Having opened in April ’13, there sure has been a lot of buzz around Tamashii Robatayaki. But sometimes I like to give new eateries around 6 months to ‘settle down’ (you get what I mean, right?). Which explains why my friend and I only headed down in November! And this is not my first robataya experience. I had my first at Akanoya Robatayaki, so it’s inevitable that I compared the two.

Extracting from wikipedia, robataya refers to a method of cooking, similar to barbecue, in which items of food on skewers are slow-grilled over hot charcoal.

Free valet is provided for diners at Tamashii Robatayaki, which was great for my friend who drove as parking is limited to the lots along the road. And upon taking the lift to level 2, the entrance to Tamashii Robatayaki will be the glass door on the right. I got a little confused and nearly wanted to enter the other which will have led me to ‘The Mad Men‘ instead. Keke.

My friend and I were led through a waiting area, past a small dining area of tables (for those who prefer not to sit at the counter) and into the main area where it’s a large U-shape counter. We decided not to go for the omasake set as we heard mixed reviews.

And from the menu, we ordered:-

1) Sashimi moriawase, $88 (above) – Assorted raw fish. Very fresh. Sashimi slices were neither too thin nor too thick.

2) Uni, $45 (above) – Seaa urchin. There’re 2 types. One priced at $38 comes with caviar, while the other at $45 is recommended (by the staff) for being better quality. I opted for the latter and the sea urchin was indeed sweet and smooth. Goes well, wrapped with the seaweed!

3) Shiromi truffle, $58 (above) – Thinly sliced white fish with summer truffles. Nice, though I felt the white fish was sliced a little too thin. I had better elsewhere.

4) Becon enoki, $12 (above) – Bacon with golden mushroom.

5) Buta kashira, $25 (above) – Grilled black pork jowl. “Pork cheek”, replied the staff when we asked, “What’s jowl?” And we’re glad we ordered as it was so good. Meat was tender and juicy! We almost wanted to order seconds. A must try!

6) Inaniwa udon, $18 (above) – Hot thin flat noodles. Did not fancy this. There’s that noodle-ly taste in the soup.

7) Ice cream: Maccha, $6 (above) – Green tea. Ice cream came with the option of ‘red bean’ which my friend opted for. Ice cream was creamy and thick. Good news, there’s no surcharge for the red bean toppings.

8) Ice cream: Goma, $6 (above) – Black sesame.

Overall, I felt that going a-la carte was a good choice. Our dinner worked out to be $258 (not including GST and service charge) for 2. To make up a 8-courses meal to compare with the 8-courses omasake set priced at $160, one can order a fish and still work out to the same budget of around $320 for 2. Of course, for the dishes we ordered, my friend and I shared everything. And it’s more than enough cause the portion is bigger. Ambience wise, it’s a great place to catch up with friend over food as it’s quiet, if compared to Akanoya Robatayaki which is lively (or some may term as noisy).

To experience robatayaki for the first time, I say Tamashii Robatayaki is a great place to start (though not the most authentic). But do note that not all dishes are served to diners on the long wooden paddle. Only our grilled items were served that way.