I first came across 極品 Ippin Café Bar last August, you can read about Singapore’s first home concept Japanese café Bar here. This year, Ippin extended their warm welcome to me once again, for something deliciously exciting. If you’re not familiar, the Chubu region consists of nine prefectures and is located at the center of Japan’s largest island - Honshu. In this round’s media tasting, I was introduced to an innovative Chubu menu.

To start up our appetite, we were served the refreshing Triple Sec Citrus Jelly that was made from the Triple Sec Citrus fruit juice. This juice is luxuriously made from 3 different kins of citrus fruits - lemon, yuzu and shikuwasa. The pleasant sourness from the fruit matches the mild sweetness of the honey, producing a refreshing taste. Beside using it for jellies, consumers can also dilute the juice as desired for drinking.

Grilled Mackerel and squid - This dish is made of Ishiru dried mackerel and Ishiru dried squid. Both ingredients are sun dried in Waijima after being processed by Ishiru, a fish sauce made of salted and fermented sardines, mackerel and squid of the Noto Peninsula of Ishikawa prefecture. Be it deep fried or grilled, the squid was soft, chewy and gave out a light BBQ smoked fragrant. Both the squid and mackerel had a sweet taste with a tiny tint of saltiness. So delicious.

Barley Ball - This might looked like any other meatball to you, but it is actually made of 100% Japan-produce compressed barley and minced chicken meat. While barley is commonly used in drinks in Singapore, barley is mainly consumed back in Japan. Not only is barley a good heart and dietary fibre source, it also helps to relief constipation and prevent diabetes or heart diseases. It is recommended to mix barley into your everyday rice, for a healthier and tastier meal.

Egg Plant dressed with Sesame & Soy Sauce - Friends & family know what a huge fan I am of egg plants, so when this dish was served, I was enjoying every bite and honestly, it was my favourite dish of the tasting. The sliced, soft egg plant was dressed with Hasamezu Sashimi soy sauce. This is a type of tamari soy sauce which is thicker and has a sweeter taste, thus consumer can also use the sauce for sashimi, boiled fish and teriyaki fish to tsukudani, or even blend it with the sauce to grill meat!

Fish & Chip with Yuzu Mayo - This traditional western dish with a touch of Japan is made of Ishiru dried pufferfish, Yep, you read it correctly. The fried fish is actually pufferfish. There isn’t much difference is the taste or texture but still equally tasty when paired with the sweet and sour yuzu mayonnaise.

Ayu Fish in Special Sauce - Slice Ayu fish, also known as sweet fish, originated from Gifi river. Its flesh has a distinctive, sweet flavour that carries “melon and cucumber” aromas. The Ayu fish is soaked in a special sauce by Chef Taka consisting of mirin, sake and shoe before leaving it to dried overnight.

Ayu Fish & Mushroom Porridge - Sliced Ayu fish, Ayu roe, Japanese marinated mushroom with Japanese rice, barley and Wakame. Personally, I enjoy having congee to porridge. Fortunately, this bowl of porridge is prepared identically to congee, thus the porridge is mushy, thick and because the rice is mixed with barley, the extra flavour is so mouth-watering.

Dried Mackerel with Char Grilled Rice - Packed like our “Bak Zhang” or rice dumpling, this dish open up to a neat mixture of char-grilled flaked Ishiru dried mackerel, dried wakame, Japanese rice and spices.

Prawns with Avocado - A simple dish with multiple levels of taste. Sweet cooked prawns with soft, yummy avocado and fresh organic high sugar content mini tomatoes with refreshing yuzu dressing. This Yuzu Mai is a new type of yuzu-flavoured ponzu that is made from blending yuzu, vinegar and Hasamezu soy sauce, one of Ippin’s best seller.

The meal ended on a sweeter not with The Dutch Dishes: Boiled egg wrapped with minced pork, submerged in rich Miu tomato juice sauce. And local handmade pandan jam served with warm croissant and sliced butter.

New in Ippin, these tomato juice are made from organise tomatoes from Aichi prefecture. There are the Miu Tomato Juice (Red), Miu Tomato Juice (Gold) and Tomato Vinegar Double Concentration. Both the red and gold juices are made with high sugar content mini tomato that was grown by the organic fertiliser of bonito and kelp. No additional sugar, salt, colouring or preservatives. The red juice is thicker concentrate with richer flavour whereas the gold juice is more liquify (essence of tomato), light and refreshing.

The tomato vinegar is made with the red juice brewed with the organic tomato and blended with more tomatoes, vinegar and honey. It can be consume with carbonated water, mineral water or even used as a dressing.

From 1 to 14 November 2016 Ippin Cafe Bar will be bringing these innovative dishes and interesting products to you! This Chubu menu is designed by Mr Matsuto Takanobu from Ishikawa, Japan, previously the Head Chef of Kaiseiki restaurant that has over hundred years of history.

So if you’re a fan of Japan, Japan culture or food, come on down to Ippin to taste these uncommon flavour and tradition favourites of Japn in local Singaporean style. Only limited portions each day!