Wasabi Tei

each time i pass by this tiny shop in a hole (if i ever do land up in the ulu parts of level 5 anyway) and i see the long queue, i always wonder what drew the people there..is it the food or the prices (certainly not the ambience) until i read about it online and realise that i may be in for a more interesting experience should i step into the land of no-smiles..

m, along with my temporary cg and i decided to come here after a surprisingly early day at nearby kk - far east was a great choice cos if plan A to come here fails we can always head to nambantei or su korean cuisine) - but we were like half an hour early before opening time so we headed to my favourite dessert stall over at level 2 (HK dessert solutions in my earlier post) to wait...nonetheless, we still went back 10 minutes before opening time and to our horror there were people queueing already!!!!!! and cos we were outside the kitchen of the next door eatery our clothes started to smell and other random things we noticed was this masseur that was opposite wasabi tei..how very strategic man.

here is the chef-boss, presumbly pouring in the vinegar into the rice. this place is a one-man show, he prepares everything cooked or uncooked, and if you go for the first sitting he prepares for everyone at one go so definitely you'd have to wait for your main orders unless you order side dishes to distract your pangs first... he really buys everything from scratch on his own..when we were there he was lugging in ice from somewhere else back into his shop, and i saw him at the Isetan Scotts supermarket before buying tons of red meat..it really is a small enteprise, for him to source his meats from a supermarket instead of a supplier.

seeing him mix the steaming rice makes me very hungry!

another lady was the other living presence in this shop and she does everything else other than the cooking - take orders, fills green tea - but she seems to be over-rided in authority by the chef - when some customers tried to clarify some orders she asked them to ask him directly..and by the way you must make all your orders in your first order, they don't do additional orders. and they converse in chinese.
this is the seaweed appetiser that comes with my chiraishi don set...this came piping hot and was really tasty - salty but not overpoweringly so and the bits of meat were especially firm in the broth.
as i said earlier..the mains were all prepared at one go and so this was for the 6 orders of chiraishi don..
as he filled up the lacquer box with more and more fish m and i got more and more excited, seeing how the slices were so generously thick, and the icing on the cake was when he took out the box of unmistakable uni and planted some in each box!!

Chiraishi Don, $20

This meal set comes with the earlier seaweed appetiser, and miso soup, and with a compulsory fee of $2 per seat you'd get a drink - either cold drink/soft drink or hot green tea thats refillable..there's no service charge or GST so im not complaining.

See how thick all the slices are? and they were very fresh too, especially the swordfish! There was salmon, yellowtail, tuna, swordfish, fish roe and uni - as well as tamago. Each slice was succulent and firm, and was certainly a delight.

m's and my very colourful chiraishi
don't think you can appreciate it in 2-d, but see how thick the slice is?? yum!

California Maki, $6

This was M's , and you can probably read about this in her blog

Salmon Teriyaki Set, $10

My other 2 friends had this..and it looks damn burnt - must be all that multi-tasking!

This best thing about this place is that the prices for the sets are the same for dinner as well so i'd definitely be back. i think this experience was really entertaining, watching the mannerisms of the chefs (heard he chased out a group of girls before - must be a nuisance creating a racket =P) and watch him prepare all, from our bar seats forming the border of his open kitchen. we also got to see the other diners' food (the unagi is hugeeeee and so are the codfish hotpots), priming our stomachs for more food in the very near future

and cos of all the waiting to enter, waiting for the food, we had to hurry rush our meal and hurry drive back ! oh the luxury of long lunch breaks i sure miss!

Wasabi tei
14 Scotts Road #05-70 Far East Plaza

Tel: 62388216 ( i don't suggest you call them)
Mon-Fri: 12noon - 3pm, 5.30pm - 9.30pm Sat: 12noon - 9.30pm