BOTEJYU OKONOMIYAKI

Finally the much anticipated Botejyu from Osaka has opened in Liang Court Shopping Mall level 2. I understand that the restaurant is managed by Bachmann Japanese Restaurant Pte Ltd, which also runs Ajisen Ramen chain of restaurants. As I love Osaka's specialities like okonomiyaki and takoyaki, I just had to give Botejyu a shot.

I ordered the pork okonomiyaki and pork yaki-soba. As I was at the restaurant during off-peak hours, both dishes arrived within 15 minutes. I heard that during peak hours, customers have to wait at least 30 minutes for an okonomiyaki. Bottles of bonito flakes, aonori (seaweed flakes) and chilli powder were available on every table.

The pork okonomiyaki tasted rather average, nothing to shout about. Somehow I did not enjoy the flour and chopped cabbage batter combination. The combination of okonomiyaki sauce and Japanese mayonnaise was good though. Well, nothing beats the original from Osaka. The pork yaki-soba was not bad. The soba was well-fried with yaki-soba sauce. Aromatic and tasty, not too soggy. It went well with the sliced pork and cabbage.

• Food & Beverage 6.5/10 • Ambience 6.5/10 • Service 7/10