Watami, Casual Japanese Dining - Star Vista

Studying near Junction 8 or Star Vista? Good news, Watami has student meals just for you! J The student meal which ranges from $4.90++ to $6.90++ is rather affordable and Watami offers a nice place for birthday celebrations or even a simple lunch. With 8 outlets spanning across the island and many outlets overseas, Watami has definitely experienced some form of success in its food.

We ordered 2 dishes for ourselves – the Ishiyaki Bibimbap ($6.90++), and the Chicken Katsu Tamago Toji ($6.90++). 

Sizzle, sizzle, and sizzle! That’s what you would hear when this dish comes into your presence. It sounds very similar to the sizzles you hear when you eat at Pepper Lunch. I liked the way the dish looked. Rather colourful; pleasing to the eye.

Since Bibimbap means mixed rice, it was time to mix the rice! They put the Dolsol into a wooden case so that we would not burn ourselves, so that was nice. 

As side note, it is always good to eat your food not too hot, because it’ll kill the flavours of the dish (and possibly burn your tongue).

I remember that I was craving for Bibimbap on that day. I was curious to remind myself how Bibimbap tasted like. The last time I tried a Bibimbap would probably be a good number of months ago, or perhaps even a year ago. The dish looked really good and I probably was going to get a treat for myself – or so I thought. 

There was a very evident flavour of Kimchi in the dish. The Kimchi served wasn’t horrible, but I’ll be blunt – it wasn’t good. The bibimbap was also rather spicy. That was probably the only thing that I liked. If you’re unable to take spicy food, just alter the level of spiciness of the dish by scooping the chilli out of the bowl before mixing. 

The quality of the meat served was rather mediocre -- something better than the meat served at Seoul Garden, but not much better anyway. 

Would I get this dish again? Honestly, no. The only reason I would get it would be to satisfy my craving for some sort of spicy food which was Korean and there was really nothing better around. It’s like going to Tori Q if you could not afford Sushi Tei or some sort. 

Tummy Tyrant 2 is not a fan of kimchi, so she did not even touch the dish at all. 

Ishiyaki Bibimbap: 1.5/5 Tummies

The first time that Tummy Tyrant 2 tried this, she was very, very happy about it. The dish was flavourful and balanced - almost like the one served at Ichiban Boshi! However, the  quality of the dish was inconsistent --- definitely worth 4/4.5 tummies the first time she tried it but no more than 2 the next.  

The both of us shared the dish. The egg which has the sauce mixed with seemed bipolar. The side facing me was sweet, but the side facing Tummy Tyrant 2 was sour. I actually enjoyed my sweetened egg with mirin (sorry Tummy Tyrant 2!) This was very very disappointing L. Hopefully Watami will have a good day soon and we’ll all have nice Chicken Katsudon J J J. 

The Chicken Katsu was pretty okay. I enjoyed the breading and the chicken was tender enough. However, the flavours were disappointing and it could’ve been much better. 

The rice was slightly too wet, but nice anyway. The portion of the student meal would be filling enough for an average student – leaving one not too hungry or full but would definitely not be sufficient for the average sportsmen! However, dining at Watami is worth a shot if you’re craving for some affordable Japanese food – just keep your fingers crossed that it’s a good day for some Chicken Katsudon. 

Chicken Katsu Tamago Toji: 2/5 Tummies 

One thing we liked about the restaurant was its large tables and big seats. We felt very comfortable dining here!

It's a really great place to come with your friends. Great place to come in big groups!

Come to Watami. Give it a try! 

1 Vista Exchange Green

#02-16

The Star Vista

Singapore 138617

Tel: +65 66943643

Website: www.watami.com.sg

Opening Hours: 1130am – 10pm