SIN: Hifumi Japanese Restaurant

Affordable Japanese main courses with appetiser and dessert buffet!

The extension to Plaza Singapura, which I've just recently had the time to leisurely walk around, houses many eateries. Hifumi Japanese Restaurant is one of them, providing all-you-can-eat appetiser and dessert bar with every purchase of a main course. After reading other food blogs, I believe the restaurant rotates the free items.

Assorted Stuff #1

For mass-produced chawanmushi (Japanese egg custard), I must say it was surprisingly velvety with even a piece of clam embedded inside. The cold soba (Japanese buckwheat noodle) could be chewier, but it did have a hint of green tea smell. I also enjoyed the huge, juicy pieces of radish, but the mixed vegetables with minced chicken were too sweet. The fries with curry powder won over the sweet potato fries with honey.

Assorted Stuff #2

The potato salad was alright, while the vinegared julienned carrots with squid could be more flavourful. On this particular plate, the vegetables the cheese fondue was a spoiler as it wasn't only too watery, but also slightly bitter.

Dessert Items

It was a delight sipping the not-so-heavy, milky matcha (Japanese green tea) soup that had somewhat chewy rice dumplings inside. The grape jelly with fruit cocktail was slightly refreshing and there was nothing to complain about it.

Curry Omelette Donabe S$12.99

Taste: 8/10

Let's move on to the main courses. The newly introduced meat-free main course was delectable beyond expectation. The Japanese curry was thick and sweet, topped with burnt cheese. While the egg was moist, it could definitely be cooked last in order to ensure that it'd still be runny upon its arrival on the table.

The stickiness of the cheese really added depth to the dish. However, the miso (Japanese fermented rice, barley and/or soybean) soup was a tad too salty.

Ishikari Miso Hotpot S$17.99

Taste: 8/10

The Hokkaido style hotpot had quite a robust miso broth, thankfully without being too salty. In addition, the corn kernels were so full of natural sweetness that lent a heady aroma to the broth. Most of the ingredients were fresh, with the salmon being melt-in-the-mouth tender. One of the leafy vegetables, which was presumably kailan (Chinese broccoli), was old and bitter.

Melon's Rating

Taste: 8/10

Ambience: 7/10

Service: 6.5/10

Overall: 7/10

Despite coming across several reviews about horrendous customer service rendered by the restaurant, I didn't exactly meet any unpleasant encounters. My only gripe would be the lack of servers. In fact, there was only one taking orders that evening, so I had to wait for quite some time after deciding on what to eat while my stomach continued to grumble. Pika's advice: Take note that the restaurant has a policy which limits patrons to 90 minutes of dining time.

Hifumi Japanese Restaurant

68 Orchard Road

#04-68 Plaza Singapura

Singapore
(Daily: 11.30am - 10.00pm)

*Prices quoted are subject to 10% service charge and 7% GST.

Have a nice meal,

Cliff(y)