Last Thursday, I went to check a "newly" opened Izakaya restaurant, Sumiya along with my friend (coursemate), Darren. We intended to have ramen at first as we made a bet previously and the winner will get treated but we were in the mood for some Izakaya food. Hence, we checked out a restaurant that I was really interested in visiting instead as I got really tempted by someone I followed on Instagram.
Btw, Izakaya refers to drinking establishments that serve food to accompany the drinks. Usually for after-work drinking as the Japanese love having a mini-celebration after a stressful day at work. (I heard from my colleague that they MUST drink after work, or maybe that's just an exaggeration haha).
Izakaya normally serves dishes like skewers (yakitori), fried chicken chunks (kaarage), soybean pods (edamame- My fave!), grilled meat/vegetables (kushiyaki), raw seafood (sashimi) etc etc. For drinks, they carry beers, shochu, sake and sometimes cocktails, wine and whiskey. (mostly beer though, but of course, they carry some non-alcoholic beverages too)
Let's move on from the introduction!
The restaurant we visited was located on the top floor of Orchard Central (lvl 12) and the view was.... great! There was a roof-garden!
View from the 12th level of Orchard Central
Upon entering the restaurant, you are greeted with really warm welcomes and they even hit the taiko drum! (boom boom booooooom LOL) Though.... it was pretty awkward hahaha.
Rolled up menu which was tucked under the tables
At first, we were shown to an indoor seating but we wanted to have do some charcoal grilling, hence, we moved to the seats outside.
Seats seems to be inspired by tin buckets!
Greenery around us
Remember, 12th level!
This is not the main entrance, this is the "exit" to the outdoor seating
$4.90
I'm not exactly a fan of beer and my dad doesn't support me drinking (obviously, don't all parents feel the same way?) but I had to! Firstly, I'm at an Izakaya and secondly, IT IS .... $4.90!!!
$4.90 FOR A MUG OF ASAHI BEER. (risking chances of my dad seeing this blogpost.... but i had to share, its such a good deal!)
I'VE HEARD ITS THE CHEAPEST IN SINGAPORE SO FAR!
Yes, $4.90
Chilled water served in a glass bottle
The first dish that we ordered was one of my favourites, EDAMAME.
At Sumiya, there was an interesting concept for allowing customers to GRAB one handful of edamame just for $6!! It would really help if you have huge hands! whooop
Humongous palms were put to good use
We got a huge loot!
Afterwards, we ordered some meat and many other dishes!
A REAL charcoal grill! No electric stove!!
Assorted Meat ($20), Squid ($7)
The Assorted Meat consists of 2 of pieces of Wagyu Beef, Angus Beef, Pork Belly, Chicken and 1 Pork Loin. I feel that the marinate needs more work as I really like my meat well-seasoned but if you're the type who like to taste the full flavor & sweetness of the meat, this will be your thing.
The lighty marinated squid was great! Especially when its eaten along with their soy and chili sauce! Their sauces are not the usual ones you'll expect! Would you ever expect belachan to be in a japanese restaurant?
Midnight garlic fried rice ($7)
This was ... Meh, like average, very average. I feel that the rice was too sticky and it wasn't as fragrant as what I expected of it. ):
Psst- if you hate carrots, please skip this dish as the carrots are so finely chopped that you cant pick them out! wahahahahah
Potato Croquette ($6- 4pcs)
Darren and I both think that this is a MUST-ORDER!!
It was crispy on the outside and extremely creamy inside!! Umai!!!
Char-grilled Shishamo ($6)
One of my favourites too! Shishamo is always a must if I'm at an Izakaya. The ones here are pretty fresh and with a hint of lime juice.... ah. good stuff hahaahaha
Blessed with a meat, cursed with a fat face hahahahaha
Onigiri Yaki ($4)
Hmm hmm hmmm something fun to try but for a Onigiri Yaki, it really needs to be on the grill for a longer period to achieve that "crunchy" texture on the outside.
Psst- we actually re-grilled it on our charcoal gril hahaha
Fries in truffle oil ($6)
Not a fan of crinkle cut fries.... I'd recommend to skip this.
Stone Pot Ramen ($7)
Large piece of Chashu
As I'm a huge fan of ramen... I must say... never expect a good ramen from an Izakaya.
..... Just skip this, order something else....
Shall not even elaborate how disappointed I am with this dish hahaahah.
Yakitori ($4/skewer)
Pricey. I feel that the chef could have slapped on more teriyaki sauce and let the flavours seep through. But it was alright!
Bacon wrapped mushrooms ($4/skewer)
Needs more grilling time but surely no problem if you have a charcoal grill right beside yaaaa.
How can bacon even go wrong?
Macha Ice Kachang ($5)
Gotta order this desert for a perfect ending to your meal!
The green tea ice cream on top is heavenly! However, the green syrup on the shaved ice could use more flavour but I'd still order this though!
Black Sugar Jelly- $4
Decent but I things would be perfect if the black sugar's flavour is more significant.
So that's all of what dishes we ordered, just for 2 people. (I wonder if we are even humans, I think we're probably pigs)
The meal was pretty costly though each dish costs $4-7, when you order like we did.... you'd cry at the bill. hahaha but we didn't of course, that's merely an exaggeration.
Though the food wasn't extremely mind-blowing, I'd still head back again, with a larger bunch of people as when there is only two... it gets really hard as we want to try abit of everything. Besides the food, the service and ambience was awesome!! Really nice and attentive service crew and for the surroundings, it really brought me to another country!
Can't wait to go back!
Sumiya Charcoal Grill Izakaya
181 Orchard Road
Orchard Central, #12-02
Singapore, Singapore 238896
Opening Hours:
Mon - Sun:
12:00 pm - 3:00 pm
6:30 pm - 10:30 pm
Tel: 6509 9618
Site: http://www.sumiya.com.sg/
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