Couple of months ago we found ourselves in the vicinity of Tanjong Pagar during lunch time.
Not being sure where else we could go- besides the famous hawker center on the second floor of Tanjong Pagar Plaza- we decided to drop in to some of the cafes at 100AM shopping mall.
This mall is not new.
It's been there about, I don't know, at least a decade more or less.
But it's popular on weekends, I've heard.
Especially the family crowds who have (surprisingly) started to descend upon this neighborhood Saturdays and Sundays.
Maybe the presence of Wallich Tower and its offerings make a difference.
Or maybe because 100AM now has a most interesting retail combination of Daiso, Don Don Donki, Fairprice and MUJI.
Along with these retail offerings come the bakeries, restaurants and cafes too.
I like Pullman Bakery.
And as I found out this particular afternoon, I take a liking to reasonably-priced, good Japanese food too.
I don't know the name of the restaurant, but it was on the second floor, it formed part of a group of restaurants, and had really lovely wooden decor.
The tables and chairs were of this warm honey hue, and little drapes of dark blue hung from the doorway separating the kitchen and the dining area.
There weren't many patrons when we got there- it was near closing time for the morning shift- making us, I think, one of the last few ones turning up for a quick, delicious lunch.
The staff, however, didn't seem harried, and gave us plenty of time to look through the menu and select our meal.
There were options- lots of them- but we decided on a set lunch meal, and a bowl of agedashi tofu.
The food didn't take very long to come, and I soon found myself feeling delighted by the tofu.
Particularly since the diet has restricted this tofu for some time.
I don't quite remember the name of the set lunch, unfortunately, but there was rice, there was salmon sashimi, there was tempura, appetizer, soup, and fruit.
The rice was warm and fluffy, the salmon was cold, firm and fresh, and the tempura was done to the right texture, and taste.
What surprised me was the faint saltiness of the tempura batter.
Many places I've been to don't flavor the batter- they simply coat the vegetable with it and throw it into the deep fry.
Here the batter had its own taste, yet didn't overwhelm the natural sweetness of the pumpkin the brinjal, the ebi prawn and the okra.
I have a particular thing for tempura.
It's a great way to eat one's vegetables, especially when you've got vegetables like okra, which, when steamed or even fried, can feel somewhat slimy, green, and sappy.
But pair the same piece of sappy okra with a mouthful of salty and crunchy tempura batter and it makes for a completely new experience altogether.
I find it interesting that batter in Japanese cuisine can be presented in many different ways.
We don't usually think of it, but the fried part around the cube of agedashi tofu is in fact also a piece of batter, and if one likes, one can peel it off to eat it separately.
I don't.
I like it best with the soft, wobbly, clean-tasting tofu inside, and (unless it falls off) I won't have it otherwise.
Sometimes I throw decorum to the wind and have the entire cube of tofu in one single bite. :)
I can't remember whether I did that here.
But I know I mixed up the order of dining etiquette, having a piece of pickled radish with a spoonful of rice, having a slice of orange before deciding to go for another spoonful of rice, and eating my vegetable tempuras without dipping it into the sauce.
At another place, with other people I would not do the same thing.
But here I didn't care.
I was with familiar company anyway.