Shirokiya – along a small Japanese alley in Chijmes

Shirokiya

Chijmes near City Hall MRT

Yes, this is my second time to Chijmes two days in a row. And you would have guessed that I was at the Japanese alley again. Yes, indeed I was as I am really quite attracted by that stretch of restaurants (I have a soft spot for anything Japanese). So, beside the really famous Hakata Ikkousha tonkotsu ramen stall along the Japanese alley is Shirokiya which is a restaurant that emphasizes on healthy eating yet without any compromise on its taste. Browsing through the menus, you would realise that tofu seems to be a common ingredient in most dishes and they do grills as well as sushi. The lunch set over here could be hailed as one of the most value-for-money power lunches as they only cost $12 with a free drink. Got a lunch set today as well as the super delicious hot pot.

Got the health and beauty hotpot, and it seems to remind me of the bijin hotpot that you have to patiently queue for at Plaza Sing. Well, I haven’t been to the one there but this was heavenly. Lovely shrooms, prawns, tofu and vege, really healthy hotpot!

Once your hotpot starts bubbling, you can push the mashed yam (background) in together with this bowl of collagen. They would just melt and make this soup even much more savoury and tasty.

Very clear soup over here and I love the texture of the soup that is filled with collagen. Doesn’t taste fatty at all and I didn’t craved for any water after downing this big pot – MSG free. The soup left towards the end however was a little salty. $38.80.

And then we got a bowl of cold tofu in bamboo basket each for free which would have otherwise have costed $6.80. You just need to sign up for their free membership and this healthy snack is yours to slowly savour. Tofu was pretty big and goes so well with the shoyu by the side with the bonito flakes, ginger and spring onion condiments. Very appetising and tasted really healthy too!

Dashimaki tamago with mentaiko sauce. The super savoury, creamy and delicious mentaiko sauce together with the warm, soothing soft tamago was just perfect! $8.80. Japanese loves their eggs and this was of similar standard!

So S and I got the chicken katsu don lunch set which was really very good as well, especially for the price of $12. The katsu was so crispy that you could hear the kriak kriak sound when you bite into it. Delicious!

And we got the caramelised soymilk pudding which was very delicious again. Looks like a creme brulee but instead of a creamy, sinful pudding, this refreshing soy based pudding will make you super addicted. $4.80. I find this quite a must order if you are here especially so when they stated that it’s homemade on the menu.

And our final dessert was the Macha Parfait for $9.80. My suggestion is to skip this as the it looked better on the menu than it did actually taste. Somehow the macha didn’t have sufficient flavour. Well, maybe that’s because it is supposed to be a healthy dessert.

So, all in all, Shirokiya did impress. With all the dishes ordered, everything is a spot on for us except for the last dessert which makes me want to visit it again in the near future. I especially love the soy based products over here like the cold tofu and the tofu-filled hotpot. I think if you are a fan for soy products, this will be the ideal place for you! Service, however, could be more polished as the crew seems to be slightly forgetful and short-staff but their friendliness makes up for it!

Verdict: An excellent restaurant!