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2013-05-26
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Watami is a popular Japanese casual dining restaurant because of its varied menu offering something for every palate at reasonable prices. Weekday set lunch with miso soup, mini salad and soda is priced from $8.80++.Opted for Watami's Beef Pepper Rice set meal at $8.90++. The beef arrived raw and had to be mixed with the rice and moved to the base of the cast iron bowl to complete the cooking process. The beef was too streaky and with some tendon so it made for a tough chew. It had not been mari
Watami is a popular Japanese casual dining restaurant because of its varied menu offering something for every palate at reasonable prices. Weekday set lunch with miso soup, mini salad and soda is priced from $8.80++.Opted for Watami's Beef Pepper Rice set meal at $8.90++. The beef arrived raw and had to be mixed with the rice and moved to the base of the cast iron bowl to complete the cooking process. The beef was too streaky and with some tendon so it made for a tough chew. It had not been marinated prior so the beef was almost tasteless without any taste or trace of black pepper. I had to ask for tabasco sauce to season the dish by myself at the table. Usually there is a thin.layer or partial layer of crispy rice crust when rice dishes are served in sizzling iron pot/bowl. This rice crust that I enjoy is not discernible at all at Watami. Either the base of the bowl had been greased so the rice crust could not be formed, or the cook.had added too.much water to the rice, or both. The rice was very mushy and bland, so the meal was really disappointing.
Service was slow and reluctant. Though the restaurant was not at all crowded when we visited after peak lunch hour at 3pm, the staff were either busy fiddling with their cellphones or yakking among themselves. Had to ask 3x before tabasco sauce was brought to us, another 2x of hailing the waitstaff before our bill was brought to us.
Pepper Lunch's rendition of Beef Pepper Rice is by far tastier and served with more & better quality sliced beef.
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