Totally stoked to find Himonoya at Robertson Walk. This brightly lit, cheery restaurant complete with Japanese staff has been attracting a strong Japanese following. The restaurant’s distinct Japanese influence in both decor and ambience is on point. We were guided to our “private” room, one of the many cubicles separated by noren (Japanese fabric dividers) which could be reconfigured to accommodate larger groups.

“Himono” referring to “dried fish”, is the restaurant’s specialty. Each type of fish is different in size, texture, flavor and taste. You could order a whole fish, or half.

Himonoya also has a good range of shellfish on their menu, the usual sushi & sashimi, and a small but interesting selection of Ochazuke (Japanese rice porridge)

Choose between the ala carte menu or check out the different set courses (plastered all over the walls) which include free flow of selected beverages. We opted for ala carte since the Sake of our choice was not part of the “free flow drink package”. Speaking of Sakes, Himonoya has one of the most impressive Sake list in town!  Now on to the food… naturally we had to try their signature grilled fish, the Himono Hokke BBQ. The fish was large.. a whole fish fed the four of us comfortably. Smokey in flavor with sweet flaky tender flesh. Perfect with that twist of lemon, grated radish and a teeny dab of shoyu. We cleaned out the fish good 😊! Other mention worthy dishes were the Nokke, Kanimiso, Potato Salad, Umesuisho and Eihire. The Nokke is a heap of cubed sashimi over some delicate maki rolls. I’m guessing, thats a brilliant way to use up scraps of sashimi! Why throw them out when they’re still fresh and totally edible? The ‘scraps’ are good sized and the portion, generous! I did say ” heap”, no? Freshly cut makis sit neatly beneath while a spoonful of Ikura and uni top the mountain of fish. This is a cool little sushi moriawase mashup! The Kanimiso is a load of crab (no pun intended!) innards turned into a dollop of sweet slimy mousse! The flavor is rather strong… perhaps the reason for its small portion.Then, they went and put that same Kanimiso into some mash potato, and topped that with shredded crab meat and Ikura, and voila! The strong kanimiso flavored the creamy mash potato beautifully and the ikura added saltiness and texture. This was very yummy … and though I’m not usually a fan of potato, I do recommend this one!Umesuisho is shark cartilage dressed in a plum vinaigrette sauce! The sweet tangy flavor and the crunchy soft bones was strangely delightful! Its a lil’ sweet, a lil’ sour, a lil’ salty, crunchy and a lil’ slimy….. You’re not sure what to think of it at first bite but find yourself picking on it periodically… until its all gone!Another bony star was the Eihire. Grilled soft stingray fins, smokey and just slightly crisp, and served in a Japanese mayo dip laced with ebiko. Perfect snack to go with a Suntory or Sake! I like these unique small starter plates at Himonoya. You get more than the conventional Edamame, Karaage, Renkon Chips or Shishamo.

Some of the other dishes we tried at Himonoya.

The Salmon Sashimi Caesar Salad… can’t go wrong with an onsen egg either! Simple and delicious! At the end of the evening, we were ‘awarded’ a few hands at a lucky draw and lucky us drew some adorable hand-written vouchers! Guess that means we’re going back 😊 ?

Himonoya @ 11 Unity Street #02-14, Robertson Walk, 237995 Telephone: 62359110

Disclaimer- This is not a sponsored post.