Chako Japanese Restaurant: Want to taste real Japanese food?
Oden set meal $19
Japanese cuisine has really taken off in Singapore in a very big way and that means that you can find Japanese food almost everywhere nowadays. That is the good thing. The bad thing is that a lot of the Japanese food that we eat really comes out of a packet. There are of course the high class Japanese restaurants which employ Japanese Chefs who actually prepare the sauces and cook the food, but there are others who employ people who know very little of Japanese cuisine, give them a pan, some chicken and a bottle of teriyaki sauce and get them to produce some Japanese like food.
Hey, I am one of those fellas who has a couple of kids who simply adore Japanese food, so I do subject myself to the "out of a bottle" Teriyaki Chicken quite often. Heck, I sometimes cook it myself at home and I do think that the "out of a bottle Teriyaki Chicken is still pretty tasty. But what eating all these quasi Japanese food has done for me was to arouse curiosity over what real Japanese food should taste like. What I would really like is to be able to experience eating a homecooked meal at a Japanese home.
Tempura Moriawase set $20-$22
Since I don't know any Japanese well enough to invite myself over to their home, I found the next best thing, which is to make a reservation at the Chako restaurant. The delightful Obasan (Japanese for aunty) at Chako has been operating a tiny little Japanese Restaurant in Hong Leong Gardens and has been cooking authentic Japanese homestyle food since 1978. How authentic is it? Well, in the Japanese household, it is the lady who does all the cooking. Now, how many Japanese restaurants in Singapore do you know has a Japanese lady with is the head chef?
Obasan still does everything herself, with a little help from her daughter (who speaks perfect Singlish). So one of the things she specificially asked me to mention in the blog is that if you want to come here to eat, you should not be in a rush to, say, go to the hospital to be with your wife as she delivers her baby. No, when you come to Chako, please be prepared to wait for meal. That is because, Obasan will start preparing your meal only when you get there and also because she doesn't use anything out of a bottle. Everything has to be made from scratch, the traditional way.
So if you want to try some Oden, which is the Japanese equivalent of our Yong Tau Foo, do be prepared to wait in the little restaurant while you reminise about the 70's and gaze upon the family photo with President Nathan which was taken when he visited the restaurant. Yes, this is another President's Pick. (presidential fanfare in the background). You will then be rewarded with a nice hot bowl of Oden which consists of konnyaku, tofu, boiled egg, fish cake and the stewed Daikon. Point to note, the soup has all been done from scratch and has to be brewed for 6 hours, BUT Obasan said that you are not supposed to drink the soup. No it is just for the sole purpose of flavouring the other stuff. That is why she doesn't give you a spoon. I thought it was nice, but I have yet to become a big fan of Oden. However, if you have never tried Oden before, I reckon that this is one place where you can get a pretty authentic one! And it definitely tasted better even than the one I had in Tokyo. 4.25/5
My favourite dish that day was the Tempura Moriawase. Now, the batter here is made from scratch and not from premix and it was very good. The set costs $21 but the two prawns which I got were large, succulent and juicy and the proportion of crispy tempura batter to the prawn was just right, unlike the prawns which you often find in other places which are really thumb sized tiger prawns which have been stretched and heavily coated with tempura batter so that it becomes the size of a banana. The dipping sauce was, again, brewed by Obasan and complemented the tempura perfectly. It was certainly one of the most satisfying tempuras I have eaten in Singapore. 4.5/5
Saba Misoni $18-$19
For those who like Saba fish, their Saba braised in miso sauce is quite good. I am not big on Saba as I find it too fishy, but with this one, the miso sauce really took away quite a bit of the fishiness. I loved the sauce, but as a dish overall, it didn't quite resonate with me. 4/5
Conclusion
Definitely a place I would recommend anyone who loves Japanese food. They don't serve Wagyu or any of the expensive stuff here, just simple homecooked Japanese cuisine prepared with lots of care and passion. Again, please be prepared to wait because Obasan will not let anyone else other than her daughters, into her kitchen. You can be assured of a unique and authentic Japanese food experience.
Note: It does help to order before you go but you will still have to wait.
Chako
134 West Coast Way
Hong Leong Garden Shopping Centre
Tel: 6776 3919
Mon - Fri 12:15pm - 2:30pm, 6:30pm - 10:30pm,
Sat - Sun 6:30pm - 10:30pm
18 comments:
The oden is even better than the ones you had in Tokyo? That must be really good. I love oden but couldn't find really good ones in KL so far. Hope to visit Singapore just for food soon!
I like Japanese Daikon in Oden as they have soaked up the gravy taste and ooh so nice to have it with the Japanese Fish Cake too.
Pity the place is miles away from the East.
Well, let me qualify Sugar Bean, that the Oden I tried in Tokyo was the from an ordinary joint which is not well known for Oden. I haven't really eaten any famous Oden in Japan so I don't have a gold standard to compare.
I'm guilty of spashing teriyaki sauce over pan fried chicken or grilled salmon at home to please the kids. I buy lots of grilled unagi and chuck them in the freezer in case I have no time to prepare dinner from scratch.
Funny thing is I used to hang around outside Chako while my son shops for marine fish at the shop next door but I never had the urge to step into the restaurant. Now that I know it serves delicious food, I can have a nice meal while my son lingers in the marine shop.
Not only that, but I am sure if you spend some time getting to know Obasan, you might be able to pick up some tips on how to cook your own teriyaki chicken!
Does anyone know where has Cheok kee duck rice shifted to? It is no longer along Macpherson Road.
i dont think u gt to wait 6 hrs rite for the soup to boil? hehe..
time to visit them! not too far from home! :)
Were you invited to review this restaurant?
I usually declare that the review was invited if it was. This one was recommended by one of our readers.
The Unagi here is lovely too!
Order your food before you arrive, that might shorten your waiting time by a bit. :-)
@Anon 10:50AM:
In reply to your question, Cheok Kee Duck Rice is now situated at East Coast Lagoon Food Centre. The daughter has taken over the stall.
I love Oden. Now trying to figure out if I have been there actually cuz I stayed there many years back. Anyway, another place that serves good and really affordable Oden is at Ngee Ann City - Basement FoodCourt. All the way to the end there's a Jap Stall that sells grilled fish set etc and they have Oden. The soup base and oden items are all very nice. $4 or $4.50 per serving. Definitely much more tasty than the ones served at Liang Court basement. Try it! :)
just went there today. had the chicken katsu curry rice, wanted to try smth else after i realised they on't serve pork but i want the curry so bad :P luckily i ordered it. the curry was great, nicely cooked till the veggies were soaked through with curry flavour, and not the sort of curry which you would get tired of..yum!! :)
Oh yes the curry was really good!
My fav 3 would be Tempura prawns, Curry, Gindara Teriyaki
ieat, just a suggestion, think it's possible to set up a student's list? probably introduce midrange food so that students who are on a budget (for me this trip to chako was the result of a lot of saving up) can find great places to eat :)
Hi, good suggestion!
Why don't you look through the blog and list down the stalls which fit the student's list and then I can set up the Students list as a tag.
Maybe you can start with the value for money list.
can do. probably try to do about a category a night, but how do i define value for $$?i thinking of places where can get a meal for about $10-15..depending on quality of food also ba..hopefully we all have the same taste as yours :P
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