Teppei-san strikes the Japanese food scene again after his wildly popular omakase restaurant (read review here). This time with an electrifying move to open the first unagi specialty Man Man Japanese unagi restaurant in Singapore. I love unagi and hence made a special trip to 1 Keong Saik Road to find out more.

Man Man restaurant is not very big. It's quite smoky and could do with better ventilation. You can choose to sit in front of the kitchen which you would be treated with a gory theatrical trailer of your eel being killed live, skewered and grilled in front of you. I would prefer to pretend that my food's previous life was not a living animal so thank you very much, I'll pick the seat near the door.

Theatrical smoke effect

I got the una tama don ($18.60+) which is basically grilled unagi, soft tamogo and rice, soup. The char-grilled unagi's firm sweet meat is perfect with the accompanying Japanese rice that is drizzled with the special soy sauce. The thin layer of crispy grilled skin soaked with sauce was just enough to add flavor without greasing up the dish. The fluffy tamago adds a different dimension of texture to the entire dish.

The portion is not very big. So if you are looking for a mega feast of fleshy unagi meat, you might be disappointed with Man Man.

Man Man's queue on Saturday noon was fortunately not too man man (慢慢) (about 20 minutes). But I would recommend to bring insect repellent, sunblock, sunglasses, portable fans, caps etc as the queue is not sheltered from the blazing hot sun and the wildlife.  

Overall, I would recommend the unagi lover to try this at least once in his lifetime. I would also recommend the unagi lover to stop eating unagi for the rest of his life after that. According to Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unagi), unagi is an endangered species. Sorry for ending your dreams. Your sacrifice will be greatly appreciated by sustainability organisations worldwide. Thank you.

Man Man Japanese Unagi Restaurant

Address: 1 Keong Saik Road Singapore 089109 

Tel: +65 62220678 (No reservations for lunch hour)

Getting a reservation for Teppei's omakase dinner used to be equivalent to waiting for a blue moon. The reservation list is a few months wait. And they only open their hotline for reservation every quarter. You might as well try buying 4D too if you are the lucky one that gets through their literally hot-line.

That's until one fine day, they finally changed the reservation system which allows first-timers (with super fast broadband) to have a comparative advantage.

So the drill is I need to get into their webpage to register my name and mobile number. After which, they will scan the mobile numbers for first-timers and call me back. And the drill starts at 8am. On a Saturday.

After utilizing five alarm clocks to wake me up on a Saturday morning at 8am, I finally got the reservation. Though I struggle to understand why 8am Teppei??

And you thought I would glam up the occasion by taking leave, scrub myself up, and arrive like 1 hour earlier on the day. The reality was I was late by 15 minutes. Rushed there after work on Friday.

Which is still fine because they started the omakase only when I arrived.

Seriously I can't recall how many courses were served. They only served the $80 course on weekends including Friday. 

Foie Gras, not Teppei san's liver 

Edamame or Wasabi - Depends on your luck

Peanut - Teppei san joked it is from NTUC 

A chef who loves his job

Till death do us part

Yuzu / Matcha icecream

The million $80 question: Was it worth it?

Honestly, for the amount of courses we got, it was totally worth it. I can't recall a bad course. I enjoyed the uni (see urchin), foie gras, and the beef most. As for the sushi, I had better ones at Tsukiji Market. But I guess nothing can't beat that because I ate at 6am in Tsukiji (see post here) which the fish was like just caught.

And the value of it was probably higher since sleep was sacrificed on a weekend to get the reservation. 

All in all, it's possibly the most affordable omakase in town. This is likely my only most expensive meal of the year. I think I chose well.

Address: 1 Tras Link, Orchid Hotel, Singapore 078867

Orchid Hotel has a lot of famous Japanese restaurants, for example the wildly famous Keisuke chicken ramen, and Teppei which I have given up on getting a reservation. Totally surrender. Menya Sanji is like the hidden gem that dishes out surprisingly good ramen.

The shop has very few seats, probably maximum 25 including bar seats? But we were able to get seats at 5pm on a Saturday. We got the Sanji Ramen ($11.5++) each. 

The soup was distinctively more milky white than other ramens and I could taste caramelized onion. But the main star is actually the char shu (pork). It has the right ratio of fats and lean meat that melts in the mouth. The edges were also crispy and the meat was flavorful. Excellent. The egg was also perfect - sweet and runny.

I think I would be going back very soon.

Address:  Orchid Hotel, 1 Tras Link #01-14 Singapore 078867

Phone: 6604 8891

Fried chicken is my favourite food. In fact, anything unhealthy is my favourite. I can imagine 10 15 years down the road, my highly IT-savvy kids reading this blog would scream unfair/double standards if I forcibly take away their fried chicken educate them on the harmful effects of fried food. I need to hide this blog from them.

Chicken Up is a place that I have been hearing about for the longest time. It probably has the best Korean fried chicken. Legend has it that it was picked by a Straits Times reporter in a blind test. I love the Korean style of double frying chickens which retains the chicken juices while keeping it crispy and crunchy. Thus, even though we found ourselves on a 1-hour waiting list, we didn't chicken out (pun intended). We were up for it and our hearts were unwavering, full of anticipation for our turn to devour this fried chicken. 

Chicken Up is housed among the shophouses along Tanjong Pagar Road. On a good day with no crowds, you can choose to sit either indoors or outdoors. The patrons were mainly teenagers and youngsters. I thought it was quite noisy and rowdy. We felt like the oldest people there. 

We have heard a lot about the Chicken Up's cheap and good Korean fried chicken buffet at $25. Ya a fried chicken buffet where we can eat all the fried chicken so that we all can die earlier.

Fried chicken (obviously) made up the menu and there were other sides which we can also choose. We saw this watermelon soju (literally a half sliced watermelon which soju was poured in)  on every table. Seems very popular. The waitress recommended the five main dishes for us to try. Sounds like a good way to start.

We waited for damn long, like 15 mins before the first chicken arrived on our table. I found out from other reviews that each order is freshly fried so it takes longer time. Grrrr but Bonchon doesn't need so long lor (read abt Bonchon's amazing 2 minute wait) 

Presenting the chicks:

Yangnyum (below) - I loved the crispy and crackly moist skin which was coated with a sweet and spicy sauce and also sesame for additional crunch. It was not as spicy as it looks. More towards tones of sweetness. However, I found the meat a little tough. 4/5

Soya chicken (below) - Marinated and coated with Korean soya sauce, the soya chicken wings were more tender than the yangnyum. Maybe it was because chicken wing parts are usually more tender and moist than other parts. These lovely wings were as crispy and flavourful as they look. A pity that they were not served piping hot. 3.75/5

Spicy Up (below) - Looks can be deceiving. This innocent-looking golden brown chicken was a bit too spicy for me but not for my friend who is a spice girl (not the girl group). Served piping hot, the chicken's juices were sealed beneath the crispy skins. So juicy that the juices squirted out when I bite into them.  4.25/5

We also got the Andong Chicken Stew (below) which is a soya sauce-based soup that comes with a chicken drumstick that has meat so tender that it fell of the bone easily, and other goodies such as potatoes, carrots, korean rice cakes. My friend enjoyed it a lot but I found the broth too salty for my palate. 3.5/5

The salt-sprinkled truffle fries (below) were surprisingly not overpowering with the typical strong pungent truffle aroma. Thus, both my friend and I who are not big fans of truffles liked this. 3.5/5

Service was really slow and we had to wait for a long time for them to give us the bill. 

After which we waited a long time for them to collect the bill. 

We eventually paid in exact cash instead of credit card because they were really wasting our time. 

Personally we find this slightly overrated. I think the pieces were too big so we were really full after a few pieces. It would be perfect if they come in wings or drumlets. But still I think not bad lah. A change from usual KFC and better than KFC.

Address: 48 Tanjong Pagar Rd, 088469
Tel: 6327 1203

Is it me or does everyone also feel extra sleepy on a weekend morning? Since sleepiness is a symptom of caffeine deprivation, I decided to get it cured at Department of Caffeine. It's located at Duxton Hill no less - a sleepy enclave located in Tanjong Pagar.


Behind the frosted door lies an oasis in the middle of the sleepy town on a Saturday morning. The approach taken was industrial chic and modernist. Alternative music with the likes of Imagine Dragons and Slow Train gave the place an immediate cool vibe. Hmm this place has good taste in music. And spotted - the expected Gen Z, and surprisingly, families with toddlers (well-behaved versions). The ministers and officers of Department of caffeine seemed to be full force at work behind the counter on this slow-paced morning. Ah I like this place more than my bed already.

Menu items comprised of breakfast classics ranging from sausages to French toasts. My wallet might have tried to run away when it first saw the prices (breakfast items ranged from $13 to $20). But the good thing was there was no GST or service charge so it seemed the prices have taken that into account.

My caffeine remedy kicked off with the latte ($5), which was smooth and the perfect art that decorated it warmed the heart. Although I found it slightly over bitter and sourish, it was acceptable. The cappuccino ($5) was also similar. Based on Department of Caffeine's Facebook, they take sustainably-sourced specialty coffee beans from Five Senses Coffee, Australia, and then apply serious technical know-how to craft caffeinated perfection. Sounds like they are serious about their coffee. 4/5

The French toast ($16, below) which was two loaves of brioche stuffed with maple syrup and bananas, soaked in vanilla yoghurt, and sprinkled with almonds and blueberries sent a sugar rush. Not sure if it was because my tummy had not grinded for the last 12 hours, but I felt sweetly blissful when I tucked into the French toast. The only pity was the bananas seemed to be overly soaked with maple syrup, making it soggy. 4/5

There was no way for me not to order waffles when I see one on the menu. Especially when it comes with ice-cream and peanut butter. Say hello to waffles with vanilla ice cream and peanut butter and jelly ($12.5) - these waffles were crispy on the outside (though not super crispy), fluffy and airy on the inside. The generous peanut butter sauce that drenched the waffles balanced the sweetness of the ice-cream and jam. A little pity that it can be crispier. If I can push my limits in the gym after eating a waffle, certainly a waffle could do better. So I say push the limits, unleash the potential! 4/5

Overall, certainly one of the better places for a brunch. Food quality - checked. Attentive service - checked. Ambience - checked. Takes reservations - checked.

Tip 1: If you have Pickat app, it's 15% off (excluding drinks) with min spending of $20 till 29 Jan 2014, excluding Wed, weekends and public holidays. Download Pickat for free.

Tip 2: They have taken their reservation system online now. Reserve before you head down. Queuing is a waste of life.

Address: 15 Duxton Road Singapore 089481