Okinawan Diner Nirai-Kanai – a taste of Okinawa in Liang Court (Moved to Great World)

Thinking of eating a Japanese meal in Singapore but are tired of the usual sushi, tempura and ramen restaurants? Okinawan Diner Nirai-Kanai in Liang Court is not a typical Japanese restaurant in Singapore. Specialising in the cuisine from Okinawa, this small restaurant has the decor and food that will break the monotony.  Okinawa is situated at the far south of Japan and close to China on the west. We found that many of the Okinawan dishes were similar to Chinese dishes.

The Nirai-Kanai restaurant is located in a corner in the basement level of Liang Court. It is decorated like an authentic little restaurant in Japan. The small booths with hangers for office workers who like to hang out at such places after work reminded us of our visits to Japan.

Nirai-Kanai menu

Here are pictures of some pages from the Nirai-Kanai menu. They have many stewed and fried items. Like Chinese dishes, they will go well with steamed rice.

This is a picture of everything we ordered that day.

The pan-fried dumplings ($12.50) and grilled pork soft bone ribs ($8 for 2 pieces) were nice appetizers. They will certainly go well with sake or beer.

For the main food items we had two “simmered” items.  The eggplant, minced pork and bean curd simmered in miso gravy ($10) reminded us of the traditional claypot eggplant with minced pork we find in Chinese restaurants. In this case the use of miso gravy gave it a Japanese touch. Very good but better if they had cooked the eggplants softer.

The mackerel simmered in miso sauce ($16) is also the type of dish that needs to be eaten with plain rice. The gravy was good but we did not like this as much as the eggplant as the mackerel was slightly fishy.

Overall, Okinawan Diner Nirai-Kanai is a nice and unique place to go for a Japanese meal that is different from the mainstream Japanese restaurants in Singapore. 

Ratings:
Food: 3
Service : 3
Value: 3
Atmosphere: 4
Overall Rating: 3 TOPs 

Okinawan Diner Nirai-Kanai
177 River Valley Road
# B1-01/02 Liang Court Shopping Center
Singapore 179030

Tel: +65 6339 4811

For operating hours please refer to their website.

Nearby MRT Stations: Fort Canning, Clarke Quay

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The Ordinary Patrons | Real Dining Experience of Ordinary People
an independent Singapore food blog