Tsukada Nojo: Bijin Nabe (美人锅 Collagen Beauty Pot)

The widely raved about "collagen beauty pot" that most people around me have been talking about. If you've seen long queues outside Nana's Green Tea, a Japanese cafe next to Tsukada Nojo, and/or The Soup Spoon at the new wing of Plaza Singapura, most likely you've passed by this quaint Japanese restaurant that looks like a snapshot of a traditional Japanese house.

The dish is called "Bijin Nabe" and sounds hilariously vulgar like you're scolding someone in Hokkien. Haha. Incredible colours, plating, and impeccable service! We were there exactly at 4.45pm, 15 minutes before the official dinner opening time, and there already was a queue of about 20 people...

And we thought we were already being super kiasu...

Here's the exterior of the restaurant taken while I was in the queue. Couldn't get a full proper shot because the queue was blocking the entire logo. By an awesome stroke of luck, we managed to get into the restaurant (We were the last couple seated, and no more seats were available for the 5pm seating!)

Board that explains how the "Bijin Nabe" is made, what it is made of etc. We got a cosy seat near the kitchen with many staff members milling about busily in and out of the kitchen. Even though there were many people walking by our seat, the seat still gave a sense of privacy, and I can open my mouth to its largest without feeling like the people around me would judge me for enjoying my food. Hehe.

The best Chicken Karaage I've ever eaten in my life and also the most pricey at around S$8++ for this plate of chicken! Plating-wise, I thought that it was too much salad (relative to chicken) but the vegetables were really fresh and crunchy - so no complaints there. Not sure what's the cream yellow sauce/paste but it goes really well with the chicken. It's not entirely mayonnaise but it had the texture of egg-mayonnaise and a tangy, slightly sour lemony and tartar sauce taste?

Apparently the cream-white blobs makes the soup base (collagen chicken soup), and the soup is something I'd definitely return for!

There, the white globs simmered into the soup.

I didn't photograph the best service staff ever while she was putting everything laid out on the table into the soup and cooking it for us. I admit it was quite mesmerising to watch her as she explained every single ingredient and their function in the soup. She was a really warm eloquent Singaporean Chinese middle-aged lady in the cutest kimono!

He's peeling prawns for me! :') We're not fans of prawns so we mostly avoid it altogether. I don't have a good tolerance of prawns as well... Heh. Most of the time when we do eat them, I peel all the prawns and he eats the majority of them... so this picture is just gold. 

Japanese seaweed that adds additional flavour to the soup!

If you're a first-time visitor, they'll give you a complimentary dessert I believe! Here's our dessert plate with some jelly for us! Practical me thinks it's a waste of chocolate sauce, but it sure makes a cute "thank you" message hahaha. 

We left at 6.10pm and overheard the cashier telling a person in the queue that the whole restaurant was full for the night and she'd have to return another day. Full and 'booked out' for the night one hour after opening for dinner? Disbelief colouring our faces. Either way we're thankful for being able to get in. Our first attempt was unsuccessful. Starving, we were put on the waiting list at 6.45pm... We decided to eat something else immediately after being put on the list, and it's shocking that we were only contacted at 8.45pm! 

Looking to enjoy this beauty collagen pot? Be expected to pay about $25-30 per pax... And be sure to be there super early at 4.30pm despite protests from your friends/significant other that it seems ridiculous. You won't regret it. 

Here, the early bird catches the worm. 

• Tsukada Nojo Singapore
• Plaza Singapura 
• #03-81 
• 68 Orchard Road 
• Singapore 238839