Welcome Home Dinner at the Ministry of Food
A week after my return, family and I dined at My Izakaya, a respectable Japanese restaurant.
Back in Ann Arbor I had developed a liking for Japanese food, though it could have very well been the evil doing of American-concocted sushi. Those ‘california rolls’ and large servings of teriyaki sauces laid the foundation for a corrupted sampling of food from the nation of fish.
Restaurants such as “Sadako,” “Miki,” and “Nagomi Sushi & Noodles” were satisfiable substitutes for Japanese food in Ann Arbor. Now that I’m back in Singapore, I was curious to see what this island offered, since I wasn’t a big fan of the cuisine in all my years growing up here. My Dad recommended the Ministry of Food – a chain of restaurants – in which My Izakaya served Japanese meals and dessert.
Now that you’ve looked at the photos, here’s what okay, what’s awesome and what’s uh-uh. The good news is that, every dish passed. I can’t comment on the outright authenticity of the food (having never been to Japan), but it was indeed flavorful and unlike other cuisines. The salad was just okay, and the prawn tempura was fresh and crunchy but not much different from similar offerings in the U.S.
The best parts were the sashimi and the desserts. I’m more a fan of sushi than sashimi but this night probably turned the tables around. There’s something sexy about eating raw fish, and fresh, raw fish certainly made it a night to remember. It was like biting through warm butter.
But reports have it that My Izakaya’s reputation was built on their desserts. So we ordered both their Imo (a hot and cold dessert) and strawberry Hokkaido ice-cream. There’s a distinction between Hokkaido ice cream and regular soft-serve. Not only is the flavor somewhat packed in Hokkaido ice-cream, the texture is firmer and doesn’t melt as fast on your tongue. Thumbs up for quality but you pay almost S$6 for a rather puny scope (no American serving sizes here). The Imo is especially delectable when you combine the hot and cold powers of the dessert. Probably another unique characteristic of Japanese desserts.
Right beside my table were a group of young working adults who had come in solely for the desserts. That says a lot about what this restaurant is truly good for.
