Nakajima Suisan at Takashimaya B2 - the place for grilled fish Japanese style

Hidden in one corner of the lowest level of Takashimaya in Ngee Ann City is the Nakajima Suisan Grilled Fish restaurant. The speciality of this restaurant is grilled fish, done in Japanese style and at a reasonable price. It is a popular place and gets very crowded on weekends and even sometimes at meal times on weekdays. The best time to visit Nakajima Suisan is on a weekday during off-peak hours.

Nakajima Suisan Takashimaya Basement 2

Takashimaya Basement 2 is probably the most exciting food hall in Singapore. There is the Cold Storage supermarket that carries a large selection of Japanese produce. There is the Food Village food court that sells a variety of local cuisine. In between, there are many kiosks selling all kinds of food from expensive birds’ nest to yakitori. Nakajima Suisan lies at the area where a few restaurants are clustered together. There is an open seating area but the tables are zoned and reserved for specific eateries. In the case of Nakajima Suisan Grilled Fish, the prescribed procedure is to order and pay at the cashier. The staff will assist in finding a seat or seats for the customer, which can be a tough assignment during peak hours.

Nakajima Suisan Menu

There is a regular menu at Nakajima Suisan. But what many people do is to select the specials displayed at the counter. The Japanese descriptions of the types of fishes were mostly unknown to me, which is a good thing as it would be good to try new items. I selected the most unfamiliar item – Kinme Dai Saikyo Yaki Set ($14.50). Apart from the fact that it is a grilled fish dish, I had no clue what I was ordering.

I was dining alone and they had run out of counter spaces. I got a place at a small table right at the end. As you can see, it was already crowded with a short queue at around 11.30 am.

The food preparation time was about 20 minutes. The set meal comes with a salad, tofu, miso soup, rice and tea. I used my waiting time to google and discovered that Kinmedai means golden eye snapper and Saikyo miso is a type of marinade applied on the fish.

The Kinme Dai has a firm white flesh. It has a clean taste. Not as buttery as cod, but with a hint of that sort of taste. It was a delicious piece of fish, although a tad overcooked in some parts. Perhaps because it was quite thick at one end. But overall, at $14.50 (includes GST and no service charge) for a meal of this quality, I have no reason to complain.