Dining

Ichiban Boshi – More Than Just Sushi

By Veron Ang | Tags #Japanese

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When it comes to Japanese casual dining, my restaurant of choice is Ichiban Boshi or Ichiban Sushi. Both fall under the same parent company and the menu is largely similar.

Aside from their innovative sushi that have won me over from rival conveyor belt sushi chains, the main courses also keep me going back for more.

In particular, one ala carte dish that I love enough to make my staple order during each visit is the chicken cutlet with scrambled egg. It looks nondescript, it sounds nondescript, but the taste is really out of the ordinary.

Chicken Katsu Tamago Toji (chicken cutlet with scrambled egg)

Chicken Katsu Tamago Toji (chicken cutlet with scrambled egg)
SGD10.80++

The chicken katsu is served on a sizzling hot plate with the egg on top. It sits in a delicious soup gravy, which is the part that makes it extraordinary. This gravy is mostly sweet with onion slices tossed in, and has a nice flavor that is highly addictive. Ichiban!

The chicken itself is a huge portion occupying the whole of the shallow round pan. Sure, you can add a side order of steamed rice. But normally I can’t even finish all that chicken by myself! There’s really a lot of it, and that’s great. Good things are meant to be shared :)

Black pepper beef

Sizzling black pepper beef
SGD11.90++

In recent months I discovered another dish on the menu that may well surpass the chicken dish. It’s the sizzling black pepper beef.

The beef is similarly served on a hot plate, an elevated one with a flame underneath in this case. The black pepper sauce is really quite something. Normally I’m not a fan of this sauce, but this isn’t your regular black pepper sauce. For one, it’s way sweeter, and, uh, actually less peppery so the other flavors aren’t masked. The beef slices are tender, too. Ichiban!

I actually like these dishes more than their sushi. Let me know your favorite dishes at Ichiban, too!

Ichiban Boshi
Various outlets
www.res.com.sg

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About the Author

Veron Ang is the founder and chief editor of Sparklette. She lives in Singapore and has dined and traveled across the world. She also runs Sparklette Studio, a web design and WordPress development firm. If you'd like to connect with her, head on over to the contact page or follow her personal updates on Twitter: @VeronSG.

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20 responses

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Kidtalentz
October 20, 2009

sparklette@ Ichiban Boshi – More Than Just Sushi: when it comes to japanese casual dining, my restau.. http://bit.ly/H7ISG

This comment was originally posted on Twitter
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auntie lucia
October 20, 2009

Sparklette, u left out the best bits abt Ichiban Boshi.
1) Its reward card which in effect could rebate you up to 1/3 of $300 spent. here’s how it works: after getting 15 “stamps” for a cumulative expenditure of $300 over three months (assuming it takes u tt long to chock up spending!), customer is entitled to a lucky spin which cld land you the $80 voucher prize! (Tt happened to me twice at GWC Ichiban!). In between, one can redeem a variety of items fm the menu without losing the chance for the lucky spin.
2) Very yummy restaurant managers ;) n reasonably polite service.
Reply
- Veron
  October 20, 2009
  
  You are one lucky lady! I never manage to accumulate the full amount of $300 within three months because I don’t really frequent them that much. I like the food and the service, obviously, but I also like the experience of checking out new restaurants all the time. That said, I have enjoyed some of the freebies using the card by accumulating smaller amounts spent.
  
  Thanks for sharing!
  Reply
harris
October 20, 2009

your staple at ichiban boshi is MY staple at ichiban boshi as well! :)
Reply
- Veron
  October 21, 2009
  
  Yeah! I’m not surprised though. It’s really, really good! In fact, someone else recommended it to me in the first place :)
  Reply
Edmund Ng
October 20, 2009

I LOVE Ichiban Boshi – favourite outlet is at Esplanade Mall due to the cool view of Marina Bay and the al-fresco dining on the 2nd level balcony.

Surprised you didn’t review their cool drinks and desserts, they have such a wide selection – the ice peach momo ice-cream is simply amazing!
Reply
- Veron
  October 21, 2009
  
  I must try that! The view and the alfresco dining sound really enticing :)
  
  Alas, after eating that huge chicken katsu which I can never finish, there’s really no room for dessert!
  Reply
  - Edmund Ng
    October 21, 2009
    
    haha..i think you may need to set up a new ‘category’ just for desserts. A niche blog on “SG Desserts”.. but then again it depends on how much weight you wanna gain after all those reviews :P
    
    ~i like how you added in the new feature on your blog for “browsing by tags or keywords”. Much it much easier for repeat visitors to dig up your previous reviews. Tags also help link your blog to the social bookmarking sites.
    Reply
    - Veron
      October 21, 2009
      
      Oh, you noticed! I just added it early this morning. These little changes I make never seem to escape you. Some of those tags are horribly named though, and the next thing I need to do is to somehow make them easier to browse (venue, type of cuisine, etc).
      
      Speaking of SG Desserts, there already is such a blog! Haha check out http://www.sgdessert.com :)
      Reply
      - Edmund Ng
        October 21, 2009
        
        haha.. i was actually looking for your earlier post on Siem Reap yesterday and was wondering why there’s no way to search using tags…
        *Boomz* this morning, I saw the search box :)
        
        ~ i use the Ultimate Tag Warrior WordPress Plugin for my blog. Hope this helps.
        Reply
SistaFood
October 21, 2009

Wow…been hearing many people rave about the Chicken Katsu Tamago Toji from Ichiban but we’ve yet to try it out! We’ve only eaten their sushi and soba noodles there. Was wondering have u tried the chicken katsu toji from Ministry of Food (MOF)? It was also not bad and also they serve wonderful desserts! :)
Reply
auntie lucia
October 21, 2009

One more word, Veron, n I’ll be done. Can accumulate more stamps by shopping at their Kuriya Fish market, which shares same premises as Ichiban Boshi @ GWC. Salmon cheaper on av than Cold Storage.
Reply
- Veron
  October 21, 2009
  
  Haha you sure are a die-hard fan! Thanks for sharing these tips on how to accumulate the dollars. Very useful for the regulars.
  Reply
Janna
October 21, 2009

Wow. I’ve never eaten sushi, but other japanese dishes. I love them :) Chinese is also good.
Reply
- Melissa
  October 23, 2009
  
  You ought to try sushi! And sashimi too! Find a reputable Japanese restaurant in your city that can give you the freshest salmon. Good luck!
  Reply
  - Veron
    October 23, 2009
    
    I second that :)
    Reply
Melissa
October 23, 2009

Hey Veron, the chicken looks quite little. And the beef dish looks like it is more cabbage than meat. Don’t really look like they are worth the price :(
Reply
- Veron
  October 23, 2009
  
  Oh no. The cut of chicken is actually huge! Thanks to my sub-par photography skills, it turns out looking smaller than it really is :( It’s in fact about double the size of the average chicken cutlet you get at western food hawker stalls. Hope this gives a better idea.
  
  As for the beef, I had the exact same thought as you when it was first served. “So much vegetables!” So it’s a surprise when it turns out there’s quite a lot of meat to go around. No complaints from us :)
  Reply
Vance
October 25, 2009

Hi Veron,

Ichiban Sushi seems like it’s doing justice to its name (Number One Sushi).

I feel like going there right now based on your post with great food pictures.

Both the chicken with scrambled eggs and the sizzling black pepper beef look delicious and inviting.

As for sushi I like it very much too but not all of it. I tend to be picky and don’t care for all the items.

Vance
Reply
- Veron
  October 25, 2009
  
  Everyone has his own preferences. That’s the beauty of sushi, it caters to many different palates. I am quite picky, too, and only go for sushi with certain ingredients such as salmon, scallop wings and jellyfish.
  Reply
Mumusings
November 4, 2009

Hi. Did a quick meal a while ago. The best Hokkaido salmon roe ever as part of a home-cooked fare. Want to show you the pic but can’t attach it here. Am so proud of myself:)

You can view it here: http://mumusings.blogspot.com/2009/11/blog-while-cooking.html

Can’t beat the photographic skills of yours though ‘cos using normal digicam.
Reply