Located at the basement of a newly-opened and award-winning architectural landmark "The Star Vista", Itacho Sushi is one of the restaurants that one can hardly missed with its distinct Japanese set-up and ambience. My friends have been raving about this particular sushi restaurant, so when I had the chance to visit The Star Vista a few weeks back, I decided to have my virgin experience at Itacho.
They were having this yellowtail festival promotion back then, so we ordered one each for the four of us. It comes in five assorted topping - Original, Sea Salt, Citrus Junos Sauce, Black Truffle Sauce and Black Truffle Oil, which comes at a steal at S$1.90 each. I had the yellowtail sashimi paired up with the black truffle sauce, it melts slightly in contact with the mouth and tasted smooth with a less chewy texture. The truffle sauce tasted quite "earthy" with a faint floral touch.
Six sushis when we ordered four. We returned the two that we did not ordered.
Next up, we ordered some individual sushis to our own preferences - Roasted Duck Breast (S$1.50), Roasted Squid Leg (S$1.20) and Crab Stick (price unavailable). Tasted decent but the roasted duck was good.
Salmon Lobster Salad Roll (S$3.60) ganished with spring onions was decent as well, however I barely tasted the lobster as the salmon taste was too overpowering. Another downside was that this sushi was too filmsy - it breaks apart too easily.
Shrimp Spring Roll (S$3.00 for 3pc) was disappointing. Cold, hard and tasteless. The mayonaise sauce helps little in saving this dish.
We also had the Whole Sea Eel (S$6.50). It is slightly different than your usual unagi sushi, this sea eel has a softer and less chewier texture, and tasted less oily as well. My father likes it hence we ordered another after wolfing down this piece.
Deep fried Shrimp Gyoza (S$2.40) and tempura (which comes with a bowl of udon) were both dissatifying. Gyoza tasted cold and the meat fillings was one of the lesser ones I have ever seen. I was then wondering if this dishes were rejected or done wrongly, and now being re-served to our table.
The tempura on the other hand was done half-heartedly as well. The batter was over-fried and the eggplant tempura was done up wrongly. It should be cut at an angle, not complete vertically.
Curry beef udon was acceptable, with the beef meat and noodles cooked just nicely.
Throughout this dinner, we were waiting for my bowl of beef udon, and despite after 3 to 4 dishes that were being served wrong to our table, they still couldn't get it right. Service lapses, maybe? But 3 to 4 times? The service staff, and even the branch manager apologized and offered us desserts on the house and the beef udon that was not served, free-of-charge. In the end, I just asked for their un-derserving service charge to be waived.
"Itacho" in Japanese means chief chef and this title was awarded to the most sublime position in the restaurant. However, I felt that this outlet falls short. Apart from the few decent dishes, most of the food were purely disappointing, and not worth the bucks. It shouldn't be even called Itacho. I had never been to Itacho Sushi before and the food and service has already left me a bad impression.
Itacho Sushi
#B1-12
1 Vista Exchange Green
The Star Vista