Dezato : Another Revisit

24th November, 2nd December 2010. Written by Xin Li.
Ever since I dined at Dezato, I felt in love with that place. The set meals are wallet friendly and delicious.

For bistro fare, there is Bistro@Changi, for French, there is Black Sheep Café and for Japanese there is Dezato Dining and Bar. Modest compared to “celebrity destinations” like kunio, Goto, Guy Savoy, Absinthe, Jaan or Les Amis but for a student like me, Dezato was heaven.

Firstly, at Dezato it is casual dining, not only the atmosphere was casual, Chef Derrick would often pop out of the kitchen to introduce the food and entertain any questions regarding the food or Japanese cuisine in general. No pretense, no formalities.

Secondly, the food is reasonably priced (Japanese style) means you pay what you see. 17.90 SGD means 17.90 SGD no + + to worry about. Hurray!

Thirdly, the place is quiet yet comfortable. The atmosphere is on par with Vanilla Café and Bar or Book Cellar.

I have been to Dezato on the 24th November and 2nd of December 2010 after Mr Phoon introduced me to this place and I kept going back ever since.

I had a customized set on the 24th November, Chef Derrick kindly allowed me to have a Gindara and Sashimi set for 17.90 nett SGD that consisted of rice, chawanmushi, a bowl of miso soup, Japanese pickles, two kinds of sashimi (4 pcs) and a the main course : the gindara.

The gindara was nicely grilled. It was soft, flakes off nicely with a delicate layer of sweet soy sauce around it. The skin was crispy and pleasantly charred (fragrant).

The chawanmushi is one of the better ones I had in Singapore.

The miso soup is definitely not one of thus supermarket mix product.

The sashimi I got was mekajiki (Marine Belly) and sake (salmon). The mekajiki has firmer texture than the salmon. Both of them are very fresh.

On the second visit (2nd December 2010). I ordered the Gindara Set (17.90 nett SGD) which consisted of rice, miso soup, pickles, main course and one side dish. Once again, it was another satisfying meal. Consistency is something I definitely observe here after 3 visits.

The set also came with some chicken karaage with some salad and a cheesy dressing, yummy snack.

As a dessert bar, one should try out their desserts. The wine jelly during the first visit was great and it made me want to try more on my subsequent visits (unless I am too full – I.P.P.T looms around the horizon =/)

I had a Matcha Parfait (5.00 SGD) with my studio mate. It brought back memories of the one I had in Kyoto. The green tea ice cream was very fragrant, and there were many ingredients in the parfait like mochi, azuki beans, chocolate and green tea jelly.

Also pictured in this post are Kyoho Grape Parfait, Match Dessert and Vanilla Ice Cream, all of which are 5.00 nett SGD. My friends who had the matcha dessert thought it was very fragrant while the vanilla ice cream was too sweet with the syrup.

According to Chef Derrick, the ice cream was imported from Japan and it was made using the milk there and it is the milk that gives the green tea ice cream a different kind of flavor when you taste green tea ice cream from Japan and the ones in Singapore. The green tea jelly was made in-house using matcha powder imported from Japan instead of being acquired from a confectionary.

While I cannot comment much on the meals that my friends had, the feedback from them had been possible. My studiomate enjoyed his tempura which he described as “good, not soggy, colour was good, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.” The Ebi Furai and Unagi Set (18.90 nett SGD) also received thumbs up from three of my friends.

Dezato Dessert Bar

Address:
20 Lorong Telok #01-01 Singapore

Tel: +65 6532 1284

Opening Hours
Mon–Sat: 11.30am–2.30pm, 6pm–10.30pm
(Closed on Sun & PH)