Unagi omu soba ($11.90)!
Friday lunch — unagi omu soba $11.90. Grilled freshwater eel over yakisoba wrapped in egg omelette.
Friday lunch — unagi omu soba at $11.90. The grilled freshwater eel over yakisoba noodles wrapped in egg omelette.
We ordered:
- Unagi omu soba — $11.90
Unagi omu soba is the fusion combination that puts three Japanese formats on one plate: yakisoba (stir-fried noodles), omurice/omusoba (omelette wrapping), and unagi (grilled freshwater eel). The combination provides multiple textures and flavours in a single dish.
The yakisoba base is the substance. Thick alkaline noodles wok-fried with finely sliced cabbage, carrot strips, sliced pork or onion, and the signature yakisoba sauce — a sweet-savoury blend of Worcestershire, oyster, ketchup and soy. The result is dark glossy noodles with proper wok-toasted aroma.
The omelette wrapper folded over the top of the noodles. Thin egg crepe with the slightly underdone centre that stays soft and silky against the firm noodles underneath.
The unagi was the upgrade. Grilled kabayaki-style — crispy lacquered top with the dark amber sauce coating, tender white flesh underneath, sliced and laid over the top of the omelette.
Toppings combined the standard omusoba garnishes with the unagi: a generous drizzle of okonomi sauce (the same sweet-savoury sauce used on okonomiyaki), Japanese mayonnaise lines, bonito flakes, and a sprinkle of aonori (green seaweed flakes).
The combination eats as multiple textures layered together. The crispy unagi on top, the soft omelette, the chewy noodles, the rich sauce-and-mayo glaze, the salty-umami bonito-aonori finish. Each forkful brings several components together.
At $11.90 for the unagi omu soba this is fair Japanese restaurant pricing. The unagi upgrade adds about $2-3 over the standard omu soba ($8-9 at most chains), bringing the bowl into the substantial premium-fusion tier.
The Friday lunch slot is the right venue for an indulgent Japanese fusion. End-of-work-week energy, the weekend in sight, the slightly elevated lunch break to close out the week.
The pattern through December had stabilised. Home weekday cooking + hawker breaks + restaurant lunches across cuisines + the occasional fusion or premium ramen. The Friday Japanese fusion lunch was the small variety break in the otherwise steady rotation.
Phase 2 had restored access to the Japanese fusion scene, and the unagi-format dishes had become one of the regular Friday lunch options.
Overall: 4.2 / 5. 😋👍🏼 Solid unagi omu soba — would re-order.
