Akashi, Orchard Parade Hotel

Something tells me my life isn't very exciting.

In the last couple of weeks or so, more than half of my posts revolved around sushi, raw fish and teatime treats. On the other hand, even if i were to document my unblogged posts, you would just see daily repetitions of Jolliebean peanut panckes, Pick & Bite curry puffs, fruits and coffee. I can't decide if it's because I'm faithful to my instincts or a creature of habit, simply unwilling to budge out of my comfort zone. I must admit though that like 98% of the population, I thrive tremendously on routine.

We headed back to Akashi for dinner at its new location at Orchard Parade Hotel. Back at Tanglin Shopping Centre, the restaurant resembled a dinghy rabbit's hole, packed so tight you could have smelt your neighbor's dinner. The new outlet (just about 50 meters from their original spot) is blessed with both space and better lighting so yay for taking pictures. The sushi bar is twice as large, which made me twice as envious of the people seated there. Now I'm usually not the needy type but when I see people sitting by the sushi counter, having a good laugh with the sushi chefs, sharing a tipple of two, I sort of feel -sob- left-out.



Dad opted for the Akashi Bento while hot-food-only mum went for the beef teriyaki. It was a little too pink for my liking though the texture was unsurpassed.



Favouring the other end of the thermometer scale, I ordered the tekka and futomaki set and requested to replace the tuna maki with salmon maki. I loved it. From the loose inari pouches, to the spring-onion-scented salmon niblets to the captured enjoyment of pickles and sakura denbu tucked within the futomaki.



It's amazing how much enjoyment I can get out of molded vinegar rice. I think I need a theme song to capture the 'Ding! I finally found you' moment.


Low on the thermometer reading, high on pleasure.

Akashi's charm remained intact thanks to the friendliness of the service staff and service was irrefutably spot-on. One thing that struck me was how almost everyone who came through their doors was a regular or rather, greeted like one. So the sashimi standards might be a little flaky but the hot food and sushi are sure bets on any given night. Now if only I could score a seat at the sushi counter and pull an omakase...