Tsukada Nojo is the first restaurant I know of that gives every customer a “Business Card”.
You might think, how special is that? It’s just their own business card to keep connections with customers bla bla bla.
There is a difference, you get YOUR OWN BUSINESS CARD.
Yes I became an assistant manager on my first visit to Tsukuda Nojo. An assistant manager with no pay, nevertheless, it still feels quite shiok. It was my dad’s second visit and so he got promoted to a Manager. Woohoo! Congrats! Hahaha. And if you get promoted, you get free appetizers! Heard from the manager that the highest level is the CEO and you have to visit about 40+ times in order to be promoted that far!
In case you haven’t heard of Tsukuda Nojo, it is famous for its collagen soup beauty pot made by the nourishing “JITOKKO” which is a very valuable brand chicken in Japan. I think it is also famous for its super long queue and it’s definitely hard to miss the sight of this restaurant.
We went there quite early at about 5pm as reservation was not allowed. But it turned out that we were not kiasu enough as there was already a queue ahead of us. We had to queue for about an hour! And everyone must be present before you are allowed to have a table.
Didn’t understand why would people be bothered to queue that long until I have actually tasted the food.
Bijin Nabe
$25/ pax
Includes soup, chicken, Tori Tsukune (Chicken minced meatball), vegetables, shrimp and your choice of noodles
My brother’s first reaction to this was:
“Is this 豆花 (Taohuey also means beancurd)?!”
Indeed, the dish resembles the silky smooth beancurd. It is actually the collagen chicken broth which is very good for the skin.
The soup is stewed until all the chicken bones are fully dissolved. The soup will then turn into this smooth pudding-like texture after it is cooled to room temperature. I am super amazed! Actually, I’m quite tempted to just taste the “pudding” by itself..
I think that it’s quite interesting to taste the soup from this small little cup instead of a bowl. Maybe it’s just psychological, but I honestly felt that it tasted a lot better in the cup. Looks like a sake cup right? Or maybe it is?
And have I mentioned that the soup is also super tasty and rich in flavour?! Tasted one sip of it and I got addicted. This chicken broth is truly a pot of soup with painstaking efforts. It wouldn’t have tasted this heavenly if the chicken bones hadn’t dissolve fully into the broth.
I seriously love the soup and can’t wait to be back. And also be promoted to a manager hehe.
You know how I am usually crazy over meat but not vegetables?
This was entirely the opposite. I loved the vegetables so much because the taste was really sweet and I like how the leafy vegetables absorb the rich flavour of the chicken soup.
On the other hand, I was quite disappointed with the freshness of the prawns as they were not up to standard. The flesh was quite hard and it didn’t taste fresh. Hoping that this was only a one-off incident, we gave some feedback to the manager and she assured us that she will check on the quality in the future.
The manager gave us a little surprise which is a lovely happy face! (I really love their service, it is really really awesome! Especially the manager who is called Pinky! She’s super friendly and polite.)
Those are seaweed, if you’re wondering.. I thought it was some black sauce at first!
Nikumaki Onigiri in Assorted Flavors
From $3.50
– Standard
– Cheese
– Yuzu pepper and mayo
– Red Chilli Oil
It looks like a super fat sausage roll, but it’s actually a rice ball wrapped in pork. On first bite, you can taste the exquisite balanced seasoning within the entire Onigiri and you can have it with your favourite dressing. I had mine with chilli oil!
Homemade Tamagoyaki
$4.50
Traditional sweet Japanese omelet
I really appreciate how they went the extra mile to do this cute little hearts to please their customers.
Chicken Nanban (Spicy hot)
$8.50
Habanero pepper is added in both of tartar sauce and sweet-sour sauce
This dish is THE BOMB. Because it’s really so spicy, but of course super delicious at the same time! But since there is only 4 pieces of chicken, it might come off as a little pricey.. I guess good food is always worth the money isn’t it?
As if their service is not perfect enough, they sent us ANOTHER small surprise which is a plate of jelly dessert. Although it may look small, I feel that it’s really the thought that counts. Look at how cute the drawing is!!! We are all happy and satisfied customers at the end of the day.
I am already looking forward to my second visit!
HAVE A GREAT WEEK!
