A hidden gem nestled along Beach Road, Q-WA Izakaya’s newly-opened second outlet has an atmosphere that is reminiscent of a traditional hole-in-the-wall izakaya eatery in Japan. 

The eatery serves Yakimono (grilled skewers), light bites, deep-fried cutlets, don and udon, as well as an affordable selection of Japanese alcoholic beverages too.

But it is not simply about skewers and alcohol at this restaurant though – in fact, Q-WA Izakaya takes pride in serving their customers with quality grilled Yakimono – using the finest ingredients shipped in from Japan. 

Marinated with an in-house Garlic Spice Powder and gourmet Moshio (seaweed salt), the signature skewers are meticulously grilled over one of the top-grade Sawdust Binchotan (Japanese White Charcoals), imbuing it with a distinctive touch of smokiness and umami.

Indeed, with a true love for Japanese street food, no stones are left unturned in Owner Rita’s effort in recreating authentic Japanese grilled skewers with maximum tastes.

Together with a companion, I had been recently invited to a food tasting session at Q-WA Izakaya’s newly opened Beach Road outlet, where I had the chance to try their signature Yakimono skewers, as well as a few of their other recommended dishes.

Here are the items that we had tried and my comments on the food at Q-WA Izakaya.

Light Bites

SAWGANI (S$7.90)

Sawgani.

This is described as being Japanese Freshwater Baby Crab.

I really liked this dish and as a result, I ended up polishing off nearly the entire plate of this deep-fried baby crab on my own. The crab had been crunchy on the outside and warm and soft on the inside. 

The original flavour of the crab had been retained and at the same time, I liked the addition of the spices that had been used in the preparation process, as these had brought out the flavours really nicely. Even after having cooled down significantly, I thought the the taste was still quite consistent.

POTATO SARADA (S$6.90)

Potato Sarada.

This is basically a Japanese version of a potato salad.

I thought that the flavours of this item were quite interesting. Served cold, I was able to detect a very slight mayonnaise flavour as well as a hint of flavour from some spices used in the cooking process, coming from the potato, which had been mashed up together with peas and carrots. 

And in the salad dressing too, there was also a sesame note, which was quite enjoyable and brought out the flavour from the crunchy lettuce, carrots and other vegetables present. 

Then when eaten together, the moist, melt-in-your-mouth potato went nicely together with the crunchy vegetables, for a balance of textures in the mouth.

Yakimono

There are grilled skewers available to cater to diners of many differing tastes and preferences, and we tried the following, based on the restaurant’s recommendations.

• TEBASAKI – Chicken Wing (S$3.50)
• TSUKUNE – Chicken Meatball (S$3.60)
• MEGIMA CHEESE – Chicken with Cheese (S$3.30)
• BUTABARA – Pork Belly with Salt (S$2.90)
• BUTABARA MISO – Pork Belly with Miso (S$3.20)
• TOMATO MAKI – Cherry Tomato with Bacon (S$3.20)
• ENOKI MAKI – Golden Mushroom with Bacon (S$3.30)
• UZURA MAKI – Quail Egg with Bacon (S$3.30)
• SHITAKE MAKI – Shitake Mushroom with Cheese and Bacon (S$3.30)
• ENOKI GYU – Golden Mushroom with Beef (S$4.80)
• SHITAKE GYU – Shitake Mushroom with Beef (S$4.80)
• SHISHAMO – Fish + Roe (S$8.90)

From left to right: Megima Cheese, Tomato Maki, Uzura Maki, Shitake Maki and Enoki Maki.

Out of the various Yakimono, my favourite one was easily the ENOKI MAKI. The combination of flavours and textures in this was amazing. 

This was because the rich flavours of the bacon went very well together with the juiciness from the Golden Mushrooms, the latter of which also had a slightly crunchy texture at the same time, balancing everything out perfectly. 

And the slight char-grilled flavours from the bacon also added to the tastiness of this skewer, too.

This had been closely followed by the ENOKI GYU. Compared to the Bacon version, this one had a stronger meaty note from the Beef that had been wrapped around the Mushroom. The Beef was a tad on the dry side, but on the other hand, the Golden Mushroom was so juicy that this had more than compensated for that.

The SHITAKE MAKI and SHITAKE GYU skewers were also nice, though, but compared to the Golden Mushrooms, I felt that the Shitake mushroom had been slightly drier in terms of the taste and textures, and this as a result, somewhat seemed to make the meat wrapped around the mushrooms more dry to the taste buds, as well. 

But this aside, it was still bursting with a yummy flavour. And unlike the Golden Mushroom skewers which were softer, the Shitake mushroom versions had a more chewy texture too, that had also been enjoyable in its own way.

The UZURA MAKI one was rather interesting, I must say. The hard-boiled quail egg exploded in my mouth when I bit into it, and the combination of egg and bacon went together nicely, bursting with flavour in my mouth. Both the bacon and the egg were also rather soft too, so not much chewing was required for this skewer.

And out of the chicken ones, I had enjoyed the MEGIMA CHEESE one the most. The chicken meat was moist and juicy enough, and the cheese that had been melted onto the skewer, had complemented the chicken really well, bringing out its flavours further.

Tebasaki and Tsukune skewers.

I though the TEBASAKI skewer was quite tasty too, with the chicken meat having a savoury and slightly salty note in my mouth that was full of flavour, and the texture of the meat being quite tender and juicy too.

And the TSUKUNE skewer had a slight hint of spicy note that was not distinctive but nonetheless, had added an extra kick to the flavours coming from the meat. 

There was also a char-grilled flavour to the chicken meat which had brought out the taste really well too. But despite the rich and yummy flavours, the chicken meat had been a tad on the dry side, though.

And as for the TOMATO MAKI skewer, the cherry tomato was grilled till it was soft but not yet squishy. As a result, when I bit my teeth into it, the tomato exploded inside my mouth. The tomato flavour was strong, but the bacon had helped to mask it slightly though, giving a slightly meaty note to the tomato taste. So I thought that this was quite an unusual combination.

Shishamo.

The flavours that came from the SHISHAMO fish was quite interesting, too. When I had sunk my teeth into a piece of the fish, it had been soft on the inside. It was not the most moist version of fish that I have had, but considering the method of cooking (grilled), it was not too bad. 

I liked the fact, that the bones had been cooked till they were soft, just like canned sardines, meaning that I did not need to worry about removing bones when I was eating.

And while I could taste the flavour of fish, it was a pleasant, and not a fishy taste. Instead, it had a pleasant savoury taste, and I could detect a slight hint of salt too, which I thought, had made it really tasty.

But even though the menu description of this item had said “fish + roe”, I must point out that I could not detect any roe when I had been eating, though.

From left to right: Butabara, Butabara Miso, Enoki Gyu and Shitake Gyu.

However the pork based skewers were a tad disappointing though. This was because the pork that had been used, seemed to have been quite dry.

Also, the BUTABARA skewer had been, in short, simply salty. While all the skewers had some degree of salt added to them, the taste of the salt had been the most prevalent in this one. In fact I could not really taste much else here, besides salt.

So I feel that it may have helped if there could have been some cheese added, to bring some moisture to the skewer and balance out the saltiness and dryness of the pork.

Taste-wise, the BUTABARA MISO one had been slightly better though, because the Miso flavour exploded in my mouth and helped to take away some of the saltiness, but the pork was still dry when I put it in my mouth, and I feel that nothing could really have changed that possibly because of the cuts of pork that had been chosen.

Rice/Noodles

Yaki Udon.

From the carbohydrates menu, we ordered the YAKI UDON (S$10.90) because the udon dishes had been recommended.

And the Yaki Udon certainly did not disappoint. The texture of the udon had been firm, yet smooth at the same time. I would say that it was definitely one of the better udon dishes that I have eaten.

Taste-wise, it was also really yummy and full of flavour. I could detect a hint of soya taste in the dish, and the presence of the cabbage and bean sprouts also added a crunchy note to the dish too, to balance out the softness from the Udon and at the same time, giving the dish a variety of textures.

Beverages

Finally, to wash down our meal, I ordered a PLUM SAKE (S$26) and my companion got the ASAHI SUPER DRY Beer (from S$7).

Plum Sake.

The PLUM SAKE had a very pleasant taste that had been quite enjoyable. It had a sweet and mild flavour and I could also pick up a slight hint of the fruity note coming from the plum essence that had been used in it. 

At the same time, there was a slightly sourish aftertaste that balanced out the other flavours coming from the drink. This tarty taste in the Plum Sake pairs well with grilled fish dishes such as the SHISHAMO that we had eaten

And unlike some alcoholic drinks which linger on in the mouth after swallowing though, I find that this one doesn’t, and so this makes it quite suitable for those who are not really into alcoholic drinks.

Asahi Super Dry Beer.

My companion also enjoyed the ASAHI SUPER DRY Beer, commenting that it had a nice, grain aroma and a light, crisp and slightly bitter taste, followed by a sharp aftertaste that had subsequently lingered on in the mouth.

However, besides the wine and beer options though, I found that there were not much other beverages on the drink menu. 

While there is water, Green Tea and canned soft drinks available, it would also have been nice if there were some fruit juices too, in order to provide more variety for those who are not into alcohol.

Overall Thoughts

I would say that as a whole, I had rather enjoyed my meal at Q-WA Izakaya and this is a place that I would consider coming back to again, if I am keen on munching on Yakimono skewers. 

However my companion had commented that all the dishes, across the board, had all been too salty for him though, and as a result, he was looking for a drink to quench his thirst and get rid of the salty aftertaste, once we had exited the restaurant after the tasting.

The service though, was great, and the waitress serving us had been quite attentive and friendly, in terms of answering my questions on the various food items and taking my orders.

Q-WA Izakaya

103 Beach Road, #01-02, 

Singapore 189704

Phone: +65 8336 7728