Ajiya Okonomiyaki Restaurant: DIY Japanese Pancake

So... the boyfriend promised me many months ago that he'll give me a treat after receiving his first salary. Apparently he owes me a meal, among the many other things that he had previously committed himself to (including... a watch, a necklace, flowers, and a ring 😉).

About a month ago while taking the bus, I chanced upon this Okonomiyaki place called Ajiya and mentioned it to him. It was just something that I thought I would like to try one day; but the boyfriend mentioned that we should have a go at this place sooner and not later because we all know that "one day" never comes.

And so, comes my mini review of this place.

Ajiya is a customisable Okonomiyaki restaurant located at Bukit Timah (Jalan Jurong Kechil) where you can get to customise your pancake with 3 of your desired ingredients. You could also request from the staff for a chance at making and flipping your own Okonomiyaki and saucing it according to your liking.

It was a Tuesday evening and what happened was, we arrived excitedly at the restaurant at 6pm, knowing well that they start their dinner hours at 5:30pm. However, the restaurant apparently had a lunch event earlier and it overran. A rather friendly female staff told us that they were still in the midst of cleaning the place, and mentioned that we could come back in 30mins. 

Honestly, there wasn't much to do around in that area and so we ended up borrowing the chairs at the outdoor seating area at the bar/lounge beside. 

Ps: The bar beside is otherwise known as Club Vivaa.

We were pretty grateful that the sun was setting and so it wasn't too torturous to just sit there and wait for time to pass. But what did get me going was the houseflies - i'm not too sure where they came from, but I definitely don't smell like food or garbage. 😒 

TL;DR

I entered the restaurant at 6:30pm.

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.

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And I got to sit around a teppan counter.

I really like the cosy interior! ❤️️

Storage under the seat; really good idea to save floor space!

The menu :)
Get a better view HERE.

The lovely man who would be footing the bill. 💕

Coming back to Okonomiyaki, if you haven't heard of it, it is a Japanese savoury pancake containing an egg along with multiple ingredients - typically cabbage, pork belly, octopus, prawns, crab meat, mushrooms and so on. This would then be topped with Okonomiyaki sauce, mayonnaise, aonori (seaweed) and bonito flakes. It's (almost) like a flattened version of Takoyaki!

The name Okonomiyaki is a combination of the words 'okonomi', meaning 'how you like', and 'yaki' which means 'grill'.

The staff allowed me to have a go at mixing my own pancake!

Cooking time!

Here at Ajiya, the pancakes range from $12 to $15 depending on your choice of ingredients. It was rather interactive and engaging to watch the food being prepared right in front of you. The boyfriend even had a go at flipping his own pancake. I'd say he did a pretty good job! 😉

Other items on the menu include signature dishes like the Tako Wasabi ($5), Century Egg Kani Tofu ($7), Shio Koji Tori Karaage ($12) and Scallop Mentai ($14/$22). For us, we decided to keep things simple and ordered a Garlic Fried Rice and a Miso soup to go along with our pancakes.

Garlic Fried Rice ($6) and Miso Soup ($3).

Nom Nom Nom.
Decent; but not the best I've tasted.

The one in the foreground is mine!
The one in the background? The boy's. Link Here.

Overall, I have to say that I have had an enjoyable meal here in Ajiya, and I really enjoyed the quiet friendly and cosy atmosphere. It was however a shame that the Garlic Fried Rice and Miso Soup was a tad disappointing - the rice was on the slightly moist and mushy side, while the soup reminded me a little of instant Miso soup.


Watch the process here:

Having said that, the boyfriend was recommending this place to 2 of his friends while waiting for the Okonomiyaki to cook simply because he felt that this was "a good place to bring girlfriends".

His words, not mine.

Anyway, do let me know if you do decide to drop by! It's not Japan, but it's as Japanese as the shop can get!


Total damage done: $48

Rilakkuma!

Ajiya Okonomiyaki Restaurant

Address:
104 Jalan Jurong Kechil, Singapore 598603
(Walking distance from Beauty World MRT Station Downtown Line)

Phone Number:
+65 6463 3461

Opening Hours:
(Tues – Sun), Closed Mon
Lunch 12pm – 3pm, Last Order 2:30pm
Dinner 5:30pm – 10pm, Last Order 9:30pm

xoxo,

meixii