MAN MAN JAPANESE UNAGI RESTAURANT SINGAPORE

I’m a fan of Teppei Omakase the 17 course Omakase at Orchid Hotel so when I heard that Chef Yamashita had opened a unique Unagi  restaurant at Keong Saik Road, I was suitably chuffed and was raring to go.  Then I heard about the 1-2 hour queues and I decided forget it, no slippery fish is going to make me stand in queue for that long.

So I waited and waited and lo and behold, they opened a second outlet at Duo Galleria at 7 Fraser Street.  So I finally went today when my daughter wanted to buy me lunch.

How to say no when a beautiful girl wants to buy you lunch ?

We went at 1130 am to beat the crowd.  We were the second table seated and it wasn’t long before the restaurant started filling up to maximum capacity (small restaurant).

I looked at the dizzying array of the items in the menu then chanced upon one solitary picture of a bowl of Unagi with an onsen egg nestled in the middle. I swear in my last life I was married to an onsen egg cos once I set eyes on that egg, that was the dish I wanted.  So I ended up ordering poached egg Hitsumabushi.

We were seated right in front of the chefs grilling the fish but really, I will be lying if  I gushed and said I was enthralled and that it was a life changing experience.  The man was just pengkanging a dead flat fish la.  Pengkang  –  dip in a vat of sauce (soy sauce probably mirin probably sugar)  –  and pengkang again.  Maybe I should risk life and limb and join the queue at Keong Saik where the live wiggling eels are kept in tanks and if you have prime seats in front of the Chef , you get to say the last rites for the live eels gutted right in front of you.

“ In nomine Patris et filii et spiritus sancti fish.  Be as tasty as you can be ”

When the food arrived, two thoughts struck me.  One – I should have not pretended to be petite and should have ordered the large instead.  Secondly, the colors were really pleasing – the nice glazy char of the fish glistened and promised all sorts of umami and decadence.

The onsen egg in the middle wobbled agreeably and promised ozziness.

There was a placecard about 3 different ways to eat the dish. Bah – I just ate it the way I wanted to.  I started by grating the fresh wasabi and it took me 35 minutes – just kidding but it did take a while to grate that stick into globs of wasabi to sprinkle all over the rice.  I think the Chef gives that stick to teach you abstinence and to fight instant gratification.  As you are furiously grating and your right arm is getting bigger by the minute, you are staring at the glazy umami goodness and it whets your appetite somewhat.  It was a nice touch and I like it.

I would be overly critical if I didn’t say it was a very good bowl of Unagi rice .  The Unagi was a little crispy and embalmed with that nice savoury sauce, it was as delicious as any Unagi bowl could get.

I also liked the pickles and the dashi accompanying the set.

The only reason I wasn’t turning cartwheels was

1. The restaurant was too small and I would injure 7 people and

2.  I have a stomach.

Not cheap at about $34 for the medium bowl but not bad considering that it was supposed to be fresh eel and it did taste fresh.  But it didn’t expire before me while I was waving goodbye dabbing my eyes so next time, definitely Keong Saik.

If you see a queue at Keong Saik and someone in a beach chair sipping a pina colado, come and say hello.

Man Man Japanese Unagi Restaurant – DUO
7 Fraser Street, Duo Galleria #01-48, Singapore 189356
Opening Hours: Lunch 11:30am – 3:00pm Last order 2:30pm,
Dinner 6:00pm – 10:30pm (Mon – Sat, PH), Closed Sun

Man Man Japanese Unagi Restaurant – Keong Saik
1 Keong Saik Road #01-01 Singapore 089109
Opening Hours: Lunch 11:30am – 3:00pm Last order 2:30pm,
Dinner 6:00pm – 10:30pm (Mon – Sat, PH), Closed Sun