Otoko – The Midtown Residences

Yet another new eatery had opened at The Midtown, adding to the long list of eateries in the building including Foxhole Cafe, Tiew Mai Thai Boat Noodle, Nunsongyee and AM Bakery.

Not to be confused with Otoko Ramen (which also runs Kaneta Shoten), Otoko had humble beginnings as a coffeeshop stall at Sultan Plaza which still exists at the time of writing. The opening of their new stand-alone shop at The Midtown also sees them offering a wider menu — apart from a larger range of Donburi, one can also order mix-and-match Japanese Curry Rice where patrons get to choose their own choice of fried items to go along with their plate of Japanese Curry Rice. As with most eateries at The Midtown, orders are made on the ground floor, while the dine-in area is situated upstairs via a flight of steps.

(Buta Kakuni Don)

Going for the Buta Kakuni Don, the donburi comes rather simply with a slab of braised pork belly, what seemed to be an onsen egg. While the braised pork belly could have been done a little bit more tender to our preferences, those who prefer their meat to carry some bite might find the texture pretty adequate. The braised sauce was also pretty savoury and flavourful, with the slab of pork absorbing the flavours of the braised sauce pretty well and compliments the rice too.

(Ebi Tendon)

The Ebi Tendon is a dish that was previously not available at their original stall at Sultan Plaza (they also carry a Classic Tendon with more condiments). It may not be quite the bowl of trending Tendon that is all the hype on social media these days, but it is good to note that the Tempura prawns had a pretty crisp batter that encases the rather big prawns within. Unfortunately, the prawns felt like they lacked a bite; a little too soft and thus marred the entire dish quite a bit. That being said, the rice is drenched in a subtly sweet sauce while also comes with small bits of crispy Tempura batter that provided for some texture — both elements making the rice a breeze to finish.

(Salmon Teriyaki Don)

The Salmon Teriyaki Don is something that was previously available at the Sultan Plaza stall — a rather common and simple item to go for at any Japanese F&B establishment. Otoko’s variant is brilliantly executed; the sauce itself being a good balance of sweet and savoury while the salmon comes flaky and adequately moist with a slight hint of smokiness; the skin also carrying a light crisp which we found pretty satisfying — all drenched in the Teriyaki sauce. In fact, the sauce came well together with the salmon and rice; we found ourselves mopping up the sauce with the rice to savoury every bit of it. A simple and comforting dish despite being an item commonly found — one of the variants that is well-executed.

While the food is pretty decent with just pretty minor misses (mostly confined to the Ebi Tendon), the prices of the food at the Sultan Plaza is a little on the high side (most items are above $10) — most of the items are more basic Japanese Donburi usually found in other Japanese eateries; probably the addition of a bowl of Miso Soup on the side might help to add to the perceived value of the food to the consumers. While the service is pretty basic here, we thought there were a few details that could be improved upon — patrons are asked to make their order before heading upstairs for seats, yet orders are taken by the staff using order chits; perhaps they could look into placing the order chits on the table and allowing patrons to look for seats before heading down to the counter to order (the shop layout doesn’t allow patrons to see if there are any vacant tables to dine-in, while the counter area is rather small and not conducive for groups to stand around). Also, it is noted that the printed menu does not carry the prices of the items — something that should have been included. The issues might be teething problems during the initial days of operations as they get used to operations at a full-fledged eatery from their humble beginnings at a coffeeshop stall. Overall though, it is heartening to see Otoko expanding their operations — from a stall serving up comforting Japanese fare in a coffeshop to having a standalone space in a mall; they have certainly grown quite a bit ever since we were introduced by a friend during their Sultan Plaza days. Let’s hope that Otoko would be able to iron out the problems in the long run, whilst offering quality, yet value-for-money Japanese cuisine to their patrons — it’s definitely been a journey for them.

Otoko
The Midtown Residences
1187 Upper Serangoon Road
#01-20
Singapore 533971

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/OTOKO.SAN/