this vegetable shoot thing called "Niu Bang" in Chinese. I have no idea what it is called in English nor Japanese. It was then followed by the Kakiage (Fried Vegetables). One of Ming Fa's specialties is that he makes a mean batter and when he uses that to cook his food, they always end up tasting crisy and tasty without the oiliness. Wen has gone so far as to claim that his Kakiage is the best she has ever tasted.
That certainly seems like a lot to eat for 2 people doesn't it? Well, we are not even halfway through....
Actually, i realise i am running out of adjectives to describe Chef Ming Fa's cooking so i think i'm going to let the pictures do the talking. If the pictures look good, believe me... the food taste even better....
Skewered Beef cubes with White Asparagus...
Best Chicken Terriyaki in the world. Look at how crispy the skin is... look at how juicy the meat is...
These oysters will seriously send you to eleventh heaven!!! They are size zero oysters which means they are HUMONGOUS!!! The perfect aphrodisiac... so for those who want a little "something" after dinner, this is it....
Chef Ming Fa realised that we have had too much on our palettes so he whipped up this cucumber dish that is very refreshing and helps clear up the taste buds for more goodies to come...
Pork ... oh glorious Pork... This "Kong Bak" would seriously put Westlake's Pork Buns to shame man.... look at how unfatty the fatty parts are, look at how tender the hard parts are... Mmmm...
Yam Noodles with Fish Roe... ok, i'm not a very big fan of this one. Wen loves it though...
NOW.... this dish will send some people scampering away. This looks like a completely innocent skewered chicken or pork. Well, it's actually pork but the meat comes from the Pig's Head. We were a bit skeptical when Chef Ming Fa asked if we were willing to try eating Pig's Head. But he did assure us that it would be very very good... we took his word for it and the rest is history. I will want Pig's head meat everytime i step into Sakana Tei!!! Heck, i want it for every meal of my life!!!
And so after a million dishes later and two million dollars poorer, we went on our knees and begged the Chef not to cook up anymore otherwise we would be rolling out of the restaurant and i will be driving home using my tummy to steer the steering wheel of the car!
If there is one Japanese Restaurant you should try before you die, this is it.... Chef Ming Fa was explaining to us about how the rentals at Cuppage have gone all Looney and the boss of Sakana Tei may close this down after which we may never know if we will get to try out Ming Fa's cooking again so to be safe and not sorry, make your reservations NOW!
Btw, i was joking about the 2 million dollars bill... it's actually closer to $200+ out of which the Sake cost $70. Not that expensive? Yeah... we aren't that rich....
Sakana Tei
5 Koek Rd, #04-15
Cuppage Plaza
Cuppage Plaza
Singapore 228796
Tel: 62353390
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