Yakitori and Teppan Azmaya @ Lau Pa Sat : Mega Buta-Don and More!


250g of pork over the rice? Really? 250g? 

 The crumpled piece of A4 size paper printed with the slogan 男のブタ丼 was hastily shuffled beneath a bowl of very delicious looking Grilled Pork Donburi. But before you start to salivate, you realize it is just part of the troop of plastic food items on display at the counter. It stands out from the other stalls for obvious reasons as you won't find a Fishball noodle stall displaying their "fake" Mee pok tar next to the cashier counter. 

Clever marketing tactic, I say. It attracts customers, mostly males (Japanese salarymen) who are keen on such hearty, meaty portions. And as the name might already suggests, this stall is the hawker outlet of the Shabu Shabu Azmaya Restaurant in Robertson Quay. 
The menu offers mainly deep-fried katsu rice bowls and curry Teppanyaki rice at a very reasonable average price of $8. 

 Customers can also customize their own bowls by opting for more egg, cheese, curry....or more meat (probably if you hadn't eaten meat for a month). Even though this is not a vegetarian-friendly place, seafood lovers will not be deprived of options such as Sashimi Don ($8.90) or the Tempura Kaisen Don ($7.90). 
I wonder if it is because they know Singaporeans have a soft spot for onsen tamago because all the rice bowls come with a default onsen tamago. Looks good, but whether they serve a purpose or not is another question. 
The Buta Don ($9.90) was the most expensive bowl that claimed to feature 250g of grilled pork. Be prepared to wait at least 5 min (as written) for the dish to be ready. I was anticipating thick slabs of juicy pork but these were sadly over-grilled, resulting in an intensive workout on the jaws to tear through the tough and dry pork belly. The meat were generally well-seasoned but it was still necessary to have the teppan sauce over the rice as it made everything more delicious. And thankfully, this sauce was free-flow and self-service at the counter.

Since many people ordering the Karaage Don ($7.90), we went along with the crowd and had it as well. Drizzled in mayonnaise, the golden nuggets were crunchy but slightly greasy. Quite an average bowl without anything impressive--I wished I had KFC popcorn chicken actually. 

 I prefer the Pork Katsu Toji Set ($8.50), a giant slab of deep-fried pork in bubbly cooked egg and seaweed toppings. I swooned immediately for the egg, only to discover to my horror that it was way too salty. What a pity because the pork katsu was tender and tasty. The best part to me was the slightly charred bread batter of the katsu that stuck to the hot plate and I scraped those yummy parts as diligent as I did for any burnt bits in claypot rice.

Overall, it wasn't as satisfying as expected but what appealed was the ravenous portions that would kept me full till the next meal. Plus the good-for-sharing portions implied that one can save even more dollars when having them with a few friends. 
Honestly, I can't think of anywhere else in the CBD area that would serve these items at such a low price point. If you love some quick Yakitori fix with some cold beer, come by in the evening during dinner time when this menu expands to Yakitori and typical izakaya fare such as takoyaki or gyoza. 
Yakitori and Teppan Azmaya
Lau Pa Sat Stall 55
Mon-Sat 11.30am-11pm
Closed on Sundays

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