I visited the first Uya Japanese Unagi Restaurant 四代目菊川 in Wheelock Place back in 2019.
The restaurant has since been renamed to UYA Charcoal-Grilled Live Unagi. There is now a second outlet in Oasia Hotel Novena which happens to be next to Marmalade Pantry.
Eel A La Carte
UYA Charcoal-Grilled Live Unagi offers some interesting appetizers made with eels which is not commonly found elsewhere:
Deep Fried Liver [S$9] surprisingly doesn’t have any fishy smell.
The deep-fried Crispy Bone [S$6] is such an interesting snack. It looks like a whip, and it’s really crispy.
Eel Set Menu
Their signature Hitsumabushi [Medium S$37, Large S$50] is still as good as I remembered. It is served with condiments, pickles, broth and miso soup.
If this is your first time having hitsumabushi, you can refer to this card for instructions on how best to enjoy this delicacy. Use the wooden spoon to divide the unagi rice into four portions and scoop into the empty bowl:
- Enjoy as it is without adding anything.
- Add the condiments (spring onion, wasabi and seaweed) to your liking.
- Make ochazuke (rice with soup) with the condiments and dashi broth from the pitcher.
- Enjoy it any way you like.
There is also Unagi Rice Bowl [Small S$26, Medium S$35] and Unagi Rice Box [Large S$48] which comes with appetizer, soup and pickles.
Desserts
Matcha custard forms the base of the Parfait [S$12] which is then topped with whipped cream, cereal flakes, azuki beans, a scoop of matcha ice-cream and two matcha-coated biscuit sticks.
UYA Charcoal-Grilled Live Unagi
You can find the addresses, telephone numbers and opening hours of both outlets here.
