Aesthetic Japanese Cafe in the West 🇯🇵

Discovered this japanese restaurant-cafe due to their lunch promotion! They specialise in Japanese Tapas & Seiro Gohan (hearsay 20 bowls per day only 😯).

Japanese tapas refers to small dishes or snacks which are usually meant to be enjoyed alongside with alcoholic beverages 🥟. Seiro Gohan is a traditional Japanese dish consisting of steam rice which is cooked in a bamboo steamer🎋.

The store itself had a wood like theme, resembling the bamboo steam baskets that the Seiro Gohan are served in, giving off very chill and japanese vibes 🎏. Apart from how minimalistic and aesthetic this place is, let’s see if the food is worth it!

🍽 MUSUBI Japanese Tapas & Seiro Gohan 蒸す美

📍 Jem # 04-12/14, 50 Jurong Gateway Road, Singapore 608549

🚇 Jurong East

🕒 11am - 10pm, Daily (Cafe: 3-5.30pm)

🌟 4/5

1️⃣ Musubi Komachi Zen ($25) 🍚

This set is only available during lunch hours (11am - 3pm) and there’s a limited quantity available daily🔥. It consists of your choice of Seiro Gohan (steamed rice), crab gravy chawanmushi 🍥, tonijiru miso soup, a cup of amasake 🍶 and 4 other side dishes (changes daily). For the steamed rice, you can choose from beef, salmon, chicken and unagi but we got the beef 🐮!

A large bamboo basket was served and the side dishes surrounded the Seiro Gohan in a pretty manner 😍. The Koji beef was rich and buttery in flavour, very tender and umami! Crab gravy chawanmushi had a silky smooth texture which I adored and I liked the savoury taste of the crab meat 🦀. Our side dishes of the day were:

- ika shu mai🥢:

topped with ikura and thin strips of flour wrapper, this siew mai (dumpling) was filled with squid 🦑 and had a chewy texture, very unique and interesting dish!

- seasoned scallop🍴:

tender and juicy texture with a buttery and savoury flavour~

- lemon koji karaage 🍋 :

liked how bite sized this was, nice citrusy flavour from their homemade lemon-koji, chicken was crispy and tender

- mini cake with red bean 🫘 :

(sry idk the name) super yummy, the azuki beans had a sweet and thick paste that complemented well with the soft and creamy cake 😋

2️⃣ Sansai, Salmon & Sakura Ebi Seiro Gohan Set ($22) 🍣

This was under their Spring Promotion Lunch Menu 💮. For this set, you get to choose between the Tonjiru or Chawanmushi as the side. We chose the Tonjiru which was a pork and vegetable miso soup🥄. Once again, first time trying this but DAMNNN, it was so aromatic. The savoury broth was very satisfying and hearty 🤤

The Seiro Gohan (same as the one in the Musubi Komachi Zen) was very fragrant, shoyu rice had a fluffy texture with a light and earthy flavour🍱, really got a taste of the authentic japanese slow cook experience. Salmon itself was well seasoned and tasty while the Sakura Ebi (small shrimps) 🦐 definitely added a good crunch and nuttiness to the dish. The rice definitely carried the dish for me, not so much on the other ingredients.

Overall, I was quite impressed with the food we ordered😙. Was initially a lil skeptical that all the sides in the Musubi Komachi Zen were so small, will they even be filling or worth it? Safe to say, it ended up amounting to A LOT and we were veryyy full🤰🏻. I think the Japanese tapas would be perfect for those who enjoy trying out a variety of dishes, you get a bite sized flavour of everything by ordering one set 🤩. Unfortunately, since we were too full, we could not try out their desserts, would be back another time instead 🍰!!

#Lemon8SG #cafesinsg #cafehoppingsg #hiddengems #japanesefood #japanesecafe