One of the best parts of my job is discovering new hidden gems. After having a good meal at Yakitori Emmau, I am happy to introduce it to you as I feel that it is one of the few restaurants in Orchard that is worth checking out.

Yakitori Emmau at level four of ION Orchard is the second franchise of the Japan’s No. 1 Izakaya restaurant.

For Mother’s Day 2012, it is offering a special Collagen Tori Nabe set menu for 4 pax at only $120. The set comes with Caesar Salad; assorted Sashimi platter; Kushiyaki (skewers) platter; Tori Nabe soup which has a generous serving of ingredients; and the Enmaru Roll.

Like mentioned in my Guide to Mother’s Day Dinner, the set menu definitely has more than enough food for a family of four, and at just $30/pax, I think it is a fantastic deal.

We started with a Caesar salad, which I am not a fan of. I was slightly disappointed that they did not use Wafu dressing for the salad.

We quickly moved on to the enmaru roll (actual portion is twice the size) – an assortment of fresh sushi on a maki roll. Everything was like what you see in the photo – beautiful.

Before we could finish the maki roll, we were distracted by the assorted Sashimi platter (actual portion is twice the size) – which consist of maguro, salmon, kanpachi, mekajiki, and amaebi. It’s really difficult to concentrate when you have a plate of gorgeous sashimi in front of you.

From left to right: Minced ball with plum, chicken tight with leek, enoki bacon, pork with asparagus, beef with radish.

My favourite was the enoki bacon. It was juicy and succulent, and I simply loved the combination of mushroom and bacon. The beef with radish was equally outstanding. After finishing the five skewers, I took a quick glance at the normal ala carte menu. Most of the skewers — priced between $3 to $7 — are generally quite good. I’d come back for yakitori.

We wrapped up our lunch with the tori nabe soup, which came with a generous portion of ingredients, cooked in a rich and refreshing broth.

The interior of Yakitori Emmau is East Village-esque. The very feeling of dining in a Japanese restaurant in NYC. I also like the fact that most of the service staff are Japanese. They have decent food at acceptable prices. I will definitely drop by if I want a quick meal in town.

The Mother’s Day promotion at Yakitori Emmau is available during lunch and dinner, and it runs for the entire month of May.

Yakitori Emmau
2 Orchard Turn
#04-11 ION Orchard
Tel: +65 6636 7282
Daily: 11.30am – 3pm, 5pm – 10pm

Note: This was an invited media tasting.