Imadake

Imadake is one of these Izakaya-style restaurant where you order tapas and drink along with Japanese beer. We rarely order drinks so we compensate it by ordering more food. Our first order was takoyaki - unctuous, great seafoody flavours, delicious sauce and garnish which melded well together. Definitely, a must order. Hoping to see this kind of pungent flavours in the remaining of our mains, nonetheless it wasn't the case. The grilled pork belly, agedashi tofu, and the soft shell crab were ok, but nothing special. At least, the miso cow tongues were well caramelized and have a nice texture which make them enjoyable to eat.

The desserts are worth ordering to help cleanse your palate, this was the best part of the meal. The black sesame ice cream has a pleasant nutty and toasty flavour - definitely my favourite ice cream. The green tea pudding has a light silky and smooth texture, it combines well with the taste of the red beans.

*After a little exchange with the staff from Imadake via Twitter, they suggest to try out the flavourful okonomiyaki, Saba no mirin boshi, gindara, ramen, katsuo no tataki, and the stone grilled beef. Convinced, I'll give a second shot on the mains.

Takoyaki - Octopus Balls

Miso Cow Tongue

Grilled Pork Belly

Agedashi Tofu

Soft Shell Crab

Black Sesame Ice Cream and Green Tea Pudding with Red Beans

Second visit review - I visited Imadake a second time following some of their suggestions. I started with beef tataki, a nice sear on the beef, balanced well with a light ponzu sauce. We then ordered the grilled marinated mackerel - moist, tasty and well charred. We also ordered the gindara - simple, moist and flaky fish, this dish is definitely a must order. On a somewhat negative side, the tsukune was delicious but the sauce is a bit on the sweet side. As for desserts, we ordered again the black sesame ice cream. Always love the nutty and toasty of this ice cream, still my favourite of all ice creams tasted so far. Overall, we had a nice dining experience. My opinion changed about this restaurant, worth a revisit, only if we ordered the right dishes so I won't be disappointed.