Flor by Chef Yamashita

Flor by Chef Yamashita

Talk about cakes shop or patisserie, the area near Tanjong Pagar MRT houses plentiful of options but they all share a common similarity. Either the cakes get sold out very fast or these shops close by 7pm or there is no dining area to start off with. Hence, despite the good creations, the inconvenience does hinder our subsequent visits.

I have my reasons for starting this entry like that. Whenever I was asked to recommend desserts or a place to chill out, I realize these lovely patisseries seems to be eliminated off their list for these reasons, no matter how much I rave about them or tempt them with the photos on this blog.

Despite the early closing hours on weekdays and limited seating area, Flor Patisserie is definitely one that is going to tempt many for this place is helmed by the former pastry chef of Patisserie Glace, Chef Yamashita. So, for those who fancy authentic Japanese creations, this is the place you might want to put it on your checklist.


The overall concept Flor Patisserie adopts is very light hearted. Using the combination of blue and white, the entire dining experience makes it very soothing and relaxing. The choice of photos aligned on one of the walls and the Japanese decorative items on the other side of the shop excludes a simple Japanese theme.

The selection of cakes does show some resemblance to Patisserie Glace but regular patrons of Patisserie Glace will not be disappointed for there are some gems that are seen only at Flor. For instance,


Tahiti ($6.00) A tropical delight, Coconut dacquoise with passion fruit mousse and topped with fresh pineapple.

The two key components of Tahiti lies in the coconut dacquoise which has coconut flakes incoporated to provide a textured taste and tangy passion fruit mousse. A contrasting combination of these 2 main layers and when eaten together with cubes of pineapple, I would say each mouthful is bursting with flavours and texture.

*Note: According to Flor website, this is currently not available.


Napoleon ($6.20) Traditional Napoleon made with Chef's signature puff pastry, strawberry version

As our visit to Flor was close to 2 months ago, the impression left for Flor's Napoleon is pretty vague. What we do remember about this is the light chantily cream with the crisp puff pastry that is not overly oily nor buttery.


Waguri Millefeuille ($6.50) Delicate strands of French chestnut cream piped over sandwich of crisp puff pastry and pastry cream topped with sweetened Japanese chestnuts.

Now the main highlight to our visit lies in Flor's Waguri Millefeuille, unlike the previous Mont Blanc (Patisserie Glace, CentrePs and Kki) we have tried and having been not a fan of chestnuts, this creation actually makes me wipe clean the plate. While most focus on how intense the chestnut vermicelli cream, Yuan and I like this creation for the overall presentation and layering. The use of crisp puff pastry sandwiching the delicate sponge makes the overall taste very light and addictive. Finishing every mouthful is the splendid mix of chantily cream and chestnut cream. I'm sold and I didn't give Yuan much chance to indulge this dessert with me.

Looking through the creations posted on Flor website, I guess the niche of this place is the clever use of ingredients such as cheese, tofu, crepe and puff pastry. Like his former creations (e.g. Strawberry Hills), Chef Yamashita has always surprised us with his creativity and this time, he tempts us with the clever use of puff pastry and cakes.

Flor Patisserie
2 Duxton Hill
#01-01
Singapore 089588
Tel: 6223 8628

Operating hours:
11am to 7pm (Mon to Sat)
11am to 6pm (Sun)
Website

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Mooncake Galore 2010

Mooncake Galore 2010

10 boxes of mooncakes, 4 hours of laughter, clicking & chats with great tea and homemade wantons. Our very own mooncake buffet @ Daniel's house...

It may sound like an impossible task to stomach so much variety of mooncakes but we did it at ease in an extremely happy mood. Reason being, the great company and warm hospitality.

Courtesy of Charlene from Foodoshoot


White Lotus Seed Paste with Double Yolk
This is not the first time we have eaten Shangri-la mooncakes and no doubt, it is considered one of the better ones available in the market. Earlier on, we have blogged about their Plain White Lotus Seed Paste and naturally the presence of the egg yolks make it more moist.


Shangri-la Mooncake 2010 Order Form


Baked Mooncake with Single Yolk and White Lotus Paste
Flatten egg yolk to ensure that it can be felt in every part of the mooncake and the main difference between this and Shangri-la's lies in the degree of sweetness. Overall, the skin is slightly more baked with a not so sweet and less sticky lotus paste.


Baked Mooncake with Macadamia Nuts and Low Sugar White Lotus Paste
The favourite among the baked mooncakes. Not only it is generously filled with macadamia nuts, the low sugar white lotus paste is relatively light on the palate.


Mandarin Orchard (former Meritus Mandarin) Mooncake 2010 Order Form
Courtesy of Phoebe from The Food Chapter


Mini Special Egg Custard Mooncake with Egg Yolk
A signature of Xin's Cuisine from Holiday Inn Artium. Chef Cheung Kin Nam's creation returns for the 22nd year. Fans of Hong Kong style's Egg Custard will be curious about this for its creamy moist custard filling wrapped around a salted yolk and baked to golden perfection. The key difference lies in its less buttery crust when compared to The Peninsula's counterparts. In addition, the sprinkle of edible gold flakes gives an elegant touch to the traditional mooncake.


Xin's Cuisine (Holiday Inn Atrium) Mooncake 2010 Order Form
Courtesy of Daniel from Memoirs of Food


留园饭店 (Liu Yuan Restaurant, Hong Kong)
鲜肉月饼 (Fresh Pork Mooncake, if literally translated)
Technically speaking, this is not a mooncake but closer to a 生煎包. Have to admit after eating 1 round of baked mooncakes, this savoury mooncake was so much appreciated till the entire group finished all 4 of them. Doubt this will be available in Singapore as it contains pork so do ask your Hong Kong friends to purchase this for you.

Courtesy of Daniel from Memoirs of Food
This is the reason for organizing the mooncake potluck. We were all curious about the taste of this bum (from Goods of Desire) and hence has gotten Daniel's father to purchase one for us.


If you have eaten Kee Wah, 奇华's mooncake, this bum mooncake tastes exactly the same as their traditional baked mooncake. The mooncake's main selling point lies in the excitement of not knowing which bum one ends up with and to make it even more sought after, pre-ordering is definitely a must if you want to lay your hands on.


The most memorable part of the mooncake? Try reading the label in English and get your friends to guess the type of bum.

Courtesy of Chloe from The Food Chapter


Green Tea Paste with Almond Flakes (yellow), Pumpkin Paste with Chocolate Pearls (green), Red Bean Paste with Melon Seeds (pink) and Black Sesame Paste with White Sesame Seeds (white) from Hotel Intercontinental, Singapore.
In general, the snowskin of all 4 flavours are overwhelmed by the strong infused filling. Of the 4 flavours, Yuan's preference inclined towards the pumpkin paste while the black sesame paste caught my attention. Kudos to the filling but the snowskin falls short in expectation as it was quite tough.


Man Fu Yuan Mooncake 2010 Order Form


Mini Bing Pi Green Tea Paste
Taste is pretty much similar to last year. Consistent with an even prettier packaging. To answer to the comments posted in our previous post, the green tea is infused with lotus paste.


Ritz Carlton Millenia Mooncake Order 2010
Courtesy of Elaine from Divine Essentials


Mini Snow-Skin Mooncake with Dark Chocolate Crunchy Pearl (green)
Mini Snow-Skin Mooncake with Salted Caramel Truffle (pink)
Mini Snow-Skin Mooncake with Champagne Ganache Truffle (white)
Our comments are pretty much similar to our previous post but this time round, we realized that the Salted Caramel Truffle receives more attention from the other 2.


Jewels Artisan Chocolates Mooncake 2010 Order Form
Courtesy of Glenn from Hungry Epicurean


Snowskin Mooncake with Champagne Truffle & Ganache
This has been consistently good and also a perennial favourite year upon year. Comparing with Jewels Artisan Chocolate, Raffles Hotel triumphs in terms of the creamy white lotus paste and perfect snow-skin while the former outwins in terms of the Champagne Truffle.


Raffles Hotel Mooncake 2010 Order form
Courtesy of Zhi Hao from Foodoshoot


(From Front to Back)
Low Sugar Red Beans with Champagne Truffle
Mocha with Bailey's Truffle
Of the 2, our preference inclined more towards the red bean for a lighter taste.


Tung Lok Mooncake 2010 Order Form
Courtesy of Lay Sian from Memoirs of Food



Teochew Crispy Mooncakes with Yam Double Yolk From Zhen Wei
Frankly, we are not a fan of this type of mooncake but judging from the excitement of the group and the smile across everybody's faces when presented with these mooncakes from Zhen Wei. We know that it was the preferred one over Peony Jade's for its crispy filo sheets.


Zhen Wei Mooncake 2010 Order Form
Courtesy of Daniel from Memoirs of Food


The Original Ex-Crown Prince Flaky Teochew "Oor Nee" Mooncake with Single Egg Yolk and Golden Japanese Pumpkin
I guess this needs no more elaboration on how good it is for it is the most talk-about and famous Ex-Crown Prince Teochew "Oor Nee" mooncake.


Peony Jade Mooncake 2010 (Partial) Order Form
Definitely looking forward to the next meet-up. Mooncakes are indeed the nicest when paired with tea and shared with great company.


Guess we need a break from the tonnes of calories loaded for today. Happy Mid-Autumn Festival to everybody... 中秋节快乐...

To view fellow bloggers' posts, here they are...
Charlene: Mid Autumn Festival 2010: Mooncake Party!
Phoebe: Of Jade Rabbits and Shooting Suns: Mid Autumn is all about friendship
Daniel: Mid Autumn Festival 2010: Feast with Friends!

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Hilton 2010 Cheese Mooncakes

Hilton 2010 Cheese Mooncakes

The introduction of snowskin does allow creativity when mooncake's filling is concerned and one of the more interesting flavours is none other cheese. Hilton's signature cheese mooncakes has been around in market for quite some time and frankly speaking, when we first heard about these variant of mooncakes, we were pretty skeptical.

To make it even more interesting, Hilton introduce an interesting flavour, Passion Fruit and Chili. According to Hilton's Executive Chef Sandro Falbo, this flavour is inspired by Singaporean's favourite flavours of sweet, sour and spicy so for those who are adventurous with their food, this mooncake is bound to surprise one with its fruity tanginess of passion fruit, some small amount of sweet coconut and spicy chili. I am one that has close to zero tolerance to spicy food so I didn't sample this flavour but according to Yuan, the spiciness kick in seconds later after leaving the small piece to melt in the mouth.

Anyway, after sampling all the flavours at the Takashimaya fair and we concluded our liking for 4 of the flavours, namely Mango and Pecan, Peach Melba, Chocolate and Strawberry and Rose and Chocolate Pearls.


When it comes to cheesecakes, Hilton is a legend in Singapore and the texture of these cheese mooncakes are of no doubt. The soft, tender snowskin is a good match when paired with the richness of cheesecake. The overall taste is further enhanced by infusing fruity bits to provide a tangy and refreshing treat to its exquisite filling.

Peach Melba is my favourite among the four. Named after a classic dessert created by French chef Auguste Escoffier, this leave a very deep impression for raspberry infused soft cream cheese filling with bits of peach. 谁说月饼必须是甜的.

Rose and Chocolate Pearls is one that caught Yuan's attention for the alluring florid notes of rose. Moreover, the dark chocolate pearls provide additional crunch for the velvety cheese filling. Guess the tonnes of macarons he had previously have influenced him to like this floral and romantic fragrance.

We have mixed up with Strawberry and Ivory with Chocolate and Strawberry but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. My mummy adore this flavour the most for the nice blend of chocolate and strawberries. Somehow or rather, there is a reason why the banana split is popular for so many years, the combination of strawberries and chocolates never go wrong.

Introduced in 2009, Mango and Pecan is back by popular demand. Like Peach Melba, the honeyed tanginess bits of mango and smooth cheesecake based filling is another combination that will not go wrong but the key difference lies in the additional crunch from the buttery pecan nuts to complete the taste with a hint of woody flavour.

Other flavours that are not mentioned in this post include, Hazelnut Cream (new), Strawberry and Ivory and Berry Treat Cranberries and Raspberries.

To begin with, cheese is something that is acquired and we were very surprised by how smooth and light these mooncakes are. For people who likes the traditional baked mooncakes with lotus paste, this may not appeal but snowskin lovers like me who is always keeping a lookout for something novel, I guess the $50 is well spent.

Available from 26 August to 22 September, these mooncakes can be purchased from the Checkers Deli, Hilton Singapore and Takashimaya Square and there is a 10% off for all mooncake boxes purchased at the hotel.


Checkers Deli
Hilton Singapore
581 Orchard Road
Singapore 238883
Tel: 6730 3392

Operating hours - 11:00am - 9:00pm (daily)
Website

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Mini Egg Custard Mooncakes from The Peninsula, Hong Kong

Mini Egg Custard Mooncakes from The Peninsula, Hong Kong

Having tried a custard mooncake purchased from 華麗園, Hong Kong (courtesy of my colleague), Yuan and I were quite surprised how different that was from the mooncakes available in Singapore. As I am not very familiar with the products in Hong Kong, it appears to me that this is one of the signature mooncake creations available in Hong Kong during this festive period.

As I have mentioned in my previous posts, I was addicted visiting the Mid Autumn fair at Takashimaya and having visited the fair for 4 days, Yuan end up with a slight burn in his pocket. This is the 3rd box of mooncakes purchased from the fair and I have 3 boxes pending for collection.

Given our liking for cakes and desserts, we were told to visit The Peninsula (香港半岛酒店) for their pastries but due to our weird itinerary planned for the 4 days trip, we didn't manage to grab a single piece of dessert from this place. Naturally, 5 months later, I couldn't resist getting a box of custard mooncakes from The Peninsula when they made their appearance in Singapore.


A box of 8 Mini Egg Custard Mooncakes cost $35 at the fair and I really like the way they packed their mooncakes, in an elegant compact gift box.

From my understanding through internet searches, The Peninsula (香港半岛酒店) seems to pioneer and create a unique formula of custard filling to replace the traditional lotus paste and egg yolk. With the use of salted egg yolks, custard powder, coconut milk, malt sugar and many other ingredients listed at the back of the packaging, the resulting effect is a buttery thin pastry with rich, smooth custard filling that has a melt-in-your-mouth effect. Note that each tiny mooncake is worth about 489 calories, so to a certain extent it does have a similar effect of eating pineapple tarts.


Egg Custard Mooncakes seem to be very popular in Hong Kong and China but somehow or rather, our family members felt that this is way too different from the traditional baked mooncake. Comparing with the custard snowskin available in Singapore (e.g. Shangri-la and East Ocean), the filling is alot richer and milkier so somehow or rather, most in our families prefers the milder custard filling with the light, delicate snowskin.


Correct me if I am wrong, the hotel behind these popular custard mooncakes is said to be Hong Kong's most historical hotel (opened since December 1928). In fact, they are also known to be the top 10 (well-known) hotels in the world who has housed former American president Richard Nixon, American film actor, Clark Gable, NBA basketball player, Michael Jordan, Queen Elizabeth II, etc.


Come to think about it, this hotel left a very deep impression during our short trip to Hong Kong. Since the facade of the hotel building was preserved, it does remind us of Singapore's very own Raffles Hotel. However, the interior of The Peninsula further imprint stunning memories of the hotel's tall columns, gilt cornices and neo-classical archways, displaying a classic colonial architecture, somewhat like a grand old mansion.

"It's always nice to flashback a good holiday."

Anyway, these mooncakes can be purchased from the Mid-Autumn Fair at Takashimaya Square from now to 22 Sept 2010.

The Peninsula Connoisseur
Peninsula Merchandising Limited
5/F, The Peninsula Office Tower
18 MIddle Road
Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong

Website for Peninula Boutique
Website for The Peninsula, Hong Kong

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East Ocean Mooncake 2010

East Ocean Mooncake 2010

East Ocean Mini Snow Skin Custard Mooncake has always been my sisters' favourite and having ate several brands of custard mooncakes back to back, the key difference lies in how strong one wants the custard (i.e. milky and rich in egg yolk) to be. In fact, from the photo, one can expect East Ocean's custard filling to be softer and milder. Perhaps, that is the characteristic my sisters like about East Ocean Mini Snow Skin Custard Mooncakes.

As for the Mini Snow Skin White Lotus Paste Mooncake, Yuan likes it for its sweet and smooth lotus paste. Surprisingly, there is a slight difference in its snow skin between the 2 flavours, somehow or rather, the snow skin for the white lotus paste is rougher and slightly dry.

Note that this was purchased on the 5th Sept 2010 and that a box of 9 assorted mini snow skin was priced at $23 at the Takashimaya fair (at that point of time). Referring to the pricing displayed on their website, consumers have an option of buying in box of 4 or 9 and is alot cheaper than most hotels' mooncakes. Apart from custard and white lotus paste, there are also green tea and yam paste available in their mini snow skin collection.

East Ocean Teochew Restaurant Pte Ltd
1 Scotts Road
#02-18 Shaw Centre
Singapore 228208
Tel; 9235 9088
Website

East Ocean mooncakes are also available at
Takashimaya Square, Basement 2 (26/08/2010 to 22/09/2010)
ION Orchard (06/09/2010 to 20/09/2010)
Bugis Junction, Level 1 (06/09/2010 to 20/09/2010)
Bishan Junction 8, Main Atrium, Level 2 (06/09/2010 to 20/09/2010)
Tampines Mall, Atrium, Level 1 (06/09/2010 to 19/09/2010)
Lot 1 Shopper's Mall, Main Atrium, Level 1 (06/09/2010 to 20/09/2010)
Raffles City Shopping Centre, Level 3 (06/09/2010 to 20/09/2010)
Vivo City, Atrium Level (07/09/2010 to 22/09/2010)
Century Square, Level 1 (08/09/2010 to 22/09/2010)

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Royal China at Raffles - Mooncakes 2010

Royal China at Raffles - Mooncakes 2010

Every year, mooncake lovers will look forward to the Mid-Autumn Fair at Takashimaya B2 for the massive gathering of various brands of mooncakes spanning from overseas to local, and restaurants to hotels.

For those who frequent this fair, one will know that the discount that are offered at eateries and hotels is not applicable at this fair (26 August 2010 to 22 Sept 2010). But for those who wants a prelude of the new creations or a rough guide of what to purchase, this is the fair not to be missed.

Referring to the list of participants, one will be spolit with choices and among the samplers we have tried, one left a very deep impression which is the Mini Snow Skin with Bird's Nest, Almond & Macadamia Nuts from Royal China at Raffles.


Naturally this will be pit against Shangri-la's Snow Skin Bird's Nest with Custard and as expected the former is more fragrant and has more Bird's Nest than Royal China's. However, as I mentioned in my previous post, Bird's Nest is not the main highlight in Shangri-la's. It was the custard and texture that caught everybody's attention. Similarly, the strength of this lies in the fragrance emitted from almond and macadamia nuts. The paste is very smooth but like Shangri-la's, the snow skin is on the powdery side. Overall, this is something different from the regular lotus paste, fruits puree and custard filling.

Oh, the "almond" used in making this mooncake is not the regular almond nut but rather apricot seed. For your information, almond nut and apricot seed (i.e. the same ingredient used in making Cantonese dessert, sweet almond soup, 杏仁糊) share the same Chinese pronunciation (杏仁).


Scanned from Royal China at Raffles' brochure
(From front to back),
Mini Snow Skin with Mango Truffle & lotus Paste
Mini Snow Skin with Griotte Cherry Truffle & Lotus Paste
Mini Snow Skin with with Bird's Nest, Almond & Macadamia Nuts
Mini Snow Skin with Cranberry Fruit & Pine Nuts
Mini Snow Skin with with White Lotus Seed PAste & Egg Yolk
Mini Snow Skin with Mango Truffle & Lotus Paste did wow us. Instead of the regular chocolate ganache encapsulated in the chocolate shell, mango puree is trapped in the core of creation. People who fancy Kki's Antoinette might want to try this. Something refreshing and compliments well with the lotus paste and snow skin.


Royal China at Raffles Mooncakes are available from now till 22 September 2010 at,
Takashimaya (B2 Event Hall) and

Royal China Restaurant
328 North Bridge Road
#03-09 Raffles Hotel Arcade
Singapore 188719
Tel: 6338 3363

15% discount for UOB Cardmembers and this discount is only valid at Royal China Restaurant only.

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Ginza Bairin

Ginza Bairin

Since its appearance at the food hall of ION Orchard in July 2009, readers should be familar with Ginza Bairin. And for those who are still pondering what it is, Ginza Bairin is a Tonkatsu specialty restaurant from Japan.


A brief history; Ginza Bairin was the very first Tonkatsu restaurant in Ginza and has been established since 1927. It got popular with its unique home-made Tonkatsu sauce and Tonkatsu recipes created by founder Nobukatsu Shibuya. Today, Masaya Shibuya, Nobukatu-san’s great grandson (i.e. third generation owner of Ginza Bairin) continues to innovate and introduce new dishes to reward Tonkatsu lovers as well as fans of the 83-year-old restaurant. Although the local outlet is managed by a Singaporean, rest assured that the owner has received training from Chef Masaya Shibuya in Japan.

Note that this is an invited food tasting from Ate Consulting for us to try Ginza Bairin’s expanded menu which now includes Special Black Pig (Kurobuta Pork), cute mini-katsu burger, ramen, etc and that this is not our first visit to Ginza Bairin.


We were quite surprised that this tonkatsu outlet does serve very good Tonkotsu Char Siew Ramen ($15.90). According to Danielle from Ate Consulting, the owner of the Singapore branch is a fan of ramen and makes it a point to perfect his very own array of ramen served at Ginza Bairin.

The cloudy white coloured broth is very creamy and rich in taste. The sweetness from boiling pork bones, fat and collagen over high heat for many hours make the soup very addictive that a non-soup drinker like Yuan cleans up the bowl. Since we have not visited Japan, our impression of most tonkotsu soup (we had) in Singapore are very salty and we are quite surprised how Ginza Bairin's soup base turns out.


The sliced pork (Chashu) are generally thicker than most we have come across and are tender, well braised with a sweet aftertaste. The ramen also comes with a hard-boiled soy sauce egg with a soft yolk. To be frank, I was alittle disappointed as the yolk wasn't runny and is closed to a 80% cooked egg. Like the Chashu, it is also on the sweeter side, probably due to the soy sauce used. Asked me about these "lava" eggs, my preference is inclined towards the ones served at Bishamon Sapporo Ramen.


Yuan has always been a fan of eggs and hence, his regular order at Ginza Bairin has always been the Special Katsudon, served with a sunny-side up. For some reasons, we have been ordering the regular Katsudon and it was until last week's tasting that we get to try Ginza Bairin's Special Black Pig Katsudon ($17.90 for a set).

Each Tonkatsu set is served with Tsukimono or pickled vegetables, Ginza Bairin’s special Tonkatsu sauce and their Tonjiru Miso Soup (a soup with filled with pieces of pork, radish and miso).

Black Pig is always described to be especially fragrant and tender; and that this specially sourced pork retains the moisture and juiciness of the meat even after being dipped into panko batter and deep fried. To us, the cutlet is clearly juicier and slightly more chewy (due to the fats) but what makes this Special Katsudon stands out is the sauce and egg used in the preparation. In other words, we are pretty fine with the cheaper Special Katsudon ($15.90).


Cheese Croquette ($3.00 per pc), is another signature dish of Ginza Bairin and the winning factor is not the melted cheese but rather the crunchiness of the panko and the soft texture of the potato.


Since this is a dessert blog, we have requested to try Ginza Bairin's desserts so that we can fit an entry for Ginza Bairin. Desserts are pretty limited in Ginza Bairin, as their specialty is Tonkatsu. Nevertheless, there are still Kurogoma (Black Sesame), Macha (Green tea) or Vanilla ice-cream served with either Shiratama (Japanese dumplings) or Warabimochi (a jelly-like confection made from bracken starch and covered with kinako (sweet toasted soybean flour)) ($5.90).

The Shiratama, Warabimochi and red bean sauce that comes with the ice-cream are good but the ice-cream is quite hard and frozen, thereby lacking the smooth, creamy texture that we are looking for.

Despite our previous visits to Ginza Bairin, we were quite surprised by the dishes we had during last week tasting. To be frank, we would not have thought of trying the ramen at Ginza Bairin, considering their specialty is Tonkatsu. Definitely looking forward to our next visit to Ginza Bairin to try their mini burgers and tonkatsu sandwiches.

Lastly, we would like to thank Jillyan and Xiaomin for the food tasting session and Danielle's recommendations and time to explain the dishes to us.

Ginza Bairin
ION Orchard
2 Orchard Turn
B4-39/40/41/42
Singapore 238801
Tel: 6509 8101

P.S. We did return to Ginza Bairin for a second round of Tonkotsu Char Siew Ramen and it seems that the noodle was overcooked, making its overall texture sticky. Apart from the small hiccup, the soup and Char Siew are consistently yummy.

The mini burgers were good for its crisp panko batter and tender pork cutlet. The bread is soft and the entire combination goes very well with a thin slice of tomato and Ginza Bairin’s special Tonkatsu sauce. However, we felt that it is quite pricey for just 3 bite-sized burgers ($6.50).

Pork Katsu sandwiches ($9.00) are clearly a better bet over the mini burgers for a bigger serving. The soft white bread seems to be a good alternative to rice.

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