Takeshi-san @ Holland V

They have a very extensive menu for an izakaya, and they have ice cold beers too. So in a nutshell, the new kid on the old block has everything for everybody.

Located at the sleepy Lorong Mambong in Holland Village, Takeshi-San is a casual sushi bar/izakaya where you can have a good Japanese meal and drinks without breaking the bank. The decoration reminded me of those Okinawa izakaya that are so popular in Japan, with those faux sakuras on the walls and ceilings covered with while flowers lamps.

Takeshi-San has the longest Happy Hour deals in Singapore which are available from 11.30am to 8pm daily. S$8 house pour wines, S$10 sake and full pint Kirin beers are really attractive. And they are the first authorised Kirin beer garden in Singapore serving fresh Kirin Ichiban draft beer and innovative frozen Kirin beers.

Sushi Kaidan or Stairways of sushi was inspired by the stairway in their shop. They were thinking of a way to present their sushi without using a large plate as they have limited real estate on the small tables. Like everything else in Singapore, they plated the sushi upwards along a custom made stairways. I don’t see how it saves any space on the table, but it is very instagrammable. Salmon Kaidan came with 6 pieces of nigiri sushi, 2 each of (top to bottom) salmon nigiri, aburi salmon belly mentaiko, and aburi salmon mentaiko. I loved the salmon belly mentaiko the best of course.

Mentai Kaidan consisted of (from top) hotate (scallop), salmon, ebi (prawn), ika (squid), kani (crab stick) and tamago (sweet egg omlette) nigiri sushis with a dollop of aburi mentaiko on each one of them. This signature sushi was delicious, but during this limited time you get the salmon kaidan free if you order this. That’s almost 50% off.

The Wagyu & Yakitori Platter, which includes wagyu slices, yakitori, Saikoro steak (wagyu cubes), with a simple soy yuzu mesclun salad and fries on the side, was really value-for-money. Don’t expect a meal-in-mouth texture. The beef were not Japanese wagyu, most likely Australian ones, but they were juicy and more beefy than the Japanese variety. And the chilli sauce was a thoughtful touch. It would go well with beer, but unfortunately we were there for office luncheon.

Just as the name suggested, the Fly-me-to-the-moon-Wings really caught us by surprise. It was so good that we ordered a second portion immediately after we had the first. It did not taste like the normal Japanese style chicken wings. The chicken wings were well marinated and the skin was super crispy.

For me, the Ocean Seafood Tower was the highlight of the lunch and super value for money. Two tiers of fresh sashimi with enough to be shared among the 6 of us.

The purists would frown with this maki roll. The signature Mexican Roll which featured panko shrimp, cream cheese and boiled shrimp was more like the American sushi rolls with used of cream cheese and chilli mayo. They broke more rules than a drunkard driving on the road.

They alternated between avocado and boiled prawn, and every slice of make was an explosion of flavours in the mouth. Good, but too rich for lunch.

Afterthoughts

The meal was definitely value for money, the service was polite and attentive, but more importantly, they have great food. Would definitely return in the evening for their drinks and atmosphere when Lorong Mambong “wakes up” in the evening.

Takeshi-San
38 Lor Mambong, Singapore 277694
Tel : +65 8875 1515

Visited in Aug 2022