REVIEW: SOTO JAPANESE RESTAURANT

As you can tell this is becoming more and more like a food blog. Well, at this point in time I'm more interested in writing about food than anything else. So there, those on a diet can quit now. Life is too short to eat limited food. Hehehe....

My birthday celebration last week started with a lavish dinner at Soto Japanese Garden Restaurant. I've heard about this place before at the beginning of the year from a fellow foodie Ange who was totally impressed by the place and I really wanted to try it out for myself. Now, when Ange says that a restaurant is good, you better believe her.

Weirdly enough when Nev wanted to shout me a birthday dinner last week, I totally forgot about this place until he suddenly suggested "Soto!". I immediately answered, "Yes please!". Off we went to St Mary's Bay, I wasn't too sure how to get there but I knew it was behind the Belgium Bar which serves steamed mussels. We finally found the restaurant, the entrance is so simple that you wouldn't think that it's a restaurant inside if not for the windows.

We were greeted by the waitress and shown our table. The deco inside is so japanese, they even have a nice tranquil garden setting at the back. Started off with their house sake. It came in a little tea pot but don't be deceived by the size of it, the sake lasted very well.


We ordered the Zensai Platter (for 2), it came with a selection of entrees. This is good to try out little bits of what the restaurant had to offer. The deep fried Calamari & Beef Karaage is really good. Yum :) Nev also had the miso soup, he said that was pretty good.

We requested that they leave the menu behind as we wanted to order as we go, hehehe... Then came the Tataki Beef salad for Nev. I tried a couple of pieces of the beef, sooooo tender and not over-cooked. Definitely recommended for steak lovers.

Next came my Prawn, Scallop & Oyster filo tempura. ow, this is a MUST TRY! The presented itself is worth every cent. I had the mouth watering prawn & scallop while Nev had the oyster.

Next, I ordered the Crispy Juicy Teriyaki Chicken with Tawara rice rolls. Seriously, the best ever teriyaki chicken I've had in my life! The chicken is seasoned, deep dried and topped off with teriyaki sauce. The sauce is not overly sweet and the chicken pieces is really crispy & juicy. The rice rolls which are seasoned complemented the dish so well, instead of the usual bowl of plain rice.

Although feeling very full, I wasn't going to do without dessert! I'm glad I didn't! You acn choose 3 items from the dessert menu and they make a dessert platter for you. We were greedy and the fact that I wanted all my desserts to myself, I made Nev order his own platter. Hahaha... *evil*

For my selections, I had black sesame ice cream, black sesame creme brulee and the maccha (green tea) tiramisu, pitured. Nev chose the maccha ice cream, vanilla ice cream & dango with sweet anko sauce and papaya pannecota with lime caramel sauce.

You can tell from all the above, it was a totally indulgent night.... I have to mention, the service was top-notch. The waitress was even thoughtful enough to bring the brandy which Nev ordered out on the courtyard to us while we were having a ciggie break.

THANKS NEVILLE!!!!!!! I had a really great meal and excellent company! :)