Stixers may sound like “sticks”, and yes this new Japanese restaurant at Tyrwhitt Road (Jalan Besar) serves up Yakitori skewers.
The team also wanted a name which was more funky and not too common.
Opened by the folks behind Chirashi King Kong, Stixers can be described as a “hipster izakaya concept bistro”.
Jalan Besar is having a mini revival of sorts with the multiple new cafes and eateries opening up in the area, with recent entrants of Kushiboy, Prince Noodles 王子面, Phat Chic Forever, Obsessive Chocolat Desire (OCD) Ice Cream Café, LA VIE and dessert store Tian Wang 甜旺.
The one thing that left an impression about this modern izakaya was its décor with its neon lights, mish-mash of traditional and modern Japanese decorations, and instagrammable “wings” corner. Loads of photo-taking opportunities.
Head all the way to the back of the restaurant and you would find a ‘beer vending machine’. Pull open the door, and you would discover that it is the entrance to the washroom.
The menu does offer quite a range of items, from appetisers, maki, sashimi, yakitori skewers, donburi bowls, udon, munchies, to desserts.
Some of the recommended items included Stixers Sashimi Flyer ($128) – varieties of sashimi placed on a toy Ferris wheel; Angel Lover ($19.90) of cold angel hair mix with special truffle sauce seared with salmon mentaiko and flying fish roe; to Mix & Match ($88.90) – a yakitori and fried items platter.
If bowls are what you are looking for, there are choices of Bara Chirashi ($30.90), Gyudon ($16.90), Salmon Mentai Chirashi ($16.90), Unagi Don ($22.90), to Salmon Udon ($15.90).
Perhaps it was a combination of the design layout of the menu and the uneven pricing – some items much higher than the conventional, it took me a while to decide what to have.
So while the Bara Chirashi ($30.90) with sashimi cubes, sea urchin, salmon roe and crabstick was higher priced most likely due to the addition of uni, I wished there were other variants of raw fish bowls closer to the $20 region.
I ordered the Gyudon ($16.90) in which the meat was cooked with a housemade teriyaki sauce, topped with sous vide eggs.
The selling point was the truffle rice mix, with fluffy Akita rice that had touch of interesting sweetness, and truffle fragrance that was not overly powering.
Since this place is called Stixers, I suppose yakitori should be a must-order.
Get your hands on the Kimchi Pork Belly ($7), Yakitori ($7), Asparagus Maki ($7), Enoki Mushrooms ($6), Tsukune Chicken Meatballs ($6) or Hotate Maki ($9). Each order would come with 2 pieces.
The yakitori sticks are marinated with an in-house sauce and grilled with charcoal with continuous brushing during the process to ensure the flavours are infused in the skewers.
While I treat Chicken Karaage typically a side order, having it priced at $13.90 made me deliberate before ordering. I would typically be happy with a couple of pieces at half the price (or less).
They were generally quite generous with portion, and perhaps designed the menu wanting to cater to larger groups.
But I thought some items (like the Karaage) could have differentiated sizing and pricing, to suit smaller groups who may want to order a variety with smaller plates.
Stixers seems like a fun modern izayaka with tasty truffled rice bowls, perhaps slight refinement of the menu (in both design and offerings) can help them find a better focus.
Stixers
35 Tyrwhitt Road, #01, Singapore 207536
Opening Hours: 5:30pm – 10:30pm (Tues – Sun), Closed Mon
Other Related Entries
Yakiniku-GO (The Seletar Mall)
SUKIYA (Suntec City)
Kushiboy (Jalan Besar)
Ginza Shinto (Mohammad Sultan)
Syohachi Wagyu Hamburg (One Raffles Place)
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