Ootoya Japanese Restaurant

I had dinner at the Orchard Central branch of Ootoyo and we were very lucky to get a table given that it was quite crowded that day (perhaps we had gone too late at around 8). I ordered the chargrilled chicken set that comes with a decent portion of tenderly grilled chicken, with a hard boiled egg, salad on the side, chawanmushi, and the standard rice +miso rice. This has always been my favourite value-for-money set that I've been consistently trying. The chicken is really nicely marinated and the sauce goes well with the taste. However, I didn't like that the hard boiled egg was literally, hard boiled, and it was cold and hard, not at all moist!

My company ordered the katsu toji, which is katsu drecnched in a japanese egg-gravy sauce. The sauce was surprisingly tasty and not too salty. The katsu was just average, (in my opinion; Tonkichi (just one level below) serves way better katsu!) but the sauce compensated for it.

Ambience wise it is not too bad for a chillout place after work, they also have promos for their Kirin drafts the last time I visited.

2013-03-18

SGD 22(Dinner)

I tried this restaurant two outlets, this and clementi mall's. But here I will just review about Orchard Central outlet. Do not observe the differences of the two outlets to comment much on that but both are as good
Japanese food is one of my favourite genre of food. At this restaurant, their menu has quite a few types of different dishes and sets. I cannot remember the names of the sets I tried, but photos I upload will speak a thousands words. and they are delicious.

SGD 25(Dinner)

Ootoya Japanese Restaurant” located at Orchard Central. This restaurant is nicely designed as they make used of their area well even though they do not have much space for usage.Sumitoridon description on the menu is “Rice bowl with charcoal grilled chicken & Sweet sauce” with information on how much calories you are getting if you are to order this dish.

Very considerate of this restaurant to provide this information as Singaporean are all going toward a healthy diet and these information will sure be very helpful to all people especially those who are looking out on how much Calories they are taking.

The overall taste of this dish is nice but I think the meat are a bit tough and it the sauce is not really nice.Charcoal Grilled Chicken Salad with Basil Sauce

This dish is being served using a large tray with nice presentation to make our stomach asking when to start eating it. For calories wise, it is 567kcal for alacarte and 863kcal for set meal (Unlimited serving of white or Gokoku rice for set meal). I love the way they mix salad together with the grilled chicken meat as I love to eat salad too.

As mentioned earlier, I think the overall taste is nice due to their skill in mixing the sauce and for this dish, the salad and sauce helped to enhance the overall taste. For the grilled chicken, I hope they can make it more tender and juicer in future as the texture is a bit too tough in my opinion.Charcoal Grilled Chicken with red Vinegar
I really think the chef of this restaurant really knows how to make nice sauce as they really helps to enhance the overall taste of their dishes. The red vinegar sauce is a bit sourish but compensate the plain chicken taste which makes this very nice to go with their white or Gokoku rice (I eaten 2 bowls of rice which I rarely do so) and their eggs are nicely done too. Good job for the chef.The difference between White Rice and Gokoku rice. Gokoku rice is a combination of brown rice, barley, black sesame, and corn which contains great vitamins, minerals and vegetable fibre that our body needs. (Enlarged from image)
The differences of calories:
White Rice - 252 Kcal
Gokoku Rice - 244 Kcal

More details of this review can be found at my blog as follow:
http://www.shootnblog.com/?p=1312

2012-09-30

I had my friend's birthday celebration.Initially we wanted to have our dinner at a korean restaurant at Orchard Central recommended by one of us but in the end we sat for like 15-30 minutes, we decided to go for other options.

In the end, we choose Ootoya Japanese restaurant for celebration. It's my all time favourite choice for homely made feel japanese cuisine. We managed to get a place for 8 pax and the servings are quite promptly.

Photos of the foods that we ordered that night:-
Sumibutadon set meal @ S$23.50
Rice bowl with charcoal grilled pork and sweet sauce. Love the charcoal grilled style which makes the whole meal more appertizing!Shogayaki Set meal @ S$23.50
It's sauteed ginger pork with a set of refillable rice, miso soup and side dishes.
My friend commented too much of ginger slices but overall was nice.Another order from Shio Koji Menu.
Buta Shio Koji jyu @S$23.50 for set meal. The combination of grilled pork loin marinated with shio koji sauce and served with potatoes and vegetables. Absolutely lovely combination. The pork loin is tender and the meat is juicy as well. Totally worth value for a homely set meal.Never disappoint us with the foods served at all. Everyone is pleased with the foods and staffs services as well. My friend did a refill rice and had a filling dinner that night.

2012-11-01

SGD 30(Dinner)

Ootoya 大戶屋 is a popular teishoku-ya from Japan whish open it's 1st Singapore family-style restaurant in Orchard Central. It is accessible to nearest mrt station named Somerset Station. Orchard Central is just next to 313 Somerset and walking distance of 5 mins. The restaurant is located at level 8 of the building.

I recommended my friends who came for holiday for a quick lunch here. I have been here for several times and the foods here does not disappoint me at all. This time round i am surprised with their new changes of food presentation. Their menu has changed too. Brand new year with brand new look and layout.I ordered my favourite tori salad set that comes with the rice, miso soup, chawanmushi and appertizer. My all time favourite grilled katsu with the salad dressing that i couldn't miss craving for it all the time. The tenderness of the meat and the skin of the chicken was nicely grilled and goes well with the dressing. Everything smell and taste good with the white rice and into the mouth. The presentation was splendid as well. They have the rice set to served in different tray unlike previous (last year).Kimuchi Nabe @ S$19.90 set that comes with simmered pork slice and vegetable in the kimuchi hot plate. The kimchi hotpot comes with the eggs and also the beancurd. The beancurd is very smooth and u can just sip them into your mouth. I don't take spicy and the soup is just nice for me. My friend love it and it goes well with plain rice.Shoga Yaki @S$23.50 (Set) / S$18.50 (Ala carte). We ordered ala carte for this. It is sauteed ginger pork which has the taste of chinese cuisine.The meat thickness is slightly thicker than the simmered pork slice. Nevertheless the taste is still as good as it looks. However, the meat is a bit chewy though. She prefer the thickness of the pork slice to be thinner a bit. But overall taste good.This restaurant also provide free flow ocha and also free refillable rice to customers. The price is reasonable as well. I love the rice. It's super nice and goes well with all other foods. Too bad i'm full after a bowl of rice and i can't even have the chance to request for second bowl.As for the ocha taste refreshing and nice aroma as well. It should be able to wash away the grease after the dinner which i always presume that.

The staffs are friendly and polite as well. They are prompt to respond and attentiveness. They put on smile to serve the customers and i can see the consistency of their services after patronizing them for several times. Their serving time is quite consistent as well. It is within the range of 15-20 minutes.

Overall, it's a nice homely restaurant feel and i will bring my family there if i have the chance to do so.I miss the rice..

2013-01-01

SGD 25(Lunch)

Had lunch with mama at Ootaya this afternoon. There wasnt a queue unlike what has been read in many reviews of the place. Maybe because we were there at 1230, the crowd started streaming in at 1pm.

I had the popular Hokke or rather the Charcoal grilled Atka Mackerel while mama had the Torotoroni (Scallop with rice and Chicken n Touf fu soup)

Hokke: I really didnt like this. Can someone enlighten me what is good this fish or dish. It was over grilled, resulting in it being burnt, not slightly burnt but really black. Hmm wonder if it was meant to be this way, i doubt so. Or maybe the skin was not meant to be eaten, eat at your own risk, your own cancer risk! It was also a rather salty slab of fish. It is almost impossible to eat it on its own. Risk of cancer and kidney problem. Then again I have to qualify I have very little tolerance for salt. At $17, it is certainly not worth it, especially if you compare it with the scallop rice that my mum had at the same price.

My mama's food -The Torotoroni was on the other extreme, it was simple but yet wonderful. This is what I call comfort food. The scallop rice is heated over a block of solid fuel. It kept the rice and scallop pipping hot! The miso sauce topping adds a sweet and salty flavour to the rice. Very good! Simple as it looks, it is really delightful. This dish came with a very tasty and flavourful soup. The pieces of chicken were tender and tasty. My mama especially liked the soft and silky toufu. For me I love the eggy taste of the soup, yet again, comforting. This dish is certainly the redeeming factor for the restaurant. I will be back just for this!

2012-03-05

For a healthier choice, you may just be like me choose their cod fish dish which is cooked in sweet and sour sauce. The fish meat is really juicy and tender, and with no stingy smell in it. The sweetness and the sourness of this dish is just alright and goes really well with the fish meat. Added to that additional health factor, the restaurant has prepared this dish to go along with the brown rice instead of normal fragrant plain rice. The portion is just alright and you will not feel that you have over eat after complete the full set as your lunch or dinner. The restaurant setting is also quite comfortable and cosy, and also quite spacious too!

2012-06-03

I went to Ootoya for dinner with my friend, as there is no reservation available, so we waited for 20-30mins. We were there early on a Friday night but I still see crowds waiting to be seated...

The service is good and satisfactory and we ordered:

Charcoal Teriyaki Chicken Rice ($20 for set, $15 for ala carte). : The Chicken is delicious and goes well with the rice and grated daikon (radish). The Set comes with pickles, soup and boiled veg (lotus seed, carrot, beans and small slice of chicken). Portion is quite big, so if you have a small appetite, suggest you share with friends and order other side dish like salad.

Katsu Chicken in tamago Soup: The katsu chicken is tender and I’m happy with its cooking method, and the chicken goes well with the rice.

Overall, it is a pleasant dinning place with delicious food and good service if you don't mind about the waiting time.
Lastly, the best is still the sweet dessert; we ordered 3 different ice-cream and share.

2011-11-25

SGD 25

was with friends and as usual we end up choosing japanese cuisine for dinner and ootoya was one of the top choices due to the nice and cheap food. i ordered the lemon chicken to tried, the sauce was not bad but it tasted sweeter than i expected but the portion was really generous. the side dish was cold egg plant which tasted slightly blend but it kind of complement especially with the strong flavour from the chicken. also you can choose other type of rice instead of the normal white rice which i think was quite nice

SGD 20(Dinner)

saw my friend ordered this steam rice last time so decided to give it a shot. i was deciding between the oyster or shrimp steam rice but i ended up with the shrimp steam rice. the presentation look quite nice but not as appetising as what was shown in the menu and the portion was not very big. i have to say the taste was quite blend but may be nice for people who want to have a healthier diet

SGD 25(Dinner)

This is a memorable dining moment for me because I have suggested to celebrate one of my friend's birthday at this Ootoya outlet. I have tried the outlets at clementi mall and suntec city, and i really like the food and ambience at both outlets. And was told by a friend that orchard central outlet was actually the best among the three outlets. So decided to try it out during my friend's birthday.

Since I was the one suggested this place, so I was there earlier to get the place first since reservation cant be made.

When we got our seat and our menus, I realised that Ootoya has a new menu. And there something new added in their menu: we can have Gokoku rice (mixed 5 grains steamed glutinous rice ) which can be replaced with white rice with no additional charges. Gokoku rice is a combination of brown rice, barley, black sesame, white sesame and corn which is suitable for everyone regardless of age and gender. it contains great vitamins, minerals and vegetable fibres that your body needs. Wow, this is really a much healtier option than white rice. And whats more, it can be refilled too!

I have ordered a Rosu set - whch is a breaded pork loin cutlet (tasty japan pork loin cutlet coated with fresh bread crumb) It was delicious but honestly it was not as good as i expected, the meat seem a bit dry for me, not that juicy. But overall, it was still rather nice.

My friend, the birthday boy has enjoyed his set very much too! And we were happily eating, chatting and 'refilling' our rice and cabbage salad! We were all quite big eater, especially me, have to eat 'tons' of rice! Hehe.

Oh ya, remember to use Standard Chactered Card if you have one to enjoy 15% discount when you are at Ootoya!

2011-12-08

SGD 22.50

the food at ootoya is really good, indeed just like what my friend said, they really served delicious japanese food. the quality of their food is indeed delicious. the cutlet is really to die for, it is fried till very crispy on the outside, when you take a bite, you can hear the crunch. inside meat is tender and juicy, such a good contrast of flavour. the entire set meal is very filing, you have rice, soup and side dish. so value for money and the service is awesome, did not have to wait long for the food to be serviced as we were really hungry. glad my friend introduced me this place.

This time i went to orchard outlet to try
I ordered oyster rice steamed in a bamboo pot, which came with a stew of fried chicken&vegetables,tasted just normal
Also ordered their dessert ,a soy milk with brown sugar & an egg custard with burnt soya sauce ,The caramel is slightly salty edge. but very soft & silky smooth
I find that their dessert is much nicer than their main dishes
Overall i rate 6/10

Ootoya is a really lovely japanese restaurant at Orchard Central. The restaurant is divided into two sections, one where you dine on tables and chairs, and another where you take off your shoes and sit on the floor. The staff there are all very friendly, i've been there 3 times and all 3 times they never fail to greet you with lots of enthusiasm. And on our latest visit, one waiter even announced "this one old customer!".

My favourite dishes there are their sashimi set which is very fresh. And their hamburger steaks - the sweet sauce is delicious. The set also comes with miso soup, rice, mash potato and some small side dish of chicken, mushroom and vegetables. The only thing i didn't like was the chicken side dish because it had a weird smell to it (i guess its some extra ingredient in the sauce that i wasn't used to). Overall Ootoya is a great place to come in small groups because of the seating arrangements and because it tends to get crowded during meal times so the outlet probably can't accommodate big groups anyway. Also don't wear short skirts if you plan to sit on the floor.

Ootoya offers teishoku – set menus which usually consist of a main dish, rice, soup and small side dishes. I’m pretty impressed with an interesting factor that the count of calories is indicated in the menu for each dish. Woo! A good place for those on diet! Overall the concept is simple, healthy and affordable.Overall, I like the food in Ootoya and it has become a frequent dining place for me.

The only complain I have is their queuing system. Ootoya is not advisable to visit if you have a big group and especially if your companions are late. Ootoya only allows group to sit if half of the guests have arrived. @-@

SGD 25(Dinner)