I had a most enjoyable lunch this afternoon at Tsukeru Shabu Shabu located at Marina Square, within the Emporium Shokuhin. Fans of Japanese food will likely know of this Emporium, which is pretty amazing – there’s a grocer, fine dining, shabu shabu, sushi, yakiniku, cafe & bakery, etc. Tsukeru is located at #01-18. I went for the lunch buffet today and I thought it was great value for money!
I love the kurobuta pork belly there! There’s also a selection of vegetables, carbs (I like the Japanese glass noodles), salmon, beef, scallops, etc. We picked only our favorite items, as you can see in this picture below:
As for the MSG-free soup bases, I ordered the tom yum while he had ginseng chicken broth. We had one little ‘pot’ each, and the soup base was refilled really quickly by the attentive staff. Now, if you’re dining with your partner, go ahead and order one ‘spicy’ soup base and one ‘mild’ one – it’ll be a very nice balance if you’re sharing.
And there’s a whole range of sauces to choose from. I like to mix a couple of items to make a tasty sauce… so go ahead and experiment:
I’ve found that their homemade spicy sauce + minced garlic + spring onions really ROCKS!
Mix it up before dipping food into the sauce!
I’d also just like to add here that the staff at Tsukeru are really good at customer service. I’d like to commend Nelson for being nothing short of fabulous today. It was a joy chatting with him, and I also saw him being very helpful to two angmoh customers who didn’t quite know which sauce to pick – he made a special blend for them. Nelson also came round to ask if we enjoyed the meal, helped me with signing up for their (free) membership, and also encouraged me to bring my pals to Tsukeru. Quite an asset to the company!😀 If I’m setting up a restaurant, I’d want to hire staff just like him!
I was also pleasantly surprised at how the drinks are served ‘free flow’. You can order Coke or Sprite at S$4 a glass and get it refilled as many times as you want. Or you can go for Hot Ocha or Iced Ocha at S$2 each (also with free refills). Really good value even though the place looks ‘atas’!
I’d like to return for the Set Lunch one day:
Prices start from S$17.80 Psst… the Seafood Platter Set comes with really big tiger prawns!
If you’re at Marina Square and want a satisfying and very yummy meal, do pop by Tsukeru (especially on weekdays). I loved how it wasn’t crowded today so we could have a leisurely meal before a movie. Ahhhh! Life is really good.
