Goro Japanese Cuisine in a HDB Block @ 43 Holland Drive near Buona Vista MRT

We met up at Goro Japanese restaurant located in block 43, Holland Drive which is just beside Holland Drive Hawker Centre. Overall, we had a good time and I would go back, especially for their unagi and maki. Next time, I would also like to try their other dishes, including omakase.

Stall name: Goro Japanese Cuisine

Address: 43 Holland Drive, #01-49, Singapore 270043

Nearest MRT: 5 minutes walk from Buona Vista station

Tel: 6358 3959

Hours: 11:00am - 2:30pm | 5:30pm - 10:00pm

The space inside Goro is compact, the furnishings simple but comfortable enough, it is air conditioned but my corner against the glass wall was barely just cool enough.

It was full house during lunch on a weekday, so it is best to make a booking if you are coming ☎ 6358 3959.

Five of us, we started with Sashimi - 5 Kinds, price $62.80+. There were 4 pieces each of salmon, tuna, scallop, salmon belly & yellowtail sashimi.

There was a promotion on which gave us a free serving of Sashimi - 3 Kinds which was another 4 pieces each of salmon, tuna and yellowtail sashimi.

We enjoyed the sashimi as it was fresh, thick and juicy. I like the meaty, soft-crunchy bite of the juicy fish slices.

Aburi Unagi Salmon Mentai Maki, price $18.80+. I like maki but find it the hardest thing to photograph well 😂

This maki was a lovely blend of many layers of sweet, savoury and umami flavours. The lightly torched outside added a subtle smokey taste. It was quite addictive and I reached out for more pieces 😄

Bara Chirashi Don, price $17.80+. Big chunks of sashimi, vegetables, egg with a blanket of savoury roe over starchy rice.  

Ramen Kaisen, price $16.80+. I don't usually order ramen except at ramen-ya i.e. Japanese noodle shops. Turned out that this Ramen Kaisen was quite likeable.

The noodles were generic but slurpy smooth though it was done a little soft for my liking. The broth was full bodied and rich with complex sweet savoury umami flavours from clams, prawns, seaweed, etc.

 

Unadon price, $19.80+. This was my favourite dish of the day. The eel was thick, juicy, with a soft, subtle spring to the bite, and the gently sweet savoury marinate did not overwhelm the natural sweetness from the juices in the meat.

The meaty eel was so good I wondered if it was whole eels which the restaurant cut and marinate themselves like in a unagi-ya. So, this irritating unker went to the counter and asked the chef about it through the kitchen window. No, the eels were supplied processed and pre-marinated. Nevertheless, this does reflect on the skill of the chef in finishing the eel as I had to ask to confirm. Love this unadon and will be back to try other unagi dishes at Goro.

We enjoyed the earlier unagi-salmon maki so much that we added the Ebi Tempura maki, price $15.80+.

This was filling and savoury sweet but a little dry (which is expected of tempura).

I like this savoury miso soup so much that I had a refill when the staff came around with a teapot of soup like in some bak kut teh shops. I am not sure how the refills work though i.e. is it "free flow"? 😄

They have many more dishes and omakase sets (requires booking) which I would like to try next time.

Written by Tony Boey on 13 Mar 2022