...have a taste of Japan in Singapore?

I made a new discovery in Far East Plaza today.

I met a friend for dinner today and after shopping around with little to show for it, we were both famished. My friend then suggested having Japanese food.

"It's supposed to be good....Somewhere on Level 5," she quipped. She was about to call her friend (for the umpteenth time, according to her) to ask about the venue when we noted a queue quietly forming just around the escalator on Level 5.

Understanding that "queue=good food", we figured that there was little to lose and swiftly joined the queue. To our delight, the queue moved quickly and before long, we were greeted warmly by the waitress at the entrance. We were fortunate, because there seemed to be a lot of reservations and we managed to get in only because we promised to finish our food in one hour.

We soon found out that Nanbantei Japanese Restaurant's specialty was Yakitori and decided on a Set B combination and grilled Saba to share. Set B came with sashimi, eight sticks of Yakitori, rice, miso and pickles. Every stick tasted really good - tasty and not too greasy. Personally, I enjoyed the beef, tomato and chicken the most!

Overall, the food was a tad salty, but otherwise yummy. The decor was typical of a Japanese restaurant - small and cozy. The chefs (at least one of them) were Japanese and I particularly liked the part where the entire crew greeted every guest who comes into the restaurant!

Though very different, Nanbantei* reminds me of Gonpachi in Tokyo, which also serves Yakitori. For an hour, I felt I was back in Tokyo. Until I visit Japan again, I guess this will be one of the choices** whenever I need my Yakitori fix! :)



* Nanbantei Japanese Restaurant, Far East Plaza, #05-132.

** I will remember to bring my camera the next time so that there are pictures to show how good the food looked!