I tried The Modern Izakaya previously – it didn’t set my world on fire and I said at the time that I wouldn’t return but I thought I’d give them a second chance to see if they’d improved.
The Modern Izakaya, Chijmes, Singapore
I trundled in around 6:30pm and was shown to a small table. While the place wasn’t busy at the moment, there were a good number of people already eating.
I ordered a glass of Asahi for an eye watering $16 while I perused the menu.
I ordered some tsukune (chicken meatballs) and momo (chicken thigh). Freshly cooked the dishes came out with the traditional tare (a salty sweet sauce). While tasty there was a different taste than you’ll get in Japan.
I decided to try a second round but this time I asked for no sauce but just salt and pepper which was delivered within about 10 minutes. Again, it wasn’t what you would get in Japan, it seemed a bit bland to me.
The prices of the yakitori were reasonable at $3 to $4 a piece.
If you’re looking for some Japanese-like food then you’ll get an OK feed here.
But if you’re looking for yakitori similar to what you would eat in Japan I think you’d be disappointed to eat here.
By the time I left the restaurant was busier with most of the outside tables taken, so despite this not being real Japanese in my view it must resonate with Singaporeans.