The Oyster Bank: S$2 Oysters & Other Japanese Favourites At This Swanky Joint In Funan Mall

The newly-opened Funan Mall promises to be a real haven for foodies. From the famous Afuri Ramen to BIZEN Okayama Wagyu Steakhouse, you will never be hungry at Funan Mall.

Now, if its variety you’re after The Oyster Bank has to be next on your must-try list.

You’ll find The Oyster Bank tucked away on the second level of Funan Mall.

Decked out in forest green hues and gold accents, The Oyster Bank oozes a casual chicness that is perfect to wind down after a long day at work.

The Oyster Bank also has a gorgeous marble top that serves creative tipples ranging from champagne, sake, spirits, cocktails, wines, beers and even oyster shooters, but more on that later.

If you love Japanese food (and let’s be honest, who in Singapore doesn’t?), you’re in for a treat. Besides their signature oysters and raw seafood, The Oyster Bank also dishes out a wide selection of Japanese items that will soothe any bad day.

We started with something simple, the Amaebi Kaarage (S$9.90++). These are deep-fried spot prawns known for their delicate and sweet taste.

This was from their Bar Bites menu and I’ve got to say it was a great way to begin the meal. These deep-fried prawns were crispy would probably pair well with a cold pint.

The fried amaebi also comes with a spicy chipotle dip for a little more of flavour punch. I enjoyed the sauce even though the fried amaebi was perfect on its own.

Next up, we tried the Spicy Salmon Tartare (S$14.90++). This one feature chopped up salmon sashimi and covered with The Oyster Bank’s signature spicy mix. To keep things interesting you can use the fried wonton skin to pick up the salmon tartare.

While I loved the crunch from the wanton skin and found the salmon tartare tasty, this item wasn’t particularly memorable.

Now, for the main event — those oysters. What you want to look for in an oyster is a plump and opaque body with just a little bit of seawater. As for the texture, I prefer mine to taste slightly briny but still retain that sweetness.

In other words, you want to taste a little bit of ocean in your oyster.

The Oyster Bank offers a wide variety of accoutrements such as ponzu, a mignonette sauce of champagne vinegar and shallot and even a green apple relish.

A little bit of purist, I tried them Naked (S$3.90++ for one, S$3.75++each for six and S$3.25++ each for a dozen) which came with a couple of wedges of lemon and Tobasco sauce.

Oysters might be a little intimidating for first-timers, but thankfully there’s no hard-and-fast rule. All you have to do is to use the fork to loosen the oyster from the shell and tip it back.

Let me tell you, there is nothing worse than eating a bad oyster. So, I was very pleased that The Oyster Bank delivered on their star product. These oysters were fresh, sweet and even a little buttery.

You can choose to hit the oyster with a little tobasco and lemon for that burst of acidity, but these oysters were fantastic on their own as well.

If you love your seafood as much as I do, then the Seafood Platter (S$88++) is truly a sight for sore eyes. Besides oysters, this platter comes with crab claws, crab legs and six beautiful tiger prawns.

A little detail fussy eaters will appreciate is that the prawn and crabs are deshelled. A huge brownie point, amirite?

If you are still a little squeamish about the raw oysters, The Oyster Bank also has the option of grilled oysters for those who aren’t quite ready yet.

Just to cover my bases (wink), I tried both of their grilled options, the Mentaiko and Basil Cream (S$4.25++ per piece).

While mentaiko is always welcomed, I preferred the Basil Cream. This oyster is topped with a good spoonful of a light basil cream sauce before bring sprinkled with fried garlic.

I was a little apprehensive about the cream and oyster combination for fear that the cream would be too rich for the oyster. But, my fears were unfounded; there was just the right dollop of cream on the oyster and the fried garlic provided just the right gritty texture.

For something more filling, The Oyster Bank serves the ever-dependable and comforting Upsized Bara Chirashi Don (S$23. 90 ++). This bowl is piled high with 230 grams of cubed salmon, tuna, white tuna and tamago. It’s a  real cornucopia of cubed salmon, tuna, white tuna and tamago, sprinkled with a spoonful of ikura pearls and a fully deshelled tiger prawn.

It’s never a bad day when you have a bowl of chirashi at the end of it.

The fish was fresh and cut into relatively uniform cubes. On the recommendation from The Oyster Bank, we changed our rice from regular rice to truffled rice for S$3++.

Normally, I’m quite a stickler for tradition but I was open to trying the truffled rice. Truffles have this tendency to overpower anything they are added to. However, if they are used carefully and sparingly, it does elevate a dish. Here, the truffles were used subtlely and (thankfully) did not overpower the dish.

Now for times where you are feeling just a little lavish, you might just opt for the glorious Supreme Bowl (S$29.90++). It’s a change from the Upsized Bara Chirashi Don but one that is worth it.

Here you get generous slices of salmon belly, white tuna along with cubed tuna and a whole crab pincer. Needless to say, The Oyster Bank delivers on quality and taste.

A little luxe for dinner but as the saying goes, “Treat yo’self!”— and so you should.

For this next one, The Oyster Bank presented us with a fun little twist on the sushi. We were served Aburi Salmon Crispy Sushi (S$9.90 for two) and Unagi Crispy Sushi (S$10.90 for two).

Instead of the usual sushi rice, the rice was pressed down, cubed and deep-fried before being topped off with a chipotle blend.

The rice was crispy on the outside with an almost mochi-like centre. With crowd-pleasers such as aburi (torched) salmon and unagi to top it off, this sushi was hard not to like. It was an interesting texture and a rather modern interpretation of sushi.

To round out my entire experience, I had one of The Oyster Bank signature drinks: Antidote No.5 (S$22++ during Happy Hour, S$25++ during non-Happy Hour). This light, feminine drink tasted like a cure to bad days.

This frothy, rose-coloured drink comes with splashes of raspberry liqueur, vodka and lavender syrup, complete with a sprinkling lavender buds. It was almost too pretty to drink.

After all the mandatory photos, I took a swig and was pleasantly surprised that Antidote No.5 was not as cloying as I thought. The Oyster Bank managed to strike a balance between those tart berry flavours and delicate floral notes, making it a drink you definitely can’t miss.

Perhaps out of all the things I liked at The Oyster Bank, one of the best things has to be their Happy Shucking Hour where you can get half dozen of oysters at S$2++ each. All you have to do is to purchase an alcoholic drink from their extensive selection and start slurping away.

Happy Shucking Hour happens from Monday to Friday from 5 pm – 8 pm and weekends from 3 pm – 6 pm.

The Oyster Bank aims to offer temporary respite from the humdrum of our busy lives and it did exactly that. From the ambience their food to their drinks, I don’t see how you can’t have a good time when you’re here.

Expected Damage: S$20 – S$40 per pax