Thursday, October 21, 2010

Sakuraya

Sakuraya
Shop 1A, Market Square, 341 Mains Rd, Sunnybank



Today was a really bad day for being decisive about what to eat. I initially was bent on Vietnamese but the closer we got to Sunnybank, the less certain I was. We ended up trawling through the entirety of Sunny Park Plaza before progressing to faithful Market Square.

I've known about Sakuraya for a while now though it is relatively new. A friend of mine went and said it was expensive so I automatically wrote it off. Since we were right there though, I opted to have a look for myself.



Rather than a paper menu, Sakuraya has a few display meals on their counter with the prices. I decided it didn't seem too expensive because most of the meals were in a set with lots of other dishes.



When we asked for a table, the cashier lady told us to order first. I had assumed the display was just an example of what they had to offer but it was actually their entire menu. Put on the spot, I wasn't entirely sure what to get. Byron chose the udon set meal so I went the opposite and got a katsu rice set meal.


Cute soy sauce bottle

Sakuraya is decked out nicely, which is expected since it's new and Japanese-themed. We're unsure about the 8 TV screens lining the back of the restaurant and how much they really contribute to the eating experience.

Udon set meal

Byron's udon set came first. There is a large bowl of veggie tempura udon noodle soup and a few accessory dishes including a steamed egg custard and some pickled bits and pieces.

I liked the salad. Though some of the leaves were questionable in terms of freshness, the dressing was nice. Japanese steamed egg custard is supposed to be light and silky with a minimal amount of air bubbles. This was tough and boring. The pickled veggies were OK but seemed to go against the theme? I thought they were more of a Korean thing...

Tempura udon close-up

The udon itself wasn't bad. I think Byron was disappointed by the lack of meat but he said the tempura eggplant was good. I really liked the soup but he said it was no different to any other udon soup so who knows.

Pork katsu set meal

My katsu meal took AGES to come out. I was getting real antsy about it because the difference in preparation time for the 2 meals was beyond reasonable. When it finally did, the quantity of 'stuff' was more than I expected. A few little plates were overlapped with what Byron had but mine came with a bowl of rice and a bowl of pork katsu instead of the udon. There was also the addition of a jug of Japanese curry and a small bowl of miso soup.

Pork katsu and salad

The katsu was crispy but very tough, dry and bland. Even after being drowned in the curry sauce (which was acceptable), the meat was distinctly chewy.

We're not hugely disappointed by Sakuraya because we didn't have high expectations to start with. One thing we know is it's not worth going back. I wouldn't say the food was terrible or way overpriced. The service was average but the environment was pleasant. More than anything else, it was just completely unremarkable and Sunnybank is too full of good eateries to bother with something that doesn't stand out.

9 comments:

  1. i'm surprised about your limited menu experience. someone i know applied for a job there a few weeks ago and i saw the whole paper menu she had to familiarise herself with - it was maybe A3 sized (definitely bigger than A4 sized), back and front, and full of writing (no/minimal pictures).

    but maybe that's only used for dinner... (obviously i've not been there myself to know one way or another).

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  2. Hey,
    I've passed this place a few times, and yea it looked nice, but I've never been in. Their menu is different in that it kinda puts you on the spot to order straight away while the staff kinda stand there looking at you, but thanks to your post I might give it a pass :)

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  3. i've never tried the food there myself coz it looked uninteresting but they do make some nice drink, although way more exxy than other pearl tea place.
    There's one which is like jap macha green tea with red bean drink (forgot the exact name) which u can ask the guy to change the milk to soy milk (good for me) and it has this nice chewy thing in it and it comes in a fat cup. worth a try if you really want to splurge urself one day ;)

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  4. Hi quop...
    Maybe your friend was studying the drink menu? I'm not sure if they have a more extensive dinner menu... it would be nice if that were the case.

    Hi Anonymous...
    I know exactly what you mean! We were totally put on the spot especially because I expected to be seated and presented with menus before being allowed a perusal period lol. Instead I just did a mad glance at everything and pointed 'that one'.

    Hi mochi...
    I saw quite a few people get drinks from there and yeh, the cups looked good :D. Didn't read the drinks menu though but might give it a crack. There's a bubble tea place called Chatime or something across the road in Sunnybank Plaza that has some interesting options.

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  5. u should definitely try out their dessert, especially the tiramisu, yum; though my friend didn't like it cause it wasn't the type of tiramisu she imagined..too soft for her or rather. i wasn't too overly impressed with their food menu either but i heard their drinks were good?

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  6. i think i know the one you're talking about, it's from taiwan they're nice coz they got like diff types of tea as compare to the only option of red or green at your average tea place. but more exxy and too fancy for me :p i much prefer the rainbow tea place opposite it great taste and great price!

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  7. hehehehhe...went here too! Drag my family with me because I was blinded by the macaron included in their plated desserts...the only thing we liked was the green tea ice cream with the red bean topping..=( The food was not really worth the price...

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  8. I wish I had read your comment before I go there...

    I went there for dinner today, and the had the same experience with you. My friend's meal came first and mine came around 30 minutes later.

    Interestingly, the waiter came to us said that they send the wrong meal after my friend started her meal.

    It was fried fish (which should be mine), but they said it was fried pork when they first send it to the table.

    Another thing I've noticed was the music they played was KOREAN music while the MV shown on the TV screen was JAPANESE singer's.

    Oh well... I have to say the drink they offer was quite nice, just the price was a bit...expensive.

    Yvonne

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  9. Hi Yvonne...

    Interesting observation about their music! Sounds like their service hasn't improved one bit. I have heard their drinks are good (albeit exxy).

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