nothing in particular

We were wandering aimlessly along Orchard Road after watching Ponyo, wondering what to have for dinner. Then I spotted this restaurant tucked away in this quiet spot of Orchard Road, Cavenagh Road(one small road away from Ken Ramen)



Shinjuku Japanese Restaurant..nice exterior.



These lanterns make the whole place look more cosy. There were a few Japanese customers in the restaurant so we felt more assured about having authentic Japanese fare. The menu was in Japanese & English alphabets for pronouncing them in English but there were no pics, that posed abit of problem. In the end, we ordered a bento set at $25 and Yaki Soba at $11.

The waitress gave us each a hot towel once we sat down and got us a cup of hot green tea each.
*Green tea is FOC.



The next thing that was served was unexpected. The waitress told us that its a tradition in Japan to eat buckwheat noodles during the New Year's Eve *some info here*

So every customer gets a small bowl each as today is 31st Dec.
*This is FOC too.
Yummy stuff.



My yakisoba. Not bad, every strand of noodles were equally coated with the tangy sauce.



K's bento set came with rice with a plum to mix in, this is how they eat it in summer according to K. There's also appetiser (spinach with sesame dressing) , fried stuff (ebi fry, grilled salmon, egg, tori karaage) and for sashimi(3 slices tuna and 2 slices hamachi).

K says that the cut for sashimi is pretty good, fatty meat.



Closeup on a piece of hamachi sashimi.




Total bill added up to $42.40 which was pretty ok so we will be back again to try the daily specials menu. On our way out, we noticed at each side of the entrance, there was a plate of salt.
o.O

To quote from: http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/shinto-concepts.shtml

"Purification Using Salt -- Mori Shio, Maki Shio
Salt is another major element of purification. In Shinto ceremonies, salt is often sprinkled to remove impurities -- this act is usually called shubatsu. Salt is sometimes placed outside homes in little piles called Mori Shio (piles of salt), usually near the entrance, so people who enter the home are purified. "

So desu ne~