After a long morning spent tending to the garden and finishing household chores, I suddenly realised that lunch had slipped far beyond its usual time. Since I also needed to step out to pick up some composting soil and a few other gardening essentials, we decided to turn the errand into a little outing and find a nice place to have lunch.
My wife came across a place in New Town called Sakuya | Asian Bistro, and since we hadn’t been on a drive together for quite some time, we thought it would be the perfect excuse to get out. Little did we know that the drive itself would become an adventure.
The worst of the rain had passed, and there was barely a drizzle left, but the roads had other plans. Traffic had turned into a complete nightmare. It took us almost an hour and a half to reach the restaurant. Of course, we had forgotten one important detail — it was Friday, the last working day of the week, and everyone seemed to be heading home or heading out at the same time.
Tucked away on a quiet side street in New Town, Sakuya was easy to miss. We parked the car and looked towards the restaurant window, where a lady was sitting. For a moment, we thought she would be happy to see us, perhaps because we might be the first customers she had welcomed that day.
How wrong we were.
The place was packed!
It was a small, cosy restaurant with only six tables, and every single one seemed occupied. Not only was it full, but we were told we would have to wait at least half an hour, maybe more, as there were already two groups ahead of us.
But after driving for an hour and a half, turning back was not an option.
So we settled into the plastic chairs that were brought out for us in front of the restaurant and waited patiently. As we sat there, more couples arrived, heard about the waiting time, and decided to leave. We stayed put, quietly hoping that maybe the people ahead of us would give up before we did.
For a while, it looked promising. We saw a couple walk out and immediately looked around, wondering if their table was finally ours.
No such luck.
Suddenly, two girls appeared from a red Honda (at least I think it was a Honda) parked right in front of us and walked straight inside.
There went our hopes.
The hunger pangs continued their protest.
A little later, another couple came out. This time we were sure the next table would be ours. We looked around — nobody seemed to be waiting.
Then, out of nowhere, a grey SUV pulled up. A gentleman stepped out, walked in, asked the lady if his table was ready, received a nod, signalled his friend who moved the vehicle aside, parked it, and joined him inside.
Well, at least now we knew our turn was finally coming.
While waiting, we used the time wisely and decided what we were going to order. By the time we finally got seated, it was already past 4 pm and we were absolutely starving.
We wasted no time.
Our meal began with the sushi rolls — Aburi Salmon Maki, topped with thinly sliced lotus roots fried crisp and finished with a sweet chilli glaze. The combination of flavours and textures was a wonderful start.
Next came the Salmon Nigiri — fresh salmon, smooth and buttery, placed beautifully over hand-pressed rice. Simple, elegant, and absolutely satisfying.
Our drinks arrived just as the starters disappeared. The Mint Mojitos were refreshing and provided the perfect pause before the main course.
Then came the Japanese Sticky Mixed Fried Rice — sticky rice wok-tossed until slightly charred, giving it that smoky flavour that makes every bite enjoyable.
We ended the feast with the Spicy Miso Pork Ramen — a comforting bowl of everything you expect from good ramen, with deep miso flavours and a slow, satisfying chilli heat that lingered beautifully.
So, after all that waiting, was the meal worth it?
Absolutely.
The journey, the traffic, the long wait — everything faded away once the food arrived. We are definitely coming back because we saw some incredible-looking dishes being ordered at the table beside us, and they looked too exotic to ignore.
Next time, we’ll plan better, keep enough time in hand, and also make a visit to the Tall Tree Nursery, which is not too far away.
A rainy Friday drive, an unexpected wait, and a delicious Japanese meal — sometimes the unplanned outings turn out to be the most memorable ones.
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