Set Lunch at Rakuya Japanese Restaurant in Katong (Moved)

Rakuya Katong opened to much fanfare last year with a trendy fusion omakase concept. To ordinary patrons, “omakase” usually means “expensive”. So when we saw that Rakuya was serving very affordably priced set lunch we took the opportunity dine in the little Japanese restaurant along East Coast Road.

Rakuya Japanese Restaurant in Katong is located in a small shophouse along East Coast Road, just opposite Katong Square. The front of the shop is the bar, which has a selection of sakes from various regions in Japan. The dining area to the rear is rather compact. There are a sushi counter and a few small tables.

Rakuya Katong Menu

The menu book of Rakuya Restaurant & Bar is a simple one. There is a page for Omakaze menus and 2 pages for alcoholic drinks. The Japanese restaurant also serves sashimi and bar bites like wasabi octopus and deep fried udon.

The set lunch menu is available from 12 noon to 2.30 pm.

Rakuya Set Lunch

I was just passing by Rakuya and saw the affordably priced set lunch menu. I decided to have lunch there and asked for the Tempura Set ($15). The set comprised tempura on rice, miso soup, pickles, salad and chawanmushi. I was also served tea while I waited for my food and the teacup was topped up throughout the meal.

The wait for the food was fairly short. The food was presented in typical Japanese fashion on a wooden tray. The pickles, salad and miso soup all looked good and did not disappoint tastewise.

The 5 or 6 pieces of prawn tempura and vegetable tempura were crisp and not oily – good quality tempura which I would happily order again.

The Chawanmushi at Rakuya and the melon were better than I had expected of items of a $15 set lunch.

It was a good value lunch that was enjoyable. Affordable prices did not mean compromising on quality in Rakuya. Perhaps the very reasonably priced set lunch is a good marketing tactic. Now that I have tasted their good food, I am tempted to return to try their Omakase menu.