Issho Izakaya

Finding the restaurant is quite a challenge if one is entering within the shopping mall. Entering the small walkway between Starbucks and a sports shop, and walks all the way in to the toilet. Next to the toilet, one will finally see a poster showing the restaurant. Odd but interesting. The restaurant is small in size, with 2 private rooms, which easily filled up during dinner time.
Genmai Cha ($ 2.50/pax)
The hot green tea is given in a pot, and kept warm. The tea is refillable regularly. It has a light and refreshing taste.
Aburi Salmon & Cheese Maki ($ 15.50)
Special maki with cream cheese and cover with aburi salmon
My thoughts of cream cheese being too strong in taste are gone when I bite into a piece. It simply tastes melt in the mouth and balances very well.
Yamato Kushi Set ($ 18.50/ 5 sticks)
Torimoto, tomato buta, tori negima, U.S. beef, mekajiko
The tomato buta is actually grilled tomato wrapped with pork belly. The tomato easily bursts out with juices in the mouth. The sweetness balances the salty bacon.
The grilled U.S. beek steak cubes on skewer although smooth, tastes a bit tough when compared to other skewers.
The Tori Momo is grilled boneless chicken thigh skewer and surprisingly tastes quite tender.
The Tori Negima is grilled chicken thigh & leek skewer, also tastes quite tender, although I could not taste any leek.
The Mekajiko is grilled swordfish fillet on skewer, smooth and chunky.
Unatama ($ 15)
Grilled eel with eggs & onions
The eel is quite tender and flavourful without over salty.
Buta Don ($ 15.50)
Stewed pork belly over Japanese rice
Although it is fatty pork belly meat, the meat is quite tender and easy down the throat.
Overall the food is not bad. The place is filled with mostly family crowds. The menu has quite a huge variety that one easily has difficulties in deciding on what to have.

Good food. No doubt. But wow, this place is quite
overpriced.
The ambiance is nice, although a bit cramped. And again, the food is better than many Japanese restaurants we’ve been to.
The sushi chef seemed confident with his knife, and the sashimi tasted fresh. Kids happily finished their donburi.
We would go back, but I’m not sure how often as the final bill can be a shock.

After 2 days of roast beef, turkey, honey baked ham and all the other regular Christmas indulgences, we decided to have some quiet time on our own, having our own Christmas dinner, minus the roasts, at Issho Izakaya.
Newly opened at Kallang Wave, the restaurant has a cozy casual feel and an extensive menu to fill your japanese cravings.
For our first visit, we decided to try their Christmas sets.
I went for the «Enchanted Set» while the gf went for the «Rejoice» set. Both of which were kaiseki menus consisting of 9 – 10 dishes with drink pairings (we went for the non-​alcoholic option).
Dinner started off a little «shaky» with Ramen almost being served to us 10 seconds after we ordered (and no, our set didn’t come with ramen) before we were served edamame. (Which I later found out after going through half of it, wasn’t some appetizer they served while waiting and actually belonged to another table).
Regardless, the edamame was actually really good! Unlike most kap restaurants that boil their edamame in salt water, there’s was served with salt sprinkled over so every bite gave a nice salty kick.
Next came the starters.
Both of us had the checkerboard sashimi (made with tai, salmon and akami) and tomato mousse while mine came with an additional Nama Kaki (raw oyster drizzled with ponzu sauce).
The sashimi was really well made and fresh except it would have gone better with a Yuzu shoyu instead of the heavy jap mayor which over powered the sashimi.
The tomato mousse on the other hand was delightful. Tasting like a thickened gazpacho, the mousse is definitely not for the non-​tomato lover.
The oyster was fantastic too and the ponzu added a nice kick to the dish without losing the sweetness of the oyster.
Next was the edamame tofu.
Steamed like a chawamushi, the tofu was delicate and was topped with crab meat and Ikura, giving it just enough saltiness and sweetness yet at the same time, allowing the edamame to shine.
We were than served the mushroom pottage. The only soup course, it was a nicely balanced and delicate mushroom soup. Not too heavy and should have been an Italian or french menu instead of a japanese one.
We than moved on to the Mentaiko spaghetti. Unlike most restaurants who drown the pasta in an extra thick creamy sauce, this dish was very well balanced. Light yet extremely tasty, the pasta was al Dante with the taste of Mentaiko prominent in the sauce. Squid however was a little overcooked and the dish could have done without it.
We were than served the Hotate Saikyou Yaki, pan-​seared Hotate served with a trio of tomato, basil and vinaigrette sauce.
Personal preference here, but I’m not a fan of cooked Hotate as i think the flavour tends to be very strong. Gf loved it though as the Hotate was excellent with its flavours bursting in your mouth with every might.
Next was the mains.
I had a grilled A4 Wagyu, topped with a slice of Foie gras while the gf had a duck a l’orange as our mains.
The wagyu to me was a little overdone. Not enough sheer on to crisp up the fat while the beef itself was more medium than medium rare.
Could have easily passed off as an angus but the highlight of the dish was the crushed pepper and truffle salt sprinkled in the sides. Dip the meat in and it brings out the flavour of the beef beautifully!
Foie gras itself was a little overcooked, causing it to lose that creamy moist inside.
The duck on the other hand was amazing!
Juicy and moist, the duck was served medium and is probably one of, if not the best duck dish over ever tried!
We finally ended our dinner with a trio of desserts, which had to be the simplest dish of all.
Matcha ice cream was nice while the raspberry mouse helped clear the palette before diving into the dark chocolate tart (which I’m not usually a big fan of), which was sooooo sinfully good.
Overall the dinner was fantastic and at $ 68 and $ 88++, it was completely worth it! Certain dishes could have been done a little better but everything was fantastic.
We’ll definitely be back to try their regular items soon!

I don’t care how good the food is at a restaurant when the first thing the waiter tells you is that they charge $ 1 per glass of water. Make your money off your food and beverages but a glass of water from the tap is not where you should be making your profits.

A Must try food–
Tomato Buta Kushiyaki
Refreshing Cold tomato
Wagyu Steak
Buta Salad
Buta Kakuni
Kani Cream Croquette
Banga Cauda
Issho Ramen
Salmon Ikura Don
Crème Brûlée
Macha Parfait