Botejyu in Japanese Gourmet Town

Vivocity has this three in one Japanese gourmet town concept, which is actually just Ajisen, Botejyu and another Yoshimi soup curry restaurant operating under shared premises. But on both occasions that I've been there, it's been Botejyu for me.

I brought the Lady on my second visit to Botejyu, wanting to try out more okonomiyakis. Okonomiyakis, for the uninitiated, are something like japanese savoury pizzas. The base is made of a batter, in which is mixed cabbage and various other ingredients that the customer desires, hence "okonomi". The whole mix is then sizzled on a hot plate and then drizzled with sauces in a latte art style. Besides okonomiyakis, the chain sells yakisobas as well.

The Pork Squid and Prawn Yakisoba came along with a strong savoury aroma of japanese sauces and the smell of fried noodles. Not the usual yakisoba, this one is fried and served with a layer of the okonomiyaki batter and egg as well. The noodles were pretty fat and had a nice bite to it. Although it didn't have the browned taste (wok hei), the taste of the noodles was augmented by the sauce and mayo drizzled generously, which tastes zesty, bbq-ish and creamy. The okonomiyaki batter layer went well together as well, and layered on it were 4 large bacon slices which were pretty tasty. The prawns were fresh and crunchy too although the squid was too tough for the lady's taste.

Cheese and Mochi Okos was really interesting. It was not like any other okonomiyakis. Within the batter is trapped lots of gooey strong cheese. The savoury thick creaminess of the cheese totally changed how the batter tasted. Very unique experience. And then there was mochi (glutinous rice cake) mixed into the batter too, and the gooey sticky nature of the mochi actually complemented the cheese so well to form a savoury tasty cheesy rich full feel within your mouth, along with the occasional contrast provided by the crunch of cabbage shreds. A must try, for the really interesting texture of cheese and mochi combined and for the surprisingly tasty combination of these two ingredients.

Pretty impressed by the first okonomiyaki chain i've visited locally. Never tried what is called authentic before but this is pretty good too. Other recommendations include the Moonlight okos, which is an okonomiyaki with seafood and bacon and topped with bonito flakes and a raw egg.

Food: Nicely done and tasty okonomiyaki, with very interesting fusion concept explored by the cheese and mochi okos

Cost: 7.5/10 Reasonable for the quality and experience. Prices are about $13 excluding GST svc charge

Location: 7.5/10 Vivocity is pretty inaccessible for some i suppose

Ambience: Pretty noisy restaurant i realised. But nothing much to complain about except the poor situational awareness of the waitresses.

Address: 1 Harbourfront Walk #01-157/158/ORA Vivocity S 098585

Tel: 62249690