For beef bowl and tomato ramen lovers, two renowned F&B brands from Osaka RAMEN KIOU and ROMAN.TEI, have opened their first-ever Singapore outlets at &JOY Dining Hall.
This is also where you can get fresh sashimi air-flown from Osaka’s fish market to Singapore (thrice a week), and price is at least 30% cheaper than in a usual restaurant setting.
&JOY Dining Hall first opened at Jurong Point, followed by another location at the revamped Great World basement this year.
The multi-brand concept offers unique Japanese specialties all in one destination.
Besides dine-in concepts, &JOY Dining Hall also offers delivery, takeaway, a retail grocery store and a bakery.
The concepts include:
– ROMAN.TEI
– RAMEN KIOU
– Kuriya Japanese Market
– Pittarino
– Ichiban Express
– Gokoku Japanese Bakery
ROMAN.TEI
ROMAN.TEI is a Japanese casual dining concept serving an array of yakiniku grilled meats and beef jyu (rice box).
Known as a meat specialist from Osaka, it specialises in tender beef steak over rice.
Their signature savoury beef steak is juicy and flavourful, sporting a memorable taste and a “golden ratio” of rice and tender beef steak.
The best-seller here is the Double Beef Zen ($17.90). Get twice the value with two kinds of beef in one dish, a duo of beef steak and sliced beef.
The thick juicy cuts of beef are served atop fluffy Japanese rice in jyu boxes. A special homemade sauce adds flavour and silkier texture to the rice. Make it ochazuke by pouring dashi over your rice, topped with pickles, umeboshi (salted Japanese plums), nori, furikake and sesame seeds.
New on the menu is the Japanese Wagyu Miyazaki A4 available ala carte ($31.90) or in a Jyu rice box ($34.90).
Relish the award-winning wagyu bred from Miyazaki prefecture. This A4 graded striploin doesn’t only offer exceptional marbling, but is also packed with rich distinctive flavour.
Also new to ROMAN.TEI is the Pork Ribs with Ginger Sauce ($6.90) which comes with two pieces succulent ribs pan fried on a hot teppan, giving them a crisp exterior. Complement the pork’s delectable fried taste with accompanying Japanese ginger sauce.
RAMEN KIOU
Operating since 1995 at Osaka, RAMEN KIOU is known for its appetizing ramen staples, in particular the Tomato Chashu Ramen ($14.90) and Tomato Cheese Ramen ($14.90).
Order the Deluxe Shoyu Tonkotsu Ramen ($14.50) and taste the house-special tonkotsu drawing salty flavours from the added soy sauce tare which makes this a classic Tokyo-style ramen.
Its signature house-made tonkotsu or bone broth is creamy and fragrant, a great pairing with its tender pork belly chashu slices braised in age-old tare. Their ramen noodles are soft yet firm with a springy texture.
Complete with assorted toppings including ajitama, nori, and negi or chopped green onions.
Kuriya Japanese Market
Kuriya Japanese Market is a one-stop shop for Japanese items including sake, frozen food items, sauces, seasonings, and condiments.
It is the exclusive retailer for Gyomu Super, a popular 800+ supermarket chain of outlets in Japan. With a wide range of dry items, frozen foods, and plenty of snack items, you can be spoilt for choice.
What’s interesting here is you can get the freshest sashimi as premium fish and seafood are air-flown to Singapore from Osaka Central Wholesale Market thrice a week. Yet compared to other dine-in restos, sashimi prices are at least 30% cheaper.
Expand your choices by getting the catch of the day – you can have it sashimi-style or grilled over charcoals.
I had the Houbou aka Red Gurnard or Sea Robin ($17.25 for 176g – market price) which was recommended sashimi-style, a fish known for its white and pink colours, light sweetness, and full-bodied texture.
Pick a Kodai from the display counter and ask the staff for a Charcoal Salt Grilled Kodai (About $16 – market price + $10 grilling service).
This cooking method adds a smoky char to the Sea Bream’s skin while keeping its natural juices within.
Pittarino
The Italian-inspired concept Pittarino (Japanese for “just right”) serves up Japanese-style pizzas and pastas.
It specialises in hand-stretched Neapolitan pizzas and pasta fused with distinctively Japanese flavours. Exuding a fun and hip vibe, Pittarino makes all its pizza from scratch and baked at exactly two minutes to cook the toppings just right.
Pizza choices include Pepperoni ($15.90), Margherita ($13.90), Truffle Mushroom ($18.90), Frutti di Mare ($20.90), Salmone ($19.90), Bismark ($15.90) and more.
Go for the Teriyaki Chicken & Scallion Pizza ($17.90) made with its signature hand-stretched dough laden with teriyaki sauce, mayonnaise and shredded mozzarella. Toppings are a mix of teriyaki chicken and spring onions, with an added egg in the centre.
Couple it with an order of Yuzu Vongole ($14.90), Mentaiko Giapponese ($15.90), Ebi Aglio Oilio ($15.90) or Carbonara Pasta ($13.90) featuring fresh spaghetti with a smooth, almost mochi-like texture.
Pasta here is always nama (fresh) imported from Japan – you won’t find store-bought dry pasta anywhere in their kitchen.
For the Carbonara, the smooth pasta is blended in a cream sauce with cuts of bacon, egg, and Parmigiano cheese. Drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and freshly-ground black pepper just before serving.
Ichiban Express
Ichiban Express at &Joy Dining Hall is a convenient food kiosk for the foodie-on-the-go.
Have a feast at home with their donburi and udon available for takeaway at value-for-money pricing.
These include Chicken Teriyaki Don ($9.90), Salmon Mentai Don ($15.90), Chicken Katsu Don ($9.90), Kitsune Udon ($8.90), Tenzaru Chasoba ($13.90) and Niku Udon ($11.90).
Recommended is the Tempura Udon ($13.90) a combo of udon noodles in broth and assorted tempura.
The Japanese noodles are made in-house, a product of Ichiban Boshi’s chefs’ original recipe. Enjoy this hot noodle soup topped with narutomaki and negi.
Gokoku Japanese Bakery
Gokoku Shichifuku (Japanese for “five grains and seven fortunes”) is a bakery concept from Kobe, Japan.
This authentic Japanese bakery has been baking breads for almost 60 years, serving customers healthy buns made with hearty grains.
If you are looking for high-quality breads, drop by Gokoku Japanese Bakery for your daily supply of baked goods. They use Japanese flour and traditional ingredients like brown rice and sakadane aka fermented dough.
You must order the signature Gokoku Shichifuku Pan ($2.10) baked using a blend of Japanese brown rice and rye flours. It is combined with malt and oatmeal, plus linseed, sunflower seeds, and soy beans. A bread roll rich in dietary fibre and minerals for a heathy boost.
Look out for the Mochi Mochi Cheese ($2.40), a delightful unison of mochi’s chewiness and cheese’s melty goodness. This soft and chewy bun is interspersed with diced cheese melted as designed.
Don’t miss their top-sellers Malt Kurumi Pan ($2.10), a soft bun with malt, oatmeal, soybeans and chopped walnuts; Mochi Mochi Cranberry ($1.90), a soft and chewy cranberry-dotted bun with a light buttery flavour; and Teriyaki Chicken Pizza ($2.10), a chewy pizza-bun topped with teriyaki chicken, onions, cheese and mayo.
To end the meal, head to &JOY Bar to drink to your hearts’ content with various alcohol choices starting from $5. Yes, a glass of highball at $5 and Sapporo Premium Malts draught beer at 2-for-$20, all day every day. ”Kanpai!”
Special Promo with Oddle
Get $10 OFF when you order online (with min spend of $80). Limited to first 1,000 redemptions from 1 – 20 Oct 2020 only. This promotion is available at &JOY Dining Hall Great World and Jurong Point.
Island-wide Delivery from $5 – $8. Free Delivery for orders above $120. Store Pick-up available with no min order. For more information, visit https://order.njoydininghall.com.sg/en_SG/.
&JOY Dining Hall – Great World
1 Kim Seng Promenade, Great World #B1-133 Singapore 237994
Opening Hours: 11am – 9:30pm (Mon – Sun)
&JOY Dining Hall – Jurong Point
1 Jurong West Central 2, Jurong Point #B1-47, Singapore 648886
Opening Hours: 11am – 9:30pm (Mon – Sun)
* This post is brought to you in partnership with &JOY Dining Hall.