Shortly later our food started to arrive. I was eagerly waiting for my salmon sashimi. When it arrived, I was kind of disappointed to see the sliced portion being small and the salmon was kind of like, not in a single slice. That is, a slice of salmon can be broken into half even. So that was the first disappointment.

Next major disappointment was when the Toko Yaki came. Thankfully I was not the one who took the first bite. But my mom did and immediately spat it out. The taste was sour, like the feeling of overnight food. Immediately told the supervisor and they offered to change another plate. Then just behind us, another table, and the family was also complaining about the curry rice being sour too. Then after much debate, I heard that there was no more rice to cook the dish, instead they used sushi rice. When the second serving of Toko Yaki came, it was fine. So in the first place, why that batch of ingredients was so bad? Overnight food?

We continued our dinner. Strangely my mom’s favourite Sakae Salad came as the very last dish. Strange because it is a dish that does not require any cooking, yet last? :( Thankfully she still enjoyed the salad. The taste was still not too bad.

Disappointment was not over it seems. When I paying the bill, the supervisor told me that my vouchers cannot be use. At the point of time I did not want to debate so I agreed to deduct the entire bill of over $50 from my Sakae Card, thankfully I had enough Sakae Dollar. The supervisor claimed because it was Fathers’ Day. But when I got home and think about it, what is so special about Fathers’ Day that my voucher cannot be use? I did not order any special Fathers’ Day promotion. It is not a public holiday. And the terms and conditions behind the voucher did not state anything about not being allowed to use on such days (and again, it is NOT a public holiday).

So end of the day, I am very disappointed with this experience at Sakae Sushi. My mom had to agree with my aunt who commented before that it seems like Sakae Sushi standards varies from places. Like if you dine in at town branch like Sakae Sushi Wisma branch compared to a branch in heartland, it seems like worlds apart. Doesn’t Sakae have some kind of quality control over the food? Being a avid fan of Sakae, dinning in at so many places before, I have to agree this time that the standards are different in different places.

And about the voucher not being allowed to use with no such terms and conditions? Disappointing. Over $50 spent yesterday was not justifiable based on the quality of food and service towards customers. Bearing in mind it did not seem like I was the only one complaining at that time I was there.

Disappointed customer this time round. :(

We ordered the same set lunch – Beef Set. We felt the beef here was cooked better than the one first we ate Sakae Teppanyaki – Cineleisure branch. However the chawanmushi (steamed-egg) was not as good I felt. Oh and since they changed their menu. the chawanmushi is no longer included in the set lunch that we ordered. But still the food quality is up to standard! I will eat again when possible. :)

After lunch, we went on to do some shopping around the malls around Tampines. So armed with my Canon 550D, I took random photos again.

Aww, I love the top right photo. See those huge earphones on the left? “Haha!“

What makes Sakae Yusheng so well love I believe is the large slices of salmon sashimi. While other traditional normal Yusheng will probably give some slices of fish, Sakae was generous in their portion of salmon sashimi!

Let me take this opportunity to also thank Sakae for using my photo contest entry in their latest edition of Sakae Shimbun (newsletter). For sure I am going to keep this copy with me!

Now I cannot wait for Sakae new menu coming in March!

Salad with Tomato Apple Sauce: Even Miss M who does not like vegetables, enjoyed this dish! At first sight, we thought it was chilli sauce. But the chef told us it was tomato sauce that had bites of apple in it. The salad is so fresh. The bowl served was cold, which tells us that the whole salad had been in the fridge and served chilled. Truly unique sauce we felt.

Assorted Mushroom: Only included in Sakae Set. I was afraid that the mushrooms would be bitter but I was wrong. The mushrooms were very soft. Mushrooms lovers will sure like the way this dish is cooked.

Teppan Chawanmushi: I thought it will just be those normal chawanmushi served in a cup at Sakae Sushi. But when the chef poured egg into the onion skin, I was stunned! Topped with a prawn and a slice of Japanese fish cake, this chawanmushi is the best! The onion skin gave the egg a little onion taste too. The egg was not overcook too. This is a must-try!

Beef Set: Served with Tofu Steak and Vegetable, Louis and Edward had their beef medium cooked. Louis let me have a cube of the beef. I always prefer my beef to be well done because I am afraid of eating blood. But this beef was cooked so nicely that it was not well done yet no blood.Very tender too. This is going to be the next set I will probably eat when I go eat again.

Sakae Set: Served with Tofu Steak, Duck Meat and Salmon. I thought duck would be an interesting choice since I have not eaten Japanese cooked duck before. Although the salmon was rather thin and nothing very special about it, the duck was not the same. Served with this special sauce that made the taste very special. The meat was easy to bite too. About the Tofu Steak, it was soft on the inside, kind of crispy on the outside! Never really like tofu but this is nice! Topped with a little steak and carrot. Another must-try side dish.

Chicken Set: Served with Half Shell Scallop. Miss M ate this but I did not try it. But according to her, it was good! Looks good anyway. I did however eat the scallop since she did not want it. I thought initially it was clam but Louis told me it was scallop. Both of the scallops I ate, I felt that there was kind of like sand inside. Not very pleasant for me although the taste was good. At least I tried something new!

The overall dining experience was excellent! I had to confirm with the staff if I could use my Sakae Dollar to pay and she helped me to check and double check. The chef asked if everything was alright. Did not have to call the waiter to refill water as the waiter went on her round quickly. The price was more affordable than I initially thought. I thought each person will cost about $20. But with $11.90, a set lunch can be eaten. Eating teppanyaki at a food court will already cost about $8 without drinks. I was told by the staff that there will be new dishes in the menu soon. So I hope by my next visit, I will see more varieties!

We were so spoilt for choices when we were browsing through the menu. So many pasta to choose from and so many we wanted to try. Took us more than 5 minutes before we finally decided on what to order.

The two choices we ordered were fantastic! Simply delicious! I ate TPS Style Carbonara. Served in Wafu cream sauce with pork, bacon and eggs.  Normally pasta dishes, the eggs are cooked together with the pasta. But not for this dish. And that is what I believe made this dish nice because the sunny egg is cooked slightly and place on top of the pasta. Because of that, it does not make the cream sauce too thick. Usually when I eat cream sauce pasta, I get sick of the dish very quickly. Louis ate TPS Furikake Chicken. Another “boomz” dish! No wonder next to the dish on the menu it states “Grow madly in love!” Pan fried pasta served with chicken that is marinated so well!

However the prices per dish are quite expensive. On average a plate of pasta will cost $14.90. A price not affordable for students I believe. So I hope they will come out with some kind of student meal for students. Another way to attract more customers. There was another table of adults were took their table and after browsing through the menu, decided to not eat and leave. Thankfully being Sakae Sushi e-Journalist, I am giving the privilege to dine in for “free” monthly as long as I know how to control my spending.

“Thank you Sakae!“