Hearty Humble Oiishi Ootoya

I was hanging at Orchard Central for the first time with my friends and they being japanese food lovers, brought to me to this really cosy place, Ootoya.

The place was very quiet as we were there in the mid afternoon which was good as there was no lunch crowd. Browsing through the menu, it looks very authentic and were of good standard. Pricing wise, it is reasonable ranging from $15 - $20 for a set meal.

I saw an interesting dish that caught my eye and decided to take the risk to try that creation. The Soya Milk Porridge ($13) with mixed grains tasted pleasant, mild and comforting to the soul with its soupy base. There seemed to have no taste of soya and it tasted more of a miso soup with mixed grains porridge. It is definately a must try for all those health enthusiastic who loves whole grains and nutty food. I personally was satisfied with it. 

My friend tried this grilled pork with rice set meal and another friend had the chicken cutlet with seaweed rice. Although I do not fancy pork but the grilled pork was juicy and had a delicious slight smokey flavour that changed my perception towards pork! The sauce accompanying it tasted saltish bbq and complemented well.

The chicken cutlet was a little too oily and being stewed in the sauce gave it an interesting twist to the usual crispy one. It was quite a hearty meal but we were attracted by the dessert menu that three pastry lovers could not resist it. 

We had a Matcha Mousse ($6), Soymilk & Matcha Parfait ($6) and a Castella Parfait ($6).

The mousse was not too sweet or creamy. However, all of us felt that it tasted more of like a pudding rather than a mousse.  The matcha parfait had green tea ice cream with red beans which the classic all time favorite combination.

The castella parfait came with green tea ice cream with banana sandwiched in the middle and topped with fresh whipped cream was too sweet. They would have reduced the syrup that was on the castella cake in the parfait.

Overall, it was a pleasant and affordable meal. I would certainly want to return to try their Ootaya set meal which is apparently one of their signature dish. Meanwhile, I shall say oiishi to my home-cooked soba noodles waiting for me!