Malaysia
Singapore
Thailand
As a huge fan of Japanese food, I’m always game to try outlets and stalls that specialise in dishes from the Land of the Rising Sun. It’s even better when it’s hawker fare, as it will be under S$10. No one said good Japanese food had to be expensive, after all.
The owners of TSUZUKU (つづく) @ Berseh Food Centre certainly agree with that sentiment.
When Daniel Guo brought his wife, Mayu Tanabe, back to Singapore with him last year, they found themselves missing Japanese food. But after several visits to hawker stalls that specialised in Japanese cuisine, they felt that it wasn’t quite what they used to dine on in Japan.
Daniel felt they could better what they found at Japanese restaurants, but held the opinion that good Japanese food shouldn’t be gatekept by an expensive price tag. So, he decided to open his stall last July, selling home-style katsu rice sets.
What I tried at TSUZUKU (つづく)
Despite being less than a year old, TSUZUKU has managed to build a slow but steady following. The most popular menu items are their curry dishes. With that in mind, I first ordered the Pork Tenderloin Curry Set (S$9.80). It’s the priciest rice set listed.
The first thing that caught my eye, unusually, was the plates. Simple, but a far cry from the usual bright red, orange and green plastics we often see at hawker centres. You can tell that TSUZUKU cares about presentation. It’s a common opinion it seems, as they even had an unfortunate incident where a customer whisked a set away.
But enough about appearance; onwards to the food itself. All the rice sets come with a generous portion of salad. The shredded cabbage is generously doused with Thousand Island dressing, making it a sweet and refreshing side dish.
Despite being drenched in the dressing, it never became too soggy and had a nice and crisp crunch throughout. If you’re not ordering a curry set, the salad looks to be a must-have else you may not have anything saucy to eat with the plain rice.
The Japanese curry gets an “A” from me. If you’ve ever had the unfortunate pleasure of having a more water-downed or soupier consistency of Japanese curry, you have to try TSUZUKU’s version. It’s on the thicker side of consistency, as it should be.
It’s on the milder side of spice, but that’s the norm for Japanese Curry. TSUZUKU’s curry was the perfect blend of savoury and sweet, with the potatoes and carrots being fork-tender. I simply wish they would give a more generous portion as I was scraping whatever sauce was stuck to the plate for the last few mouthfuls of rice.
As for the fried pork tenderloin, I was delighted by the ratio of breaded coating to the meat. The cut of pork was nice and thick and was not overly seasoned. You’ll be happy to know it’s not oily, either.
All the fried sides, not just the pork tenderloin, kept their nice crunch throughout the meal. Even if you were ordering takeaway from TSUZUKU, I don’t think you have to fear the sides becoming soggy once they cool.
Every set, by default, comes with two pieces of fried ebi. If you’re allergic to prawns, you can order to have them substituted with onion rings instead. In contrast to the tenderloin, I felt that the prawns tasted overwhelmingly of the breading.
My friend ordered the Fish Fillet and Croquette Rice Set (S$5.80), which was one of the two most affordable items on the menu. The other is the Ebi Curry Set (S$5.80).
Like the previous set, it comes with a side of salad and two pieces of fried ebi. But, the main stars here are the pieces of fried fish and potato croquettes.
Although it comes with only one piece of fried fish, I have to admit that it was a pretty sizeable portion. The breading was also pretty reasonable, so you won’t be feeling cheated.
The fish meat is soft and fresh but overall, not as flavourful without the dipping sauce.
If your set doesn’t come with a piece of Potato Croquette (3 pieces for S$5.80), I recommend topping your set up with one. The insides were soft and creamy, not lumpy at all.
Final Thoughts
TSUZUKU does not serve a Japanese restaurant standard of cuisine, but I don’t think it has to. Daniel and Mayu set out to serve authentic Japanese food at an affordable price, and I believe they have put in the effort to do so.
The homely quality only adds to the charm, and you are served good-quality sets. I fully recommend heading down to try it and I will certainly be returning myself.
Expected damage: S$5.80 – S$13.80 per pax
Order Delivery: Deliveroo
