homestyle japanese

megumi japanese restaurant has been a stone's thrown away from my place for the longest time and its funny how we almost never think of heading there whenever we are in the mood of some jap fare. i guess its largely because we usually have little choice with my nephew's vote swinging to the established big name chain restaurant, and also me with my brain wired to associate jap with a few trusted places. in any case, after the recent experience at megumi, some re-wiring has occurred such that when i think japanese, megumi will pop up in my head, together with the rest on my trusty jap joints list!

what really stood out for me at megumi was the fact that despite being tucked on the quieter side of siglap, the place was still packed with diners, some of which were japanese too! it was a little noisy but i guess the food and the service staff made up for the slight chaos. the menu had some unique dishes...think charcoal udon, hokubee steak and UFO makis, all of which i made a mental note to try next time as i had to scratch a unagi and sashimi itch that evening!

so between g and i, we tucked into a nice hotstone bowl full of unagi don, a plateful of salmon and herring sashimi, soup brewed from the bones of the herring, one grilled mackarel and a side of softshell crab tempura style. everything was very good, from the fresh melt in your mouth sashimi to the korean inspired garlic infused unagi don, megumi did an excellent job staying true to its japanese roots while infusing some unique flavors into their dishes. the herring was a pleasant surprise recommendation from one of their staff who suggested us try it since it was one of their freshest fish that day and could be enjoyed in more than one way. turned out he was right, the fish done sashimi style was delicious. sweet slices of fish garnished with bits of ginger and lots of spring onion resulting in a slight chinese raw fish tasting flavor that augmented the sweetness of the fresh fish. the soup too was outstanding...better than the traditional teapot version in my book, so much so that we made sure we didn't leave any last drops!

so there...good food, good value and close to home. another jap joint to add to the list of places to go, even with family!

p.s.: they have another outlet in the west, so westerners have no fear!

megumi japanese restaurant

77 upper east coast road

#02-03 lodge 77

(65) 6243 0700

block 106 clementi street 12
#01-38
(65) 67791411