Sunday, February 3, 2013

Food Review: Nana's Green Tea Cafe at Plaza Singapura #03-80 ...

Do you like green tea?
Do you like matcha? Especially those imported from Kyoto?
Do you like Japanese food?

If you like any of them, Nana's Green Tea Cafe is for you!

Despite the name, they actually have more than just green tea - they also offer the widest selection of Japanese cuisine among all the branches of Nana's Green Tea in the world. The brand is so popular in Japan it is known as the "Japanese Starbucks". In Singapore, this is the largest and only branch, situated at the newly opened Atrium?@ Plaza Singapura.

I was invited by the kind folks from Nana's to try out their lunch, so I visited the place last Friday during lunch. There's some crowd, but what I like is that it is so spacious, there was none of that lunch time madness that you see in CBD.

The square partitions in this cafe that 'hangs' around the table is designed as a modern interpretation of the Japanese tea room - where there's some form of privacy between each table. Very thoughtful and innovative!

Looking at the menu was quite the headache because there is SO MANY things to choose from! What's interesting is that the matcha drinks and desserts come first. Followed by mains, and then appetizers. It's B&F instead of F&B. Cute!

There's things such as the Matcha Parfait, which looks like a heavenly monster of a dessert.


On to the lunch! There were so many matcha drinks to choose from, and I ultimately chose the most sinful looking one - the Matcha Kuromitsu Latte ($8) which comes with whipped cream and caramelized brown sugar syrup. It was so good because the slight bitterness of the matcha was countered with the light creamy taste and the strong brown syrup, so there's a progression of taste as you slurp it from below upwards.


Next, a favorite that my fellow food blogger friend Ms-Skinnyfat had raved about - the Salmon Carpaccio ($8.80)!

It was really satisfying and whetted my appetite as the starter. The thick slabs of salmon with a light oil and lemon sauce was topped with the distinctive taste of sesame that harmonized well with the fish.

Since it was just the 2 of us, we ordered 2 mains to share. They are based on the friendly Restaurant Manager's recommendation!

First up is the very unique dish of?Ebi Goma Dare Udon ($14.80) which is in fact cold udon noodles with prawns, avocado and cherry tomatoes in Nana's special sesame sauce.

This means your noodles will come to you chilled. Which I really like. For some strange reason, I actually generally prefer my food cold. This noodle dish was indeed as unique as the manager said, because of the sesame sauce! It was creamy with a light touch of both salty and sweet and rather thick. ?I wonder if I would indeed be able to finish it all by myself, because the sauce might make it a bit overwhelming in large portions. But to share there's no problem. The udon noodles was springy and tasty.

The next mains we shared was another star item - the Locomoko Don ($15.80). Beneath the tomato sauce, you see there's a beef patty which goes on top of Japanese rice and garnished with lettuce, tomato, broccoli and sunny side up egg.

Though I prefer the noodle dish over the rice, I can see why some people will like this. The beef patty was really soft and minced, and quite flavorful. The tomato sauce goes well when mixed with the rice. It seems like a MOS rice burger, dismantled and placed in a bowl! Very filling and value for money.

By then, I was rather full already but there's always room for dessert! I zoomed in to the?Matcha Anmitsu ($8.80), because green tea ice cream with green tea jelly just sounds so delicious! There's some sort of black beans in there which I don't recommend you eat. I didn't care much for the white glutinous balls in there too. But the creamy ice cream mixed with the red bean dollop was so good. The green tea jelly was not konnyaku style as I hoped, but the crunchy type of agar agar jelly.

I also poured the caramalized brown syrup over it to sweeten it a little, or the jelly itself is sugar-free. I really liked this dessert and wouldn't mind just stepping into the cafe during some weekend shopping just to share this with a friend!

Good news! There is currently a February Lunch Set Promotion. During weekdays 11.00AM to 2.30PM, you can get any main course and drink (valued $8 and below) for only $13.90!

Pleasantly surprised to find quality food in a cafe that seem to only serve desserts. I would recommend this place to anyone who's sick of queuing for Japanese food elsewhere. Prices are slightly high so check it out during lunch first if you can. Otherwise, it is still quality that you're paying for.

Nana's Green Tea Cafe
The Atrium @ Orchard, #03-80/82
Plaza Singapura, 60B Orchard Road, Singapore 238891
Monday-Sunday: 11am-10pm, last order: 9.30pm
+65 66844312

Source: http://www.alexischeong.com/2013/02/food-review-nanas-green-tea-cafe-at.html

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