Tsukada Nojo

Open Now

Now Closed

After queuing for about half an hour, we were ushered in finally, to a table. The interior was infused with a modernistic authentic Japanese flavor. The service was really attentive and amicable, right from the startLooking at the menu, I was gratified to note that it was not a buffet concept. I let *Celine do the ordering. She ordered the Bijin Nabe - Beauty Hotpot Set for 2 to share (SGD$25.00) which would include a hot pot of collagen soup, ingredients and dessert.Then they placed the huge chunk of collagen (fats?) into the pot and set to boil. I was fascinated to see the jelly-like collagen pudding slowly dissolving into soup, and the Jidori chicken parts were beginning to be discernible.  One of the staff served the soup to us in a Sake cup. I took a sip and was amazed by the lusciousness of Jidori chicken collagen soup.Then the friendly waitress helped to place the rest of the ingredients into the sizzling hot pot of boiling collagen - some chicken meatball pasta, vegetables, prawns, fried tofu and golden mushrooms etc. The magenta slices were actually Watermelon Radish! The vegetables were fresh and the prawns were succulent.We also added on a Chicken Nanban (SGD$8.50) - a traditional Miyazaki way of marinated deep fried chicken. It was very delicious - the outside was crispy and crunched of a "deep fried beancurd skin" texture, embracing tender meat within. The spicy sauce on the side was simply irresistable as well, lending credence to the already-tasty chicken.For full review and more photographs, please feel free to visit:http://thearcticstar.blogspot.sg/2014/11/dinner-at-tsukada-nojo-at-chinatown.html continue reading

For full review & more photos - http://midas400.blogspot.sg/2014/03/bijin-nabe-at-tsukada-nojo-chinatown.htmlFinally got to try this popular Bijin Nabe (Collagen hotpot) at the Chinatown Point outlet. We arrived at the restaurant at 6.30pm on a weekday and was told to join in the queue for a table.This outlet operates differently from the PS branch where customers are required to leave their contact numbers with them to join the waiting list, and do not need to be physically queuing for the table. However, they do provide complimentary Japanese tidbits and magazines at the waiting corner for customers to kill time as the wait can be long sometimes.In between the wait, we noticed some customers arriving with a 'reservation'...what? We always thought that no reservations was allowed for dinner after 6pm, but they were indeed being given priority to next available table when everyone in their party has arrived. Ok, we shall ask about it later. Meanwhile, we checked out the menu and decide what to order for our dinner.We ordered the Must Try Bijin Nabe 美人鍋 Set ($25++ per pax, min 2pax to order), and some sides to go along with the hotpot. The friendly waitress took our orders when we have reached the first in the queue. Our wait lasted about 30mins with 2 groups of people jumping the queue with their reservations. Shortly after we placed order, our table was ready and we were being ushered in swiftly with the entire shop yelling "irasshaimase!!!"...officially welcoming us in to dine.Table setting with built-in induction cooker and hotpot utensils.The much anticipated collagen 'pudding' arrived with a friendly Jap waitress explaining what we're gonna be eating. The pudding-like Jidori soup was made with highly prized free range Jidori chicken, raised in a controlled environment in Miyazaki prefecture, Kyushu. The chicken bones were stewed for over 8hrs and left to cool to produce this collagen pudding. The pudding is imported on a daily basis directly from their Miyazaki farms.When heated, the pudding gradually melted into a thick broth. The process took about 5mins, and we could already smell the aroma of the well made chicken soup. An organic chicken was revealed underneath the soup. The waitress then scooped up the chicken and a small cup of soup for everyone to taste the original flavor before the ingredients go into the hotpot. The broth was delicious!The hotpot ingredients (4pax portion) has fresh prawns, minced chicken balls, Jap watermelon radish, zucchini, Jap beancurd, black fungus, enoki mushrooms and a variety of common veggies. All ingredients are carefully selected to make up the nourishing Bijin Nabe 美人鍋. The serving may seem somewhat lacking but looks can be deceiving, the noodle that comes with the hotpot set will fill up the gap later on.The friendly waitress again, helped us with the cooking of the ingredients, explaining the origins of each unique ingredient and their nutrition value during the process. We didn't need to lift a finger! A couple of mins later, the Bijin Nabe 美人鍋 is ready to be consumed. We all eagerly dig in. Everything in this hotpot was oishii, I especially liked the crunchy watermelon radish!The fresh prawns and some of the veggies that has an extremely short cooking time were left by the side for us to cook as we desire. The prawns were sweet and succulent!The noodles (choice of egg noodle, mochi mochi noodle & rice noodle) was served last. The egg noodle soaked up all the goodness of the chicken broth and was utterly delish to eat.We were filled to the brim by the time we're done with the noodles. And the side dishes served in between the hotpot session did helped to make us full as well.Nikumaki Onigiri ($3.50 - $3.80++ each) is one of their signature dishes. It is a bacon wrapped rice ball with 4 kinds of toppings. I had the original one and it was very nice! Definitely recommended.Do note that these rice balls are quite huge, please don't over order. One per pax is quite enough for ladies, maybe one more for big appetite guys.Chicken Nanban $8.50++, is a Miyazaki specialty served with homemade tartar sauce. The fried chicken was uber tender and juicy, and pairs well with the creamy mayo-like tartar sauce...yums.Fried Kagoshima Sweet Potato w/ Honey Vanilla Ice Cream $8.50++. The crispy, sweet and mushy potato fries were incredibly addictive to eat.At the end of the meal, we were presented with a nice little dessert platter with a 'camera' in the middle, drawn with chocolate sauce, and the words 'Thank you for taking pictures!'. This is a little unusual as their drawings are usually chicken related. Perhaps we were really too busy taking photos of every single dish and sauces served here The bite sized sweet treat was Lemon Orange jelly. Flavor changes daily based on the chef's mood...nice!Just before we leave, we were given a name card each. Every customer becomes an Assistant Manager upon their first visit to Tsukada Nojo. Then they will be gradually promoted through the ranks (based on number of visits) until they attained the CEO status. Check out the number of 'employees' on the leadership board.While making payment, we checked with the staff on their reservation policy. For Chinatown Point branch, reservation is allowed for bookings before 7pm. That explains it! We shall call up to book a table on our next visit.Another piece of good news, only at Chinatown Point outlet, the Bijin Nabe is served all day on Sat/Sun!Our dining experience at Tsukada Nojo was an exceptional one. Premium quality food, Jap standard warm service and down to earth pricing...we couldn't ask for more! A repeat visit is already in the planning  continue reading

I’ve been to the branch at PS and Chinatown before on Saturdays, but all 3 times it was full house and I had no chance to try the hotpot! You could imagine how happy I was when I managed to get in yesterday We were there at almost 7pm on a Wednesday and while there were already customers, there were still several seats available. Even till 8+pm people were still entering the restaurant. So for those who want and have yet to try the hotpot, you can come to this branch on a weekday! I’ve read from other reviews that their Nikumaki Onigiri $3.50 was really good, so I decided to order one (original) for 2 of us to share. There were other flavours like Cheese, Yuzu Pepper & Mayo, and Red Chilli Oil. The onigiri was just rice wrapped in bacon, which was more sweet than salty, and it was recommended to be wrapped using the lettuce before eating it. It was really really good! I really love it and wanted to order more but was afraid that more onigiri + the hotpot would make me very full.For the Tsukada Nojo Bijin Nabe/Chicken Collagen Hotpot $25 (minimum 2 pax), the staff will assist to place the ingredients into hotpot. Firstly, they’ll bring the pot to you with all the pudding, which will quickly melt, giving you the yummy chicken collagen soup. I was quite amused looking at the pudding melt.. it kinda resembled the movement of octopus/shellfish . Anyway, the staff will scoop out some soup into a little cup for you to try before any ingredients is added. My first impression of the soup was that it’s really flavourful and reminded me of ramen broth. Then, the staff will scoop of the chicken meat for each of you to eat (There were 4 huge chicken pieces in total! Not sure if they were originally part of the pudding, or they were placed at the bottom of the pot with the pudding on top). I really loved the chicken meat, more so than the soup itself! The meat was extremelyyyy smooth, tender & flavourful and the chicken skin was soft and smooth and did not taste oily at all. Oh my gosh I really love the chicken meat and would love to eat it again!After that, the staff will proceed to place the ingredients into the pot, and they consist of pork ball, golden mushrooms, ladyfingers, zucchini slices, watermelon radish slices (it’s my first time seeing this veg and it’s so pretty!), pork ball, sweet potato leaves, cabbage, black fungus, taupok, baby corn & prawns. There was also a small bowl of yuzu peels which you could add into the soup. We added them towards the end but we could not taste any difference in the flavour. For the noodles, we chose thin egg noodles which they presented in a heart shape on a plate. It was a nice touch otherwise the presentation would be quite boring. The noodles were not bad but I think we cooked ours for a little too long so it wasn’t al dente anymore.At the end of our meal, the staff gave us complimentary mango pudding on a plate with cute drawings and a “Arigato” note (which means thank you) written in chocolate sauce. The pudding was just bite sized but nevertheless it’s all these small touches that help to differentiate the restaurant continue reading

Started queuing at about 4.45pm and because we are early, we gotten the seats. The soup is thick, a bit creamy and a bit salty, the food is good. You would have to pay a bit more for topping up of soup base and other food. Staff are polite and friendly. They would courteously tell you how to go about it if you are there for the first time. However, you will be informed that you have about an hour or slightly more to finish the meal due to the list of guests queuing. continue reading

I've finally tried the much-talk-about Tsukada Nojo Bijin Nabe (Beauty Pot - Collagen Hotpot). My buddy reached at about 6.20pm & the restaurant is already almost full. I rush my way to get there as fast as I could cos they do not sit you in if you do not have a full attendance. Alternatively, you can leave your contact number with them & they will sms you when there is an available table (which could take u to 1.5hrs). I managed to reach before the last table is being taken! The buddy googled & says it's a must to order Nikumaki Onigiri. Basically it's rice wrapped in bacon. The rice is very soft & it was very delicious. We couldn't decide which one to order, so we ordered all the 4! Nikumaki Onigiri (standard), Nikumaki Onigiri with Cheese, Nikumaki Onigiri with Yuzu pepper & Mayo, Nikumaki Onigiri with Red Chilli Oil. We were told that the best way to enjoy it is to wrapped it with the lettuce. I love the one with chilli oil mostThe lump of pudding look-alike thingy is actually the collagen (fats!). Once heated, it will melt & turn it into a of soup. The broth is from the best chicken stock found only in Miyazaki Japan. It is boiled & simmered for over 8 hours with Jidori Chicken (a valuable ‘brand chicken’ in Japan, raised organically with stringent quality standards) bones. I personally find it super sweet & flavorful. The waitress will be around to help you with adding of ingredients so you can continue to enjoy your other food items (is any). The ingredients were very fresh The ramen is also very springy.After the meal, complementary pudding is being served with cute drawings & thank you greetings. continue reading