Disappointing shokudo

I had been excited to find out there's a 'new' Japanese restaurant in the expanded basement of Raffles City, and specially arranged to meet my ex-classmates for lunch there. Shokudo is like the Japanese version of Marche, with each customer given a card to register the items we bought at individual stalls, then pay the bill at the exit. The seating areas inside are not so distinctly fanciful as Marche's, though different areas still feature different styles of tables & chairs. We just took the nearest comfy-looking one, where Sam's wooden baby chair fitted right in.

Initially, I was quite pleased to find the drinks stall selling Calpis, my fav Japanese yogurt drink. At $2.90 it's not exactly cheap, but Sam loved it too. I then ordered a seaweed udon ($7.50) & a gyoza ($5 for 5 pcs), thinking to repeat my old trick of mixing the minced meat from the gyoza with the noodles for Sam to eat.

Turns out the udon was very chewy. Usually the problem with udon is it gets too squashy when left soaked in the hot soup for too long. Shokudo's version was so firm, even I myself took some time to chew through the noodles. As you can imagine, Sam took even longer for a single bite! The gyoza was seriously not tasty at all........Sam, the meat lover, not only did not ask for 2nd helpings, but after eating only 1.5 pcs of the fried dumpling, rejected the rest of the dish.

Desparate, I laid waste the noodles & bought a plate of fried breaded oysters ($7 for 4 pcs) with a bowl of rice ($1.50). One of the reasons why I like to bring Sam to Japanese restaurants is the softness of the Japanese short grain rice, which makes it easier for Sam to eat. Well, shokudo's rice is not soft at all.......though the rice was distinctly short grain, I felt as though I was eating the usual Chinese restaurant rice.

The oysters? I can't even tell how fresh they are: I've spent too much energy chewing through the thick coating of flour surrounding the shellfish! So 1st time in this blog, I'm furnishing a photo of my unfinished food. It's really quite sinful for me to waste so much, but I've really lost most of my appetite.

I must be really quite unlucky to have ordered 3 separate dishes that I didn't like. Friend JH said her ramen was quite acceptable. And judging from the throngs of customers in the place, I guess there must be better dishes somewhere out there.........

Only after I've paid the bill & stepped out of the restaurant did I see the mini children's play area right at the end of the restaurant, where a small slide & 3 bead puzzles serve to entertain young children. Well, I find Raffles City's baby room just to the left of the restaurant more welcoming, though small - with its 2 nursing rooms & one diaper changing area - but complete with a large basin, hand dryer & napkins to clean my hands after changing Sam's diaper.

Don't think I'll ever go back to shokudo again, not till I've changed my preference of food to chewy ones.............


shokudo
#B1-44E, Raffles City
Tel: 6837-3793