HAN

HAN 
331 North Bridge Road
#01-04 Odeon Towers
Opens Mon-Sat (12-3 pm Lunch; 6-11 pm Dinner)
Call for reservations: 6336 2466
Japanese (Osaka cuisine)
$150 per pax
Heavenly service and food
**Two stars for Kushikatsu

   
     ZM and I actually ate at HAN in early August, but I delayed writing this entry because the restaurant experience was so heavenly I did not know how to do justice to it - I still don't!

   All I can do is tell you that this is my first two star entry and I created a Japanese label tag because I can no longer hide my clear preference for Japanese cuisine.

 

     It all started because I was longing to go to Japan, but I couldn't since I had agreed not to travel to Japan until I had given birth to our children (see how stern ZM is?). So, ZM and I agreed that we will slowly try the best of Japanese Cuisine that Singapore has to offer.

    The first stop is HAN.

      HAN is different from the ordinary japanese restaurant. It serves authentic Naniwa - old Osaka cuisine with hints of Korean and Chinese elements. It specialises in Kushikatsu - skewered treats that are dipped in batter and breadcrumbs and then deep-fried in oil. It is one of Osaka's  proud traditional dishes.

    I'm more of a sashimi type person in terms of Japanese Cuisine. I dislike tempura. Really dislike it. While, my mum loved tempura and disliked sashimi. It was with that in mind that I picked HAN. I don't know if it was a little (or a whole lot) of wishful thinking but I thought in some way we could both share this fried food experience.

   And, wow.

   It was one of those moments where you realised maybe you dislike fried japanese food - only because you never tried real fried japanese food before.

 

     ZM and I chose the Kushikatsu 10 sticks Omakase Course for dinner. They first served us a platter of seasonal appetizers. It was an almost saintly experience. The purity of the food cleanses your tongue and palate. 

   Pardon my fat thumb. I was probably too excited and I didn't even noticed it after I took the photograph. After the appetizers, they set up the sauces and the vegetables for the main course. I found all the vegetables heavenly (I cannot stop using this adjective). 

    

    You will inform them of your dietary preferences before it starts. They skewer everything - prawn, mackerel, squid, chicken, pork, tomato, foie gras, etc in all kinds of perfect combinations. It is a symphony of fried delicacy and I am kind of weeping that I am not eating this as I write. 

    

      After about 10-12 skewers, the symphony is complete. The chef who cooks in front of you, if you sit at the Kushikatsu counter, will ask if that is enough. And you will smile and kind of just give a fat cat contented sigh. 

   They will change your tea to a tea for dessert and serve dessert. Our choice was their special sesame ice-cream filled into wafer biscuits that was made by the kitchen as well. 

    

And at the end of it all, trapped halfway between bliss (of what it was) and sadness (that it has become was), you will know that you can never eat normal Japanese fried food again - without your brain calling you a fool and your heart running away and betraying you. 

Even you, I've ruined you.

 So, forget my words, one by one, forget about each skewer, the ascending taste, the crisp and light texture, the surprise in each ingredient, forget them all. 

Forget them my friend, for it is only in a dream that you taste perfection. 

made with love

     L made seafood grumbo for brunch. She actually started cooking it the night before. I can't quite describe the fullness of the taste - the warmth and depth of feeling it conveys. 

       In this world where everything is almost instantly gratified, it is not often that we recognise the value inherent in the time we spent. Why wait an hour when you can get it in a minute? Because you can taste the hour. Because, the only thing worth giving in life is time. 

      Coincidentally, I spent a few hours the night before to prepare a card for L and a small birthday gift for Cr. 

    

     Not all relationships have clear starts and ends. But, for Cr and I, it all started with her question, "Do you read?"

    I cut out the old school library cards you used to annotate in the library books and picked up books she shared with me, I shared with her, and books I hope she will read in future.

 

And if anyone had said this was the price I would have agreed to pay it. 

the envy on a train

the envy on a train

the casual way
the young girl
leaned on her mother
for support.

a small illness

    I apologise for the lack of updates but I've been ill. I've finally seen the doctor today, who in medical speak said, "Your throat really needs antibiotics".

   Although I really wished I didn't fall ill, because so many days just flew by in hoarseness and drowsiness - I think this bout of illness has led me to realise that my first instinct now is empathy. I think a lot more about other people's pain when I experience my own pain.

   Knowing the pain my mother went through, I could never see my pain as ceaseless or overflowing or even dominating. So many other people have to live through a life dominated or crippled by pain. Pain that appears without meaning... it is always so important to be kind.

   And, many have been kind to me. Coming up to me with cough syrup and queries of concern - as I internally worry that I'm infecting the environment.

   In some ways, it is not surprising that I fell sick, because I alway seem to fall sick within the first month of being back in a new place. Kind of like a baptism of the immune system, I guess.

   I remember telling Ru, sometimes I wonder if I feel too much for my work. Even when it's all done, I can't stop thinking if I could have done better. I wonder if I had helped the person in any way at all. Or even, I wonder if it's the system that needs to be better.

    It sounds like a receipe for sickness, I told Ru ruefully.

    It sounds like a receipe for humanity, She said.

   And that is just what the doctor ordered. 

happy fifty seven

Happy birthday, boy child man father. 

At the start of our meal, the Captain said, "I just got to ask - are your twins?" 

Dad laughed, "Can you guess who is older?" 

At the end of our meal, the waiter who served us said, "I just got to ask - are your twins?"

Dad laughed, "Can you guess who is older?" 

The next day, Dad used Mum's handphone and messaged us:

Darling Girls, 

Thank you for celebrating Pa's birthday. 

Glad u all enjoyed it.

Stay healthy n watch your diet n take digestive pill to assist digestion.

Love u all.

itinerant

itinerant 

adjective 

travelling from place to place, especially covering a circuit 

    After we parted, I walked off for a while before I realised that I had left my handphone in ZM's pocket. So, I turned around, crossed the road, to chase after ZM. 

  

      And, after I crossed the road, I saw ZM running out of the shopping mall entrance. 

      We laughed. 

   When I'm with you, it feels like a Sunday, he said. 

      It feels like all roads stop here. 

Koh Grill & Sushi Bar - The Place to Eat Maki in Singapore

Koh Grill & Sushi Bar
#04-21 Wisma Atria Shopping Centre
Reservations: Call 91803805 (or use Chope)
Daily: 11.30 am to 10 pm (closes later on Fri & Sat)
Our meal (4 pax): $40 plus per pax
Average - $20-33 per pax
Japanese
Pretty bad service except the Maki is Heavenly
1* The Place to Eat Maki

     P was going to give us a treat with her first paycheck and she chose Koh Grill & Sushi Bar. It was the national day weekend and it looked as if the place was giving away free sushi from the likes of the queue. P told the waitress she made a reservation and the waitress scowled back, there is no reservation. P coolly showed the email confirming her reservation and the waitress paused for a moment then said, wait a moment. 

 A minute later, we were shown to an empty table. 

  The waitress stoically informed us that all sushi and sashimi orders will take half an hour to be served, then she went off to another busy table. 

   This is the japanese restaurant equivalent of the hawker store that sells such good food that it is going to be as nasty to you as it is humanely possible. Ok, I exaggerate. A little. 

  But, the maki really is heavenly and all the food was good: 

  

Not bad slightly sweet sake. 

Chicken Karage - I ordered it as it is one of my Mum's favourites. 

Puffer fish! This is actually really good.

And finally, the main highlights: 

      There was only one thing to be said at the end of the meal：

 娘，妹长大了！