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hola! i'm back with a food review of two places i visited recently, PARK at holland village (very neart hv mrt) and tanuki raw bar (inside orchard central, level 2).
as usual, i'm not a food connoisseur so please don't expect cheem food terms or expert opinions from me haha, but you can expect honest reviews!
so first up, tanuki raw bar!
location wise, this is conveniently located within orchard central, its right beside the travellator at level 2.
i've been here two times, once for the lunch promo on a weekday and the second time for dinner on a weekend.
needless to say my experience with the former is much better, as prices were cheaper with the lunch promo set and service was better as they weren't understaffed.
here's a glimpse of the lunch menu!
i'd recommend the salmon don and truffle yakiniku don (for meat lovers).
for $12 and $14.80 respectively, you get a main, salad, and miso soup, very worth the price for the quality of the food imo.
what i (really) like about the salmon don is that unlike normal salmon dons which just gives you rice and some salmon slices, the rice in this version is so so good, they mix it with some japanese fish flakes and seasoning and boy, it makes a world of a difference! (this should mean something, coming from someone who hates rice).
also, they have a variety of salmon! cooking style differing i mean.
there is classic sashimi slices, roe, torched salmon, and cubed salmon marinated in some special sauce.
so so good!!
now, the truffle yakiniku beef don is the signature at tanuki.
i have to say when this first arrived at the table i was abit shocked cos the beef really looked quite raw!
i'm not a meat lover so i'd have to say this wasn't my favourite, but, the rice for this was yummier than the salmon one, maybe cos after we broke the egg and mixed it in with the rice, it was more fragrant and had a tint of truffle.
as for the beef, it was quite soft, but still abit hard to chew imo.
but i know meat lovers who are accustomed to eating steak etc will find this very enjoyable!
upclose of the onsen egg and beef!
we also added on a salmon mentaiko roll, which was alright imo but definitely loses out to the ones at the sushi bar (far east plaza).
overall, i would say tanuki raw bar is a place worth visiting, for its central location and quality food!
its better if you go during weekdays and lunch though, its alot more worth it.
some photos of my lunch buddies!
and up next, PARK at holland village!
i more or less ordered the same items during my two visits here, namely the truffle mac and cheese, prawn mentaiko pasta, truffle fries and eggs benny.
the mac and cheese's portion in real life is super small, but believe me when i say it packs a punch.
this is one dish that definitely has to be shared cos it gets gelat after a few mouthfuls, though the first few mouthful tastes so so good and heavenly.
i personally prefer the crisp side on top, where the cheese and macaroni is baked till slightly harder and crispier, as compared to the ones inside which are softer.
and this was the favourite of the meal, the prawn mentaiko pasta!
the mentaiko sauce for this was rather liquid, as compared to five and dime's which was thicker.
you can read my review on five and dime's pasta here.
personally, i like both, but i prefer five and dime's cos i like my mentaiko pasta to be more flavourful.
my dining buddy however prefered PARK's for its less gelat and less "fishy" taste, as she describes.
but basically, this dish is still good, so do try it!
i liked that they cooked the pasta al dente and was generous with the prawns as well!
for sharing, we ordered truffle fries.
this was not bad, good for sharing cos the portion is quite big.
i would say its quite alright, but not the best truffle fries i've had!
and lastly, the classic eggs benny.
they were quite generous with the salad, bacon and potatoes.
however this whole dish is just quite normal, nothing very special to rave about.
so unless you're really really craving eggs, give this a miss and try out their other items!
park is also nicely decorated and quite instagrammable for otds etc as you can see!
so yup, thats the end of my short review!
hope you guys found it informative:)
till the next;
xoxo
