Tonkichi @ Lido Shaw

Tonkichi- located on the third floor of Shaw Lido over on Orchard Road- is one of those places that you either know, or you don't.

It's not elusive- you can actually see it from the ground floor of Isetan Shaw (but how many of us actually look out for the restaurants when we're shopping inside the department store?)

I don't.

And until someone told me of the place, I hadn't even known it was located within the shopping floor area of the store right near to the stationery, the toys, the pots and the pans.

Tonkichi is known to be a family-friendly restaurant. 

At least that's what this outlet (compared to the one at Takashimaya) feels like to me. 

The decor's great for casual business conversation, first-time dates, date nights, family dinners, and complements a crowd that might turn up in shirts and ties, or bermudas and slippers.

They've got quite a huge variety on their menu, including kids' meals, so one doesn't have to worry that they won't find anything appealing here.

Amongst some of their popular offerings here include the chicken katsu set, the seafood cream sauce spaghetti, the mentaiko spaghetti, and the katsu curry sets. 

More than once I've seen diners order the prawn and hire katsu set, the halibut set,  and even the salmon teriyaki. 

We have a special fondness for the hire katsu set, so that's what we always go for. 

They don't stinge, by the way, for a great price you get appetizers, sashimi, rice, soup, two pieces of hire katsu, free flow cabbage and a fruit dessert to go along with it. 

But because we always want to have more katsu, we order extra pieces ala carte, and whilst here they've got prawn, fish, chicken, rosu and oyster to choose from, we always stick to either two more pieces of hire katsu, or two pieces of oyster katsu to go along with the hire. 

One thing I love about their food is how it's always served delicious, and fresh. 

It's very fulfilling.

You won't find a limp, warm sashimi here, nor will you find your rice in your rice bowl hard, cold and dry. 

Here the sashimi is served (on a very pretty plate) thick, fresh, and cold. 

We always request for all salmon.

Also, your rice is always brought to you fluffy, full and warm. 

I particularly like the appetizers. 

Maybe because I never know what it is I'll get, so it's like a pleasant surprise every time.

Sometimes you get the "springy seaweed"- Goma Wakame, I think they call it- or seaweed salad, which is an absolute delight to eat with chopsticks. 

Other times you get the jellyfish thing- Otsumami, if I'm not wrong- that is seasoned so well that it whets the appetite and makes you wonder if you can ask for more. 

I never skip the yellow radish. 

Instead I nibble on it slowly throughout the meal, sometimes after, even, when I'm still peckish but have finished up all the food. 

Best part of the meal, of course, is the katsu.

Here at Tonkichi they don't compromise on size. 

Every piece, satisfyingly huge, is done so well that not only do you not get any greasy aftertaste on your palate, you get a distinctive crunch at first bite, after which the juice of the tender meats take over.

It takes some form of precise calculation to serve up a ball of crunchy breaded katsu with a fat, juicy, bouncy oyster tucked snugly inside.

I sometimes wish I had more than two pieces of katsu.

But then there's still the lettuce. 

Unlimited. 

So I resist. 

Because the shredded lettuce is cold and fresh and tastes great served with roasted sesame sauce dressing. 

I love how it cleanses the palate. 

I love how it aids digestion. 

And it doesn't matter even if I drown the lettuce in the sauce. 

The icy chills, the refreshing taste and the crunchy texture- they all make for a wonderful end to a very delicious meal.