TGIF! That means it’s time to relax and chill tonight. My location of choice is, Nomiya, a Japanese Izakaya in the corner of the popular Chinatown “tourist trap” street. I was surprised such a hidden gem existed here. I had always been under the impression that this entire area served overpriced “Chinese” food that catered only to clueless tourists.
This bar was completely packed by the time I arrived. Testament to its popularity and quality of food perhaps? Fortunately, one of my companions already made a prior reservation.
We had a round of Sakes and beers to start the night. And then came the food/snacks! Oh my, they were all really good!
First up was the Lobster Croquette, a potato ball with mozzarella fillings, topped with lobster paste & tobiko. This was delicious, with the crispy exterior and oozing cheese when bitten into. Paired with all those rich toppings, my taste buds exploded with joy.
Next we had Dashi Maki Tamago with Crab Roe Paste. This was pretty good too. I especially loved how they were really generous with the amount of crab roe on top of each Tamago serving.
The Aburi Mentai Salmon Maki was up next. It was a maki, with some zucchini and salmon, topped with avocado, tobiko, and aburi mentaiko. All of these were then given a quick flame torch treatment to give it a charred smokey flavour. Delicious once again. That’s all I can say.
We also had some Deep Fried Chicken Skin (it was nice and crispy, but not special enough to stand out) and Gold Dust Charcoal Chicken. I must say this doesn’t look photogenic at all. It looked like a pile of black rocks with gold dust on it. However, it tastes nothing like it looks. The crisp karaage chicken below that exterior was juicy and bursting with flavour!
The final few dishes were some grilled skewers and meats. The grill chicken balls were perfectly cooked, with the insides still juicy and flavourful. I especially loved the wagyu skewers too. Those weren’t on the menu and were a special item not on the menu. It was only offered by the chef upon request. The Miso Glazed Butabara (pork belly) was out of this world too. A thin crispy outer layer charred to perfection and all that tender fatty belly below it. It was so sinful but so good!
I definitely have to go back to this place again. There’re still so many things on the menu I have yet to try. Just based on my first time here, I have high hopes that everything else will no disappoint me at all. :)