Sun With Moon

One of my most favourite cuisines is Japanese. To me, Japanese food spells out freshness, simplicity and natural while never failing to have the background teasing of complexity and uniqueness. The Japanese also have that eye for detail that I find other cuisines lack. Presentation of food always seem to please the eyes as much as the taste of the food itself pleases the stomach. Fresh sashimi and sushi, warming miso soup, perfectly grilled mackerel and eel, lightly battered tempura. The array is endless. And that is not even touching dessert. Being the little health-squirrel that I am, I also love that Japanese food is very healthy. Do the Japanese not have the longest human life expectancy for both males and females in the world? Japanese cuisine revolves around primarily on the taste of the food itself and the subtle enhancement that mild spices and light sauces provide. A good Japanese dish should never allow the natural taste of the central item be overwhelmed and dominated by another flavour.

A Japanese restaurant that I frequent almost every other weekend is Sun With Moon on the third floor of Wheelock Place. It was almost by accident that I had come across this restaurant. It was lunchtime, I was hungry, I had just been at Borders on the first floor, I wanted food nearby. Back when I first visited this restaurant, business was decent - a few tables occupied here and there, a new order being brought out from the kitchen at a comfortable place. Now, queues start forming at 11.30am when the restaurant opens, the reservation list never seems to end, and waiters and waitresses are always seen running around the restaurant trying to fulfill customers' needs to the point that they are almost sprinting. It is one of the busiest restaurants along Orchard Road I know. However, having said that, neither the service nor and the quality of the food have never dropped.

Because I have been to Sun With Moon quite often, I have pretty much tried everything on the menu that has appealed to me at some point. One little thing on which the restaurant looses a brownie point is that the menu has remained the same since the first time I ate there. Thus, I always eat the same thing whenever I am there because I know that it tastes good and it makes me happy. Their Sashimi And Oden Set comes with 5 kinds of raw fish, a bamboo steamer filled with a variety of simmered items, a bowl of miso soup, a large bowl of rice, pickles and a small dish of fruit. Every lunch set at Sun With Moon comes with a complimentary cup of tea or coffee when you have finished.

The sashimi, though always the same, is of one of the best qualities I have tasted in Singapore. 3 slices of salmon, 2 slices of yellowtail, a prawn, 2 pieces of scallop and the most generous single serving of squid. Everything is fresh and the slices of fish are thick. My favourite item out of them all is the scallop - it is utterly amazing. The side of Oden consists of a thick slice of konnyaku (a Japanese jelly that is chewier than your regular jello), a slice of fishcake with a thin sliver of bamboo shoot stuffed inside, a slice of radish, half a boiled egg, spinach and a round of potato. The simple soy-based broth provides enough flavour to make the dish tasty but nevertheless, the flavour of each item is distinct.

What I like about Sun With Moon's miso soup is that it has little mushrooms in it, something you don't get at any other Japanese restaurant. Its a nice touch that adds to the richness of the soup, warming you up at the same time, its pure comfort. The nice folks at Sun With Moon make sure you have enough to eat too, by serving up a huge bowl of steaming hot white rice. However, another little glitch is their fruit. 2 small cubes of watermelon paired with a little slice of melon. While you always get the same fruits (and they are 2 of my favourite fruits too), very rarely have I had them sweet. I hope that this is something they will pick up on because its a shame that one would finish such a wonderful meal with a disappointing serve of fruit.

I will always continue to visit Sun With Moon, even though my choice of lunch never changes. Staff are friendly and alert while the huge variety of dishes never leaves you unsatsfied. I will post photos up soon if I get the chance to. But you should not wait till then to visit this restaurant if you haven't done so already. A wonderful place for a weekend meal, but just be sure to book a table if you are planning to go there during peak hours!