Shunjuu Izakaya at Robertson Quay

When the sun goes down, the restaurants and bars at Robertson Quay comes alive. In the daytime, the place is very peaceful and tranquil. Many of the restaurants do open for lunch but the mood in the day is very different. There is quite a variety of cuisines available. We decided to have lunch at Shunjuu Izakaya located in Riverside View, one of the buildings at Robertson Quay. The higher levels of Riverside View are residential condominium units. The retail and dining action takes place on the lower levels. One word of caution if you are driving – the underground carpark has a sharp bend at the exit. Better to park elsewhere if you are driving anything wider than a Camry.

Shunjuu Izakaya Robertson Quay occupies a corner unit on the ground floor, with a direct view of the Singapore River. It has some tables indoors but the majority of its tables are situated at the alfresco dining area. The scenic tree-lined pedestrian path just outside is well-used by residents in the area for jogging or walking their dogs. It has a laid back residential feel in the afternoon.

The small dining area is quite cozy and decorated with a lot of wood furniture and bottles of sake. It is very bright and neat izakaya. A small private room is available.

Like most izakayas, the range of food at Shunjuu is wide, with an emphasis on items that go well with drinks. Here are pictures of a few pages from the extensive food and sake menus.

A bowl of cabbage with a nice dip was offered to us once we were seated. The very plain vegetable became an attractive snack once it gets dipped in the sauce provided.

We started with some typical izakaya grilled items – shishamo ($5 for 2), chicken thigh yakitori ($6 for 2) and salmon head ($17 for half a head). They were all well cooked and the kind of food to eat with sake or beer. The shishamo were quite skinny and not carrying a lot of eggs. The chicken yakitori was thick and juicy. The salmon had a very good taste but the quantity of meat was low.

To complete our lunch we ordered two set lunch items. The chirashi don ($25) was very good. We especially liked the different types of fish eggs in the bowl. They made the dish look good and provided interesting texture to each mouthful.

The gyu niku tofu set ($23) was a claypot stew of thinly sliced beef and tofu. The gravy has a slightly sweet taste. Like similar types of Chinese claypot beef, it was wonderful to eat with steamed rice.

No visit to Shunjuu Izakaya would be complete without trying a drink from their long list of sake. We picked a Tamano Hikari sake ($29 for 300 ml bottle). It was one of the more modestly priced items on the list, but good enough to be enjoyed with our meal.