Hi there
Sandaime Bunji at Millenia Walk has been under my “Must Eat” radar for ages, since I saw the Japanese advertising on their Oden and Beef Tongue.
I know, I know, Beef Tongue, just the sound of it, doesn’t seem at all appetizing huh? But if you have tried once, e.g. stewed beef tongue or really good yakitori style, I am telling you, you will be convert in no time. 🙂
Sandaime Bunji Japanese Restaurant focus on Sendai cuisine, so you might find the dishes they have is slightly different from the main stream ones. Sendai is famous for its rice and fresh produce, so I am really looking forward to it.
Although the place can be a tad pricey, but if you really do want to try it out before blowing your dough on a proper meal over there (Dinner Oden can cost up to $45 for a bowl), I would recommend you to try out their lunch sets first. 🙂 Starting from $9++ which is really a steal compared to their ala carte menu.
They have an open kitchen concept and once you enter the restaurant, you will be greeted by both the chef and the waitresses.
On that day, I brought along my mum and my son to a meet & greet of some cartoon characters at Marina Square so decided to finally try it out for real. Yeah!
We ordered a Sendai Gyutan S Size & U-men Set ($18.00) which consist of Beef tongue 5 pcs, tofu, salad, warm noodles. Salad is served pronto with some ceasar dressing over it, which I find it a little odd as I thought it will taste better if it is with Wafu dressing.
Tofu is just a small cube with some spring onions on top of it, so you will want to drizzle just a little soya sauce over it. Would have been better if the tofu comes with a little grated ginger.
I have fond memories of beef tongue, when I was young, there is this restaurant in macau which serve a really mean beef tongue stew which is one of my all times favourite. So tender and flavourful. So beef tongue stew is usually what I will choose if I see it on the menu.
Another way which is the best way to cook it I reckon, is to grilled it, while I worked in a yakitori joint during my studies, I got hooked on their best seller beef tongue, even causasians who are so skeptical about this dish, instantly became their hit dish, and will always come back for more. This is how good it is. So now you see why I have this soft spot for it. 🙂
Okay, now comes the Beef Tongue or Gyutan in Japanese. They claimed their Gyutan are cut in 1 cm slices so that you can taste the real flavour of it.
Over here at Sandaime Bunji Japanese Restaurant at Millenia Walk, theirs are definitely the thickest beef tongue I have ever tried, just the look of it, it looks like it is just lightly grilled, which is quite different from the ones I had before which usually comes in thinly sliced.
Texture wise, it is borderline tender, with some bite to it. I think I would love to have it grilled a little further as it will add in a little more smokey flavour to it. The pickles that comes with it aid to clear the palate and I wonder if that is why it is not as robust in the sour section. I like it of the crunch but taste wise I would really love it if it can be a little more sourish.
But what we all agree that is good, (including my son), is the handmade U-men. The broth is very light with a hint of soya sauce & dashi, but the noodles are so fine and has this really nice texture to it, I wouldn’t say chewiness, but rather just a very light comfort dish.
The sliced inari or sweetened tofu skin gave it a little sweetness which compliments this noodle dish. 🙂 My son just asked for more after slurping up his first bowl swiftly.
Actually judging by the decor of the place, I think dinner slot is definitely a very cosy place to dine in. 🙂
The second set that we ordered is the Oden Set ($15.80) which comes with 7 pcs of oden, tofu, salad, soup, barley rice.
The oden broth is really good, it is as close as you can get to the real oden in Japan. I visited a few really good oden specialty place in Japan before and so far in Singapore, I have never found a place which can serve up to that standard, so it is a nice suprise to finally find a contender for it. 🙂
The soup base here is not salty or full of soya sauce dashi base which you might find in other restaurant, here the broth is very flavourful and light. The oden, or fish cakes are very tender, and each piece taste like the real deal. Goes so well with the yellow mustard.
You can add any other oden for $2.50 per pc during lunch time.
I wanted to come to this restaurant with my son partially because they serve some barley rice, so i just wanted to see if my son will like it or not. I personally like the barley rice, which is quite rare to find in Japanese restaurant here, chewy and when eaten with the gyutan while piping hot, good stuff.
They also have weekly special lunch set. The week that I have been there, they were running special set on Unagi & Oden Set for just $9++ per set. Now that’s really something you can shout about. 🙂
Overall, my personal favourite is the Oden they have, defnitely the best I have in singapore, as to the other dishes, I will just KIV at the moment, perhaps next time when I visit them again, I will try out more to find out. If you want to know other set lunch and also pricing, you can check out below. 🙂
- Sendai Gyutan S Size & U-men Set(仙台牛たんS&温麺サイズセット) – S$18.00 – Beef tongue 5 pcs, tofu, salad, warm noodles
- Sendai Gyutan S Size Set(仙台牛たん Sサイズセット) – S$19.00 – Beef tongue 5 pcs, tofu, salad, soup, barley rice
- Oden Set (おでんセット) – S$15.80 – oden 7 pcs, tofu, salad, soup, barley rice
- Satsumaage Udon (さつま揚げうどん) – S$13.80 – fried fish cake udon, tofu, salad
- Curry Udon (カレーうどんセット) – S$13.80 – curry udon, tofu, salad
- Mentaiko Udon (めんたいこうどんセット) – S$18.00 – spicy fish roe mentaiko udon, tofu, salad
- Kitsune Udon Set(きつねうどんセット) – S$11.80 – sweetened bean curd udon, tofu, salad
- Grilled Saba (Mackerel) Set (鯖の塩焼きセット) – S$18.90 – grilled saba, salad, tofu, soup, barley rice
- Ishiyaki Harako Set (石焼はらこセット) – S$19.80 – hot stone harako rice, tofu, salad
- Chicken Teriyaki Tukune Set (チキン照り焼きつくねセット) – S$17.90 – teriyaki chicken, salad, tofu, soup, barley rice
- Gyu Harami Steak Set (牛ハラミステーキセット) – S$22.90 – Gyu Harami steak, tofu, salad, soup, barley rice
- U-men SP SET (温麺SPセット) – S$18.80 – warm noodles, salad, tofu, chawanmushi, salmon sashimi, dessert
- U-men Healthy Salad Set(温麺ヘルシーセット) – S$15.80 – warm noodles, large salad, tofu and chawanmushi
RESTAURANT REVIEWS : SANDAIME BUNJI JAPANESE RESTAUARANT AT MILLENIA WALK
Locations : 9 Raffles Boulevard #01-14/15, Singapore, Singapore 039596
Operating Hours :
Mon – Fri: 11:30 am – 3:00 pm / 5:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Sat: 11:30 am – 11:00 pm
Sun: 11:30 am – 9:00 pm
Tel : 6333 1516
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Cheers,
Dawn