Now that the weather is cooler, I’m finding myself craving comfort food – hotpot, steamed dumplings, beef brisket – so last week I travelled across town to try Grill Manten-Boshi, an omelette rice (or omurice) specialist, at Harbour City.

Grill Manten-Boshi was founded in 1978 by Yoshinao Kubota, a disciple of Emperor Shōwa’s imperial chef, Tokuzō Akiyama. That’s quite the pedigree!

The omelettes here are each made with three Ran-Oh eggs, known for their high-quality, deep orange yolks. They’re cooked to a soft, fluffy texture and are very moist without feeling undercooked.

We tried three different omelette rice: eel omelette rice ($248), hamburg steak omelette rice with Grill Manten-Boshi gravy sauce ($238) and Angus steak omelette rice with Grill Manten-Boshi gravy sauce ($298).

The eel omelette rice, created for the HK location, contains fluffy rice cooked in chicken broth. Very nicely seasoned, with a creamy texture.

The beef rice dishes come with tomato rice, and we’re told the curry dishes (which we sadly were too full to try) come with curry-seasoned rice with raisins.

We enjoyed all the omurice dishes. If I were to choose one though, I’d go with the classic hamburg steak, which is tender, moist and just fatty enough (it comes with two sauces). The eel rice is also great if you’re an eel lover (the piece of eel is huge!), though I felt it tasted a bit monotonous after awhile and could have used a sauce with more edge.

The attention to detail is evident with the sauces. There’s a tomato-based omurice sauce, a Japanese yakiniku sauce and a curry sauce. All are made with beef ribs and a variety of fresh veg, including carrot, onion and celery, that are then simmered over the course of a week. And that’s not just PR speak!

We also tried a few non-omurice dishes. Here are the deep-fried crab cream croquettes ($148). Who doesn’t love saucy fried food? But this isn’t your average bar snack; the omurice sauce that emanated from this dish made me do a double take. It’s so deliciously rich and flavourful.

We tried some lighter dishes like the salmon with Grill Manten-Boshi Sauce ($98; not pictured) – the sauce in this case is a light vinaigrette – and Japanese seafood salad ($148). Both are light and fresh, with the salad being a table favourite – nothing out of the ordinary but a good rendition.

If you stil have room for some sweets (note that the portion sizes for the omelette rice are huge!), there are various milkshakes made with scoops of Mövenpick ice cream, soufflé pancakes and waffles.

The classic Japanese soufflé pancakes ($108) come with whipped cream, maple butter and maple syrup and are melt-in-the-mouth perfection. I regretted sharing these!

The blueberry Japanese sweet potato waffle ($128) is a great textural mix of crispy, crunchy and chewy.

Verdict

If you’re into omurice, definitely give Grill Manten-Boshi a try. It’s Japanese comfort food done well – they pay attention to all the little details and it shows.

Shop OT301–301A, 3/F, Ocean Terminal, Harbour City, 3–27 Canton Road, TST, 3751 5345

This write-up is based on a complimentary media tasting provided in exchange for an honest review and no monetary compensation. The opinions expressed here represent the author’s.


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Will travel far for food. Blogs at www.jenniexplores.com.

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