Uya aims to provide authentic Japanese unagi at affordable prices, using good quality unagi specially flown from Japan and secret family sauce recipes.
Kayden and I are not big fans of unagi, but we absolutely love the unagi at Man Man. This time, we decided to try out Uya Japanese Unagi, and see how it fares in comparison to Man Man Unagi.
Ambience at Uya
The interior at Uya was simple, featuring a wood-theme furnishing. Right in the center of the restaurant, there’s a maple tree, adding a warm touch to the wood-coloured interior. If you are looking for a quiet place to hang out with your friends, this definitely does not fit the criteria. The restaurant is busy and noisy, yet at the same time, it feels homely like a nice family restaurant.
We were given a seat right under the maple tree, and I must say it does feel quite nice to be eating there. Having nice savoury and fragrant unagi, and looking up you see nice red maple leaves above you.
Food at Uya
Hitsumabushi (Medium) – $35 without gst
We ordered the signature Hitsumabushi (medium), which is basically chopped up eel on rice, served with condiments, broth, soup, and pickles. There’s basically 3 different ways to eat the signature Hitsumabushi:
1. As it is. 2. With condiments. 3. With broth and condiments.
Uya’s unagi looks less crispy and charred as compared to the ones at Man Man, which also means it has less smoky fragrance in their unagi. However, one thing I really like is how soft the unagi is, and how it just sort of melts in your mouth. The sauce has a good savouriness and fragrance, which brings out the freshness and complements the flavours of the eel.
My favourite way of eating Hitsumabushi is adding broth into the rice, and adding some seaweed and spring onion into it. The light savoury dashi broth complements the strong flavours of the unagi, making it a perfect match.
Overall, I do think Uya serves delicious unagi, which I would definitely recommend to people. It is similar, yet different to Man Man, and I think both restaurants’ unagi has their pros and cons, making them on par in my opinion. It really depends if you are looking for a more crispy and fragrant unagi (Man Man’s), or a soft and melt-in-your-mouth texture type of unagi (Uya’s).
Service
Service at Uya is pretty normal and reasonable, nothing to rave about.
Price – $$$
Rating – 4/5
Address: 501 Orchard Road #02-15/16 Wheelock Place, 238880
Opening hours:
Lunch Service: 12:00 – 14:30 (Last Order 14:00)
Dinner Service: Sun to Thu 18:00 – 21:30 (Last Order 21:00), Fri & Sat 18:00 – 22:00 (Last Order 21:30)
