Morinaga Izakaya Restaurant

Morinaga's signature dish is undoubtedly their truffle somen with ikura.

Thin al dente wheat flour somen noodles are served cold in a truffle soy sauce dip and topped with spring onion and ikura. It is light, refreshing and slurp-worthy! Whilst the ikura and spring onion give this dish bursts of umami and herbaceous flavours, I recommend having it with some wasabi to give it an additional spicy kick.

You don't really find deep fried octopus in most restaurants in Singapore so it's a must order whenever we see it.

I like its addictive chewy texture and mellow sweet flavours. And more importantly, I would like to believe that it is a healthy alternative to deep fried chicken!

Tender juicy pork glazed with sweet miso and chargrilled to perfection is the perfect antidote to a dreary work day. My only complaint though was the small portion!

One of our must-order dishes at any Japanese izakaya is grilled eggplant with miso.

Eggplant is a finicky ingredient to work with as it can be tough when undercooked and mushy if overdone. But I love Moringa's rendition of this dish. It was irresistibly tasty and cooked to perfection, striking a delicious harmony between the silky and creamy texture of the grilled eggplant and the sweet savoury umami flavours of the miso!

Morinaga is a little hole in the wall hidden gem in the basement of Orchard Emerald shopping centre in the heart of Orchard Road.

The little izakaya has a strict drinking policy for dinner and will turn diners away if you do not imbibe. Non-alcoholics like me will just have to make do with checking out their lunch menu instead where they serve set lunches and most but not all of their full izakaya menu.

The quintessential Japanese izakaya starter is the mentai mayo omelette. I personally prefer the classic French omelette but Moringa's tamogoyaki or Japanese rolled omelette was impeccably made with savoury dashi. It is beautifully finished with mentaiko mayonnaise drizzled over it in layer like stripes.

An enjoyble sweet start to lunch I reckon.

A long wait, but worth it. Soft, tender, juicy, and fatty fish meat that brings a refreshing sweet-savoury taste.