A big hearty thanks to Shirokiya CHIJMES for providing a venue that allowed me to host a dinner shindig recently with Moonberry friends and fans. Shirokiya is a Japanese restaurant chain well-known in Japan, boasting a menu that support your health and beauty from the inside. You are what you eat! There are two outlets now in Singapore: Cuppage and CHIJMES.
Earlier this year, I brought my bestie who was visiting from NY to the Cuppage location and we had collagen hotpot. This time around, I gathered some of my fave foodie pals to the CHIJMES location – along with four invited blog readers too!
As I have mentioned above, the menu at Shirokiya comprises of healthy items even though it’s an izakaya joint. I shortlisted several items from the extensive menu, including signature dishes, for all of us to sample and share. I picked these items because they contain some of my fave ingredients (which I’m trying to eat more of even at home or elsewhere). And there’s also the thrill of discovering something new.
Cold Tofu Sprinkled in Salted Rice Malt (Shiokoji) Dressing
Only a limited quantity of these homemade cold tofu is served daily at Shirokiya, as it takes three days to make. The salted rice malt (shiokoji) dressing is more than just a seasoning, it’s fermented so it contains a lot of nutrients and amino acids – which helps to reduce stress, release fatigue as well as anti-aging.
Gratinated Yam with Cheese
I love mountain yam (yamaimo) because it has TONS of health benefits. It is good at tonifying kidney and spleen, replenishing qi, nourishing blood, enriching lung yin, lowering blood sugar, improving sleep quality…. I can go on and on about mountain yam. I try to eat it as often as I can. In this particular preparation at Shirokiya, mountain yam has been grated and then gratined/baked with cheese. It is VERY delicious! I highly recommend it.
Avocado and Seafood Salad with Hyaluronic Acid Jelly
Avocado benefits, I shan’t go into. Hyaluronic acid (try saying that five times fast) is a very popular anti-aging product as it acts as a water retainer and cushion between cells for firm skin.
Dried Young Sardines with Grated White Radish
Sardines are packed with bone-building calcium, magnesium, potassium, and zinc. White radish (daikon) has cooling characteristics and acts more on the digestive channels. It helps to digest food quicker and move the food down the intestines so it is ideal to combat indigestion and avoid food stagnation. It also clears phlegm.
Sliced Tomato with Salted Rice Malt Dressing & Hyaluronic Acid
Tomatoes are rich in lycopene which helps lower bad cholesterol level and to make the blood flow smoothly.
Grilled Fatty Salmon Belly
Salmon, as we already know, is loaded with protein and the two blockbuster omega 3s — DHA and EPA — that make us happy, smart and pain-free. As the body can’t make omega-3 fatty acids, the best way to obtain them is through ingestion.
Kurobuta Shabu-Shabu Served in Collagen Soup
Collagen! It’s one of the necessary proteins for our body. I wrote about collagen in soups here before, so I won’t go in-depth and repeat myself.
Broiled Pressed Mackerel
Mackerel is one of the highly recommended oily fish for a healthy diet; it’s rich in essential oils, vitamins and minerals, Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids. This fish has benefits that promotes better heart health and boosts immunity. Coenzyme Q10, an anti-oxidant that can be found in mackerel, also helps to eliminate cancerous agents from afflicted cells.
Home-made Rich Soy Milk Pudding
Soymilk contains a great variety of nutrients and is a low-calorie, high-protein food. This bruléed version at Shirokiya is creamy, not too sweet, tastes just as good as creme brulee but much less fattening.
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I had to snag the food photos directly off the Shirokiya menu (which you can view online) as I was in the thick of hosting and yapping away with my pals, so I left the food-snapping entirely up to them. Speaking of “them”, if you are a foodie and enjoy scouring the internet for food reviews, then you are probably no stranger to these pals of mine and their blogs. They are: Keropokman, Superfinefeline, The Hungry Cow, AromaCookery, BubbaMama, and Shameless Eats Me. Joining us at dinner were also Germaine, Ruth, Laureen, and Serena – so glad you gals could make it! :)
I wish I could invite more friends and fans but due to scheduling, I was only able to host ten people. On with the dinner party:
The Kurobuta Shabu-Shabu with Collagen Soup turned out to be really yummy, btw. You see that bowl of ‘jelly’? That’s the collagen that you add into the soup and allow to boil with the shredded leek and strips of scallion. I love the generous amount of leek which tastes so sweet once it’s wilted in the broth. Gotta be watchful about that broth though as it will get super salty if allowed to boil for too long.
Oh I must mention that Shirokiya serves this Frozen Beer thingie which is SOOOOOOOO cute! It’s basically beer with some sort of frozen foam sitting on top of it. I mean, I know d’uh… beer is supposed to be foamy, but this one’s different! When you peer from the bottom of the mug, the foam is visibly separated from the beer and it doesn’t dissolve. It maintains its cute cone-shape! It’s like soft serve ice-cream that sits atop a beer, keeping it cool. It doesn’t dilute the taste of the beer, but provides a somewhat creamier flavor to the overall beverage. Really delicious.
I SWEAR I’m not drunk while writing this, even though I *might* have when I ordered the frozen beer (just kidding). I looked this up online and it’s a patented technology by Kirin.
WHOA. I WANT THE MACHINE!
Say, I just noticed that the ten of us wore color-coordinated outfits by coincidence! Wah, in sync. :)
Last but not least, a big mucho gracias to Wani and Sylvia, who assisted me with the logistics and photo-taking during dinner. Thank you so much, gurls! *xoxo*
