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. 

Star Ratings (2)

     P is probably my fiercest critic. She insisted that I edited the top right corner of the blog to clarify what star ratings actually mean. "It's confusing!" P stated in a tone that suggested that an unclear star rating system was close to travesty. So, there P!

   She tut-tutted at some of the photographs I uploaded and proceeded to photo-bomb me with many of the other taiwan photographs she took. ZM says it feels like the blog is being edited by two people. Haha. Of course, you can only hear what P says through me, because if she ever has a blog, it would be only updated once a year. She is perfectionist to a flaw. If you are close enough to be invited to her instagram, you will know what I mean - "I don't post shit" is P's hidden motto, or at least shit would have to be rainbow-coloured with golden sprinkles to even have a chance.

   I hope this is clear - a star rating is supposed to be uncommon (though perhaps not, since I would only be motivated to write about something truly great). It is my own mini self-indulging award.

   1* - Highly Recommended

   2** - In A Class of Its Own

   3*** - Life Changing!

  P is enthusiastic about the paris entries, "You have to use my pictures of Paris." It's true - she makes Paris looks like paradise. Perfection, I guess, does come in handy once in a while.  

Star Ratings for Desserts

   P says my food reviews should include the prices of the food items. I frown because that would take a lot of work and I don't really see myself as a food blogger. I am just a part of the peanut crunching crowd - hoping to remember what goodness feels like. 

  Still, it has made me review whether my food entries are at all helpful. I'm probably going to write a lot more about dessert places because P and I often just eat desserts together (and I always feel Mum is around because she has the sweetest tooth of us all). 

  I've decided to have a star ratings for desserts! Generally, I find the sweet treats at most cafes and restaurants passable - they give that obligatory hug to your sweet tooth and it's done. But, for those sweet treats that are a notch above the average - gives the sweet tooth a kiss of life and fireworks, why I think those treats deserve a star! 

  I'm going to set a range of 1 to 3 stars - with 3 being the maximum. Places that get no stars will simply mean that the desserts I ate on that one occasion didn't have a truly fantastic dessert - but that doesn't mean it does not have hidden gems. I hope this will be helpful and I'm excited to share about the few places in Singapore I did find star-worthy desserts. Although it's also a little sad to say that my three stars desserts are situated in Paris. 

   Then again, aren't all experiences subjective? As the Little Prince would say, "You - only you - will have stars that can laugh."