SUN with MOON, and a pale reflection of

The Reflection
It was perhaps unfortunate that we chanced upon Ministry Of Food / My Izakaya on their first day of operation, while hunting around for an afternoon snack in the newly, snazzily redone Marina Square yesterday. Their menu offered Japanese cafe-restaurant type food and desserts, so J and I decided to give it a try.

First problem - no baby chair. As this was their first day of operation, the waiter explained, they had forgotten to buy baby chairs. No worries, we said, we'll just carry the baby. And so we proceeded to order our food.

"I'll have the Shiratama Kurizen, please."
"That's a dessert, sir."
"Yes, that's fine." (Yes, I can read your menu perfectly well thankyouverymuch.)

J ordered a Tofu Avocado Salad ($6.80).

Our food took some time to come. J noted that the kitchen staff (the place had one of those long peek-into-the-kitchen service counters) seemed to be having trouble with a bento box that had been sitting on the counter since we arrived. Uh-oh. "Five minutes," J said to me, after we had waited for a bit. "In five minutes, if the food doesn't come, we're out of here."

My Shiratama Kurizen ($6.50) arrived shortly after, a cold combination of white rice-flour dumpling balls in a bowl of red bean, topped with soft-serve ice cream, like the kind you get at McD's. Exactly like that kind, in fact. Ummmm. As I dug into the dessert, a few things came to mind - the red bean was too sweet, the shiratama balls weren't very good, and the odd combination of sweet red bean and slightly-salty(!?) soft-serve left something to be desired.

J had this to say about her salad: "If I can tell you what they used to make the dressing, then I can make this at home. And if I can make the same thing at home..." Wasabi and mayo. Uh-oh again.

We decided to pay up quickly and leave, so we called for the bill.

"What cards do you take?"
"Which do you have?"
"Do you take Amex?" I ask, fishing out my card.
"Mastercard, sir."
I flip my wallet open again.
The waiter's hand glides down, hovers close over my open wallet and points to a card inside. "Maybe this one, I think."

Shell shock!

I signed the unevenly-torn charge chit haphazardly, still a little stunned at what had just transpired. J was busy feeding Ethan, so we had to stay put for a while.

The same waiter then came over with a tray and asked, "Can I clear your glasses?"

Not "May I top up your water?" as I was expecting.

Thanks for the unasked-for 15% discount, but I don't think I'll be going back to MOF.

SUN with MOON - The Real Deal

SUN with MOON Japanese Dining & Café
Originally uploaded by varf.

To make up for yesterday's fiasco at MOF, we decided to have lunch today at SUN with MOON Japanese Dining & Café.

J and I have been fans of Japanese cafe-style afternoon snacks, especially after sampling Tokyo's delightful confectioneries during a trip some years back. We've regularly taken advantage of Shimbashi Soba's (at Paragon, B1) special $5 afternoon dessert + coffee/tea offer, often indulging in their cream anmitsu that's normally worth $8+ during regular meal hours.

A couple of weeks ago, we walked into SUN with MOON at Wheelock Place for tea.. and were hooked. We were seated next to the window, watching traffic navigate the Orchard Boulevard and Scotts Road junction on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Ambience and service was great, and the Marron (Japanese chestnut) and Chocolate parfait I had then was definitely up to par.

Today, there was a 20-minute queue for lunch. J left her name and cellphone number with the reservations counter and we went off shopping until they called us. No physical queueing necessary.

Seating at the restaurant is divided into different sections, with distinctive styles in each section ranging from egg-cup chairs to booths to sushi-counter seating. There are a number of cosy tucked-away corners, perfect for chilling out with friends. Unfortunately, today we were seated in the dimly-lit section near the front, not exactly one of my favourites, but with today's crowd I'm not complaining.

I ordered the Komachi Bento set ($25.50), an 8-dish selection served in a basket: crab salad, tamagoyaki, tori karaage, two small sushi rolls, unagi kabayaki, grilled beef roll stuffed with mushrooms, agedashi tofu and a salmon and avocado rice paper roll topped with salmon roe. Accompanied by udon. Matcha ice cream and coffee came later. All good!

J had the Shogayaki & Tomato Salad set ($13.80), which turned out to be grilled pork slices in ginger sauce, with tomato salad, miso soup, rice and pickles. And a cup of tea after. I sampled a piece of the pork, not bad at all.

The food came quickly after ordering, as usual. It surprised me greatly on our first visit, that the food tasted as good as it did despite having arrived as quickly as it did. It's as if the entire restaurant functions like a well-oiled machine, effective and efficient without compromising on food or service quality. Superb!

And then there was one
Perhaps I'm making a very unfair comparison here. Granted that MOF is still extremely raw, while SwM has been around for some time and already has two outlets in Singapore (first branch is at Chijmes). But hey, these are two establishments with fairly similar offerings. And it's a cruel world out there.

Maybe someday there will be a rematch, but it probably won't be on this blog.

'Cos I'm recommending SUN with MOON to my friends.

SUN with MOON Japanese Dining & Café
501 Orchard Road
Wheelock Place
#03-15/16/17
Singapore 238880
Tel: 6733 6636