Nestled within Hashida itself lies Hashida Abura, a different concept by Chef Kenjiro ‘Hatch’ Hashida. When I first found out about this, I was excited to give this a try cos I also liked meals that end with Donabe. So the friend and I decided to check this out, or more like she didn’t have much choice. lol

You will be greeted by a loud and colourful pamphlet that introduced some of the signatures at Abura Kappo.

The little space seats 6 comfortably but since there were only 4 diners that evening, dinner commenced together

Monaka

Blue Cheese, Mushroom, Beet, Daikon, Monaka

With creamy egg custard and Danish blue cheese, the flavour hit you instantly but thankfully not overpowering cos I really ain’t a fan of blue cheese. Balanced with the sweet daikon and beetroot, the delicate flavours play on each other while the cheese still lingered on to the end

Shima Aji Carpaccio, Pickled Dashi, Hashinda Gin Salt

In collaboration with Tanglin Gin, Hashida made their own gin salt. To be honest, I can’t really taste the gin in the salt. But I did like the shima aji carpaccio. It was refreshing and cleansed your palate before the next dish comes along

Cheese Tempura

Camembert, Kinome, Sansho Leaf Powder & Pepper

Well, it seemed like cheese was a popular item. You could taste the richness of the Camembert but I thought the addition of the powder was a nice touch to the dish

Tuna Consomme

Bluefin Tuna, Spring Onion Oil

We were told to stir well, like a wine. Simmered for 4 hours, the consommé was light, yet you could taste the beautiful flavour of the tuna with the slight fragrance of the spring onion. And yes, it did go well with the next 2 dishes

Japanese Pomfret

The first one came in the form of Japanese pomfret tempura, served with a spread of homemade onion sauce, dipped into their tempura sauce that was so delicious. Served piping hot, the sweetness of the fish with the light crisp batter and finishing off with the slight savoury and sweet tempura sauce was really quite satisfying

Ebi Toast

Angel Shrimp, Omelette

This was my favourite of the night. Their version of toast came in the form of tamagoyaki which you eat with your hands. The fragrance of the shrimps and sweetness of the egg was an explosion of flavours, but yet leaving a delicate trail for another bite of this

Tebagyoza

Chicken Wing, Glutinous Rice, Egg, Oyako Sauce

Inspired from Oyako-don, they made this fried chicken from the flavours of it

Served piping hot, one could taste the tenderness of the chicken and also the nice crunch of the skin. I liked it with the chilli pepper and wasabi, just for the extra kick

Beef Tempura

Wagyu, Balsamic, Pomegranate

You could taste the fragrance of the shiso leaf on first bite, followed the by sweetness of the beef and refreshing taste of pomegranate. The different layers come together nicely, which overall was not bad at all

Hotaru Ika, Seasonal Vegetables

The Hotaru Ika seemed like a seasonal dish, or being rotated in their menu for a change. In all honesty, this was rather normal. Taste like hotaru ika lor

Soba Taco

Wagyu, Mandarins, Tofu, Egg Yolk

Inspired by sukiyaki, hence the egg yolk. Yet instead of the usual sukiyaki, they used Wagyu Menchi Katsu as the proteins, balanced by tofu emulsion and shungiku sauce. We were advised to wrap it up like taco and eat it. I thought the katsu was good on its own. The taco seemed.. out of place

Oden Tempura

I never knew I would be so impressed by Oden tempura. You need to try this for yourself

Tomato Tempura

Very sweet tomato tempura

Donabe w Seasonal Fish and Scallops

Served with Prawn Tempura, Pickled Vegetables, Korean Seaweed

And of cos, ending with Today’s Donabe. The friend and I thought the donabe was a little cold, or rather it was served lukewarm, and that was a disappointing experience. You need to enjoy a good donabe hot and that’s where you get your most satisfying kick out of it

Everyone was filling full at this point, so the chef kindly made into onigiri for us to bring back home

And complimentary deserts for me

Shiitake Chocolate, Persimmon, Chilli Oil, Matcha

And lastly, ending the meal with desserts

Personally, if you ask me if the meal was good. I would say yes, it’s good. Like there were standout dishes I would pick in an instant. However if you ask if I would return, chances are probably not that high. Cos personally tempura is not my first pick and as the chef’s forte is in that area, it is understandable the dishes are mostly tempura-centric. Hence, I would prefer checking other places instead. That being said, I think the flavours are fun and innovative and if you will enjoy such experiences, you could still give this place a try

Hashida Abura

77 Amoy Street, Singapore 069896