Amongst the Japanese restaurants in Millenia Walk, this restaurant seemed to be the more popular one. When we left at 8:10pm, the restaurant was almost full while the neighbouring Japanese restaurants were pretty empty.
They presented to us only the Ala Carte Menu initially, and they only handed us the set menus when I requested for it. I’ve visited their website and viewed their menu, thus I knew they had sets available. I found it a bit unethical as clueless patrons would have missed out on the sets.
Green tea was served at no charge.
Gindara Zen Grilled Silver Cod Set with Sashimi – $24.00++
My friend commented that the cod wasn’t good and I tasted it too. Indeed, the cod was quite dry. It was pale in comparison to the cod from Izakaya Nijumaru. Despite the generous serving size, the cod was disappointing. Do not order this.
However, according to my friend, the salmon sashimi was acceptable.
Assorted Tempura Set with sashimi – $24.00++
Sakura Chirashi Don Set – $22.00++
The ala carte price for this was $20.00++. For $2.00++ you get chawanmushi, appetiser and watermelon.
Roasted Eel Set with sashimi – $24.00++
The serving size of the unagi was pretty generous. According to my friends (2 of them) who had this, the unagi was good.
Tempura, soba and sushi set – $20.00++
This was on a separate menu labelled as ‘weekly specials’. On the ala carte menu, tempura with soba cost $14.00++, so for $6.00++ more, I get 6 pcs sushi, 1pc tamago yaki, chawanmushi, appetiser and dessert.
This was what I ordered.
The tempura was tasty to me. However, for the piece I ate last, which was when it wasn’t getting cold, I felt it had some “sick oily” after taste. Do eat it when warm. The flour was pretty light, and it wasn’t too oily.
For the soba dip, they provided raw quail egg, much to my pleasure. The soba noodles were a bit too soggy however, but personally, I like my noodles soggy, so it’s good for me. I’m not much of a noodle person, but I guess people who are always after the Q factor in noodles wouldn’t like this.
The sushi was pretty good, other than the squid, which I didn’t like. The tamago yaki wasn’t the best. However, one bad thing about the sushi was that the rice wasn’t well pressed. It fell apart easily.
The chawamushi was more like custard texture than silken tofu texture. Personally, I do not have a preference for texture so it was fine to me. However, this chawamushi did not have the thick gravy on top (Fukuichi and Hinoki’s chawanmushi has that) which was to my disappointment. The egg however was well flavoured. It contained ingredients like prawns, meat, Japanese fishcake, ginko nut and mushroom.
For the appetiser, it was quite tasty. I liked it better than typical appetisers from Chikuwa Tei.
The miso soup wasn’t included in my set, but for the others who had it, they commented that it wasn’t warm. They said it tasted very normal. To see how it compares to other Japanese restaurants, please use my ratings from other posts as a guide for comparison.
*****
Ambiance: 7/10
Food: 7/10
Value: 6.5/10
Overall: the food standard of this restaurant wasn’t the most impressive. For similar standard, you can find it at Izakaya Nijumaru, for a lower price (but Rakuzen’s ambiance was better of course), if you’re not picky about the ambiance.
*****
9 Raffles Boulevard,
#01-14/19
Millenia Walk
Singapore 039596
Tel: 63331171
*****
Mon–Thu:11.30am – 3pm, 6pm – 10pm
Fri–Sun: 11.30am – 10pm
*****
Getting there:
By Car:
Millenia Singapore:
Mon to Fri:
7am to 6pm: $3.00 for the first hour, $1.00 for every subsequent 1/2 hour
6pm to 7am: $2.00 per entry
Saturdays, Sundays & Public Holidays:
7am to 7am (next day): $2.00 for first 2 hours, $1.00 for every subsequent hour
By Bus:
36, 97, 106, 111, 133, 502, 518, 70M, 857, 868
By MRT:
Promenade (CC4)
Hungry Bird 