When craving for Japanese food, one of my to-go places is Akashi Japanese Restaurant. It has reliable and pretty good Japanese food. And most importantly, a meal at Akashi is relatively affordable – if you go for their set meals. Most of the sets – served with salad/rice, soup and fruits – are priced below $20 during lunch (additional $3-4 for dinner).

The Sushi Tsuki ($16 lunch, $20 dinner), pictured above, comes with a beautiful assortment of nigiri sushi. Good value for the portion.

The Otsukuri set ($26 lunch, $29 dinner), served with an assortment of freshly-sliced sashimi, is a simple set of classic Japanese favourites for the ladies with smaller appetites.

Tenzaru Chasoba set ($15 lunch, $18 dinner) with gorgeous deep-fried tempura that is not too greasy. The chilled green tea noodle is also one of the better ones, and the tempura moriawase includes ebi, salmon and root vegetables coated with fragrant fresh batter.

The Sukiyaki ($16 lunch, $19 dinner) is also worth a try. Slices of beef and vegetable lightly cooked in a sweet and flavourful broth; so hearty, it is something that I can eat all the time.

If you are not going to Akashi for their omakase, you will still be served fresh sashimi and sushi. But, do not harbour high expectations of the ala carte items – at that price, the quality is decent, but certainly not the gastronomic level you would get when you pay at fine dining restaurants.

The sets are very decently-priced and it works out to be an enjoyable experience that is not too gruelling on the pocket. A meal at Akashi is probably slightly more expensive than your usual sushi chains, but I dare say they have much better Japanese food.

Akashi Japanese Restaurant
1 Harbourfront Walk
#B2-07-09 VivoCity
Tel: +65 6681 6719
Daily: 11.30am – 11pm

290 Orchard Road
#B1-01 Paragon
Tel: +65 6735 8887
Daily: 11am – 11pm

19 Tanglin Road
#01-01A Tanglin Shopping Centre
Tel: +65 6732 8662
Daily: 12pm – 10.30pm