Seafood pasta comprising of spaghettini doused in some garlicky and really seafoody broth. As pictured, the portion for the mussels was generous. Perfect for seafood lovers

Sunday brunch spot over fish & chips and clam spaghetti. The husband casted a questioning look when I decided on fish & chips but I guess all doubts were cast aside at the first sight and first bite. The portion was massive (true to pictures seen in reviews) and fish was f-r-e-s-h! I like how it’s so flaky and juicy, (and no the juiciness wasn’t from oil). In fact, my lips didnt feel oily! For those who prefer some tanginess, the dish was served with half a huge lime, just enough to drizzle over the entire portion of the fish. Otherwise, one could dip it into the tartar sauce. It was tangy, creamy, and paired better with the fish. Unlike the lime which seem to cut through the taste of the fish. Then again for a produce so fresh and of quality, savouring it without any condiment added would be best imo. Also served with curly fries along the side! That’s a bonus to the typical shoestring/ thick cut fries

Grey ish and murky, this definitely isn’t the most aesthetically pleasing item on the menu. Being quite a fan of century egg, I swayed the husband into ordering this. No regrets! The century egg tofu was serve chilled, in soupy century egg ‘gravy’ that has a subtle taste of century egg. And if you’re wondering if there was any odd/ rancid smell, nope, there wasn’t! The tofu was soft and tasted as expected. The generous dollop of roe added some crunch to the soft, creamy mouthfeel. The century egg certainly accentuated the overall taste and texture of the otherwise lonesome tofu. We were pretty impressed with our side!

Easily spotted along the road, this eatery was fully packed when we arrived around 7pm on a Friday evening. We got ourselves waitlisted in the queue and waited for 45mins (also the max waiting time advised by the staff due to the dine-in duration that was capped at 45mins)

Be prepared to soak up the smell of kitchen works when you dine in this cosy Japanese house. The live/DIY cooking means that the live action (and smoke) gets right-in-your-face-clothes-and-hair literally. I hate to stink after my food so the food has got to be worth it. Im glad to share that it does! For the novelty, friendly service and rather generous portion of oko (priced approx $17.90++ for the Ajiya combo oko, with a 10% discount if choose to DIY. Otherwise, you’ll be waited upon by their in-house oko chefs). The Ajiya combo allows you to choose 3 toppings - I picked tako, belly pork and smoked duck while the husband went for scallops, bacon and belly pork. Portion size of the proteins could be a lil’ more generous. Holistically, considering the rather substantial portion of cabbage and batter, it all adds up to a rather satiating meal.
Once done, you’ve the liberty to drizzle your oko with any amount of Japanese Mayo (kewpie!), oko sauce and bonito flakes! These condiments are available at no additional cost and they’re free-flow!

Worth a try if you’ve got time and don’t mind smelling a lil’ post meal.

Tip: Head early! The waitlist stops once the max #pax is reached before the “second” seating begins. During our wait, we saw disappointed diners walking away. They’d arrived perhaps 20-30mins after us.

Don’t bother with the yakiniku sides tho. I think they’re priced a tad steep for the portion (you get better deals and an assortment of dips at Yakiniku like!)

A bold fusion dessert I’d say! Compared to the traditional creme brulee made of custard, this is relatively less sweet and more fragrant. Non fans of pandan wouldn’t quite appreciate this tho! In terms of texture, this was executed perfect - smooth, creamy texture, nicely paired with cracked, caramelised burnt sugar layer. Nothing close to the “wow” effect as the sticky date & longan pudding achieved but a good choice if you don’t have enough stomach space for a heavy dessert!

My preferred choice over chairman’s bubur char char! Think - dense, intense sticky date cake drizzled with Gula Melaka, topped with walnuts and with a dollop of vanilla ice cream - it’s rich and extremely decadent! As with all dishes - this dessert was adorned with gogi berries - which I thought was absolutely unnecessary. I don’t and can’t appreciate gogi - I dug it out and put it aside. Objectively speaking, gogi lovers would probably appreciate the fusion.

Empress’ modern take of the humble barber char char, accompanied with a slightly fancier name to the dessert - this isn’t just any other burburcharchar but one that’s fitting of a Chairman! The husband loved this dessert very much and he wouldn’t stop raving about it. (He too, wouldn’t stop expressing his regrettable short-lived experience savouring his dessert - we started lunch late and the restaurant closes at 3pm! He was left with 15mins, which he deemed ‘too short’, to enjoy his dessert)

Instead of the typical soup-y coconut base, Empress served the coconut in finely shaved ice, somewhat similar to bingo. That melt-in-the-mouth smoothness won the heart of my husband. Dish was also served with yam balls, freshly cut fruits - mango, banana, pomegranate and a dollop of coconut ice cream sitting on a layer of black glutinous rice paste!

Not your typical honeydew sago for sure. The compressed honeydew cubes were a tad more translucent than the honeydew cubes that I usually have at home - absolutely fragrant and sweet. This was a erved with blueberries, strawberries and freeze dried raspberry flakes which were tangy and crunchy. It was a pleasant twist which elevated the traditional honeydew sago dessert. Absolutely love this fusion dessert!

Deep fried battered scallops served in egg drop gravy with vermicelli (like mee Sua). The rather decently-sized & freshness of the scallops certainly impressed us. I also appreciate how Empress was generous with the amount of egg in the egg-drop gravy. Spot the chunks of eggs here! (As opposed to thin strips of eggy presence….)

These were our choices of mains from the Imperial set lunch menu. We had a choice in the doneness of the beef and decided on medium. It was well executed, but nothing ‘wow’. They were well marinated in black pepper sauce which I thought was very much similar to those that you can find at tze char restaurants. I guess when it comes to beef, I prefer them served in the form of steaks or burgers.

The halibut fillet would be my preferred protein here! I like how I could see whitish fish flakes within. The halibut fillet was definitely fresh - nothing fishy, chewy nor processed in terms of taste.

Yet again one of the husband’s favourite. The prawn soup was thiccc, resembling collagen based soups from hotpot restaurants. I preferred this over the double boiled soup in coconut. However, the thicker consistency of the prawn soup also meant that it easily fills up one’s stomach. I wouldn’t be able to clear this off on my own! Seafood lovers would love the huge dumpling that was stuffed generously with seafood/prawn goodness too! Aside from seafood, the soup was also served with chunks of tender. Chicken

Soup lovers would enjoy this Chinese-wedding-banquet-ish double boiled soup served in coconut husk. In it were chunks of tender chicken. My husband clearly enjoyed every sip of the double boiled soup. The coconut flesh were infused with the soup. Having been double boiled, the coconut flesh were easily scrapped off the husk. It was light and creamy! Soup was also artistically served with 2 translucent-ish prawns hanging over the husk. My husband calls them the slippery prawns cos they slip out of the chopsticks’ grip rather easily! Eat with care or you’ll find your expensive glass prawns on the ground…