Ovenbird SG

Matsukawagarei belly | Engawa | Nanohana Vin Jaune Veloute made with Matsukawagarei bone dashi. One of those rare occasions a big matsukawagarei is available.

Zuwaigani - Yamagata. Size around 800-900g. Usually combined with 5-6 Seikogani to make a vinegared crab sushi rice bowl. Not fancy. Just the great flavors of male and female snow crab getting it on in a bowl. 😝

Day off ’s annual festival. But working. If you know what I mean.

Start of this season’s Karasumi. It’s a long journey before these mullet roe (Osaka) become the final product served at the stall. But I’m just glad to get things rolling.
Karasumi is a key project for the stall every year. I’ve already shortlisted the Sochu, sake, miso, whiskies and single cask cognacs for this year’s batch.

Winter season. Year end beckons. Time to bring in bubbles for the hawker stall. Including a couple of Vintage Lieu-dits from@Mesnil-sur-Ogier. These are respectable bubbles if you don’t mind the shabby glasses and lousy ambience. Knock the venue and the cook - never the winemakers. If you’ve come to the hawker stall before you know how sorry I am for having to put you through such a lousy wine experience. But still… some folks need a drink. 😂

Ankimo ~ from 550g piece of Liver taken out of a 12.1kg Hokkaido Monkfish. The rest of that fish goes into meals today and tomorrow. We’re approaching a stretch of really superb Anko (monkfish). They’re early this year, which means an extended run for monkfish this year. As we head into the cold season, monkfish - particularly the ankimo - start to pick up more anisakis. I may be a hawker but I put in extra shifts to clean these pesky parasites off and age the ankimo for flavour. They’re be cooked through properly so they’re absolutely safe to eat.

Tara Shirako | EVO | Aceto Balsamico Modena aged 30 years. Hitting the Shirako season proper. They’re getting rich. And they deserved to be eaten and not frowned upon. Have convinced some Shirako haters to at least give this a spin. At least do it for the Balsamic vinegar

Matsukawagarei Engawa | roasted Nanohana. Makes the best Turbo look feeble. Late Autumn BFF (Barfin Flounder) is one of the stall’s go-to flat fishes. Always 5kg up. Nothing smaller. And always aged at least 10 days up.

As we head into November and the start of the hawker stall’s winter dinners, the headline fishes start to take a major detour from the usual winter suspects. Not that Buri, Anko, Sawara etc have gone - they’re still around and very high quality - some unexpected fishes have made their way onto the stall menu.
Those of you who think Madai is boring - look away now. I have tried to ignore Madai coming from Nagasaki and Fukuoka for the past month but I finally yielded on a night when there wasn’t any Saba available from Nagasaki. Got in 2 2+kg Madai.
Gosh. What have I been missing. These are fabulous examples of Sea Bream - sweet, very very fat, and excellent texture. A fillet with its skin removed set my binchotan on fire with its oil last evening. This shouldn’t happen for Madai - not now at least.
So there - Madai, a Spring favorite, will be on your winter dinners. Tonight’s specimen is aged 11 days btw - if you trust my anyhow whack hawker fish aging skills… you’ll quite enjoy this one. 😆

12.6kg Hokkaido Buri (Japanese Amberjack). Tsumotoshiki 29/9, served at 20 days. Grilled till the skin chars and crisps like Chinese Roast Pork (Sio Bak). The rest left raw. Lathered with Warijoyu.
Not pretty. Not authentic (Japanese). Call it what you want but it’s pretty darn tasty.

Another special delivery from Shimane. Medai Shirako. Kobujime / sake and salt aged for 3 days. This comes close to Fugu Shirako.

Ankimo. The larger piece is from a 16kg Shimane Anko. Cognac, wasanbon, and sake aged for 3 days before steaming.

This is a 10-day aged piece of Shiogama Hon Maguro, marinated in the stall’s 8-year old Nikiri Shoyu. I’m not a huge Hon maguro fan but I must confess, this autumn’s Miyagi bluefin is to die for. Perfectly balanced, a great combination of texture, umami, fat, and moderate acidity. I can’t remember October Shiogama bluefin being this good.
And with the start of Shimonita Negi, I’m tempted to recreate last year’s 2 meat 1 veg caipng. But that means I need to restart Sujiko … which I’ve ended the season. Hmmm… let’s see how we can do this. 😝

And just like that, we’re started Sekogani season at the hawker stall. Usually, the first week of November is when the season kicks off but this year, the female snow crabs have started early. The Sotoko (the fertilized eggs lining the crab’s apron) is of outstanding quality now and the uchiko (I fertilized eggs in the carapace) is rich, nutty and when combined with the crab miso is pure heaven. Decadent and rich from the word go … this year’s sekogani is one for the memories.

In my opinion, Anko (monkfish) karaage is the best way to present the tail fillet of monkfish. The texture is just unbelievable. Some call it a super sweet scallop, only juicier and sweeter. Others think it’s closer to a thick slab of lobster. Connoisseurs believe there’s a hint of Frog’s legs in there.
The truth lies somewhere in between all that, depending on the size of the monkfish, the region and the time of the year it’s caught (Shimane, Toyama, Hokkaido, Aomori monkfish all have different textures). And also how long it’s been aged. Aging a monkfish fillet reduces its juiciness but intensifies its flavors and texture.
Come get your monkfish karaage fix as the stall enters the rump of the monkfish season from Nov-end Jan.

Tara Shirako | EVO | Balsamic Vinegar | Damn good sea salt. And a quick sear. Say what you want… but Shirako is a seasonal delight. Last night I legit saw someone lick his plate clean 😆

Kanpachi season has started at the stall. 7kg Miyazaki Kanpachi aged 8 days. On EVO, Balsamic vinegar, and just a bit of salt. A good Kanpachi is worth its weight in gold because they’re just so hard to find. Of the 3 main amberjacks, wild, high quality Kanpachi is perhaps the hardest to procure. I’m on the lookout for 15kg specimens… hopefully can land one before the end of the year.

Ankimo | Chiba Figs. Figs are having an extended season this year and they are delicious!

Kyoto Sawara 17 days. Sakekasuzuke | grilled. Ice Plant. Ayu Oil Dashi. Magnificent Spanish Mackerels now and it’s not even winter.

26 October 2024 (Saturday) - mark that date in your calendars because will be hosting its first Sake Open Bar with .sg.
Sake has been an integral part of the stall’s beverage offerings since its very first day of operation in March 2021. I’ve had the privilege of working with some of fhe nicest folks in the industry to feature seasonal, craft sake to go with the food.
For the stall’s very first Sake Open Bar, sakes from the prefectures of Shimane, Fukuoka, Yamaguchi, and Saga will be featured alongside Autumn season dishes.
There will be 2 sessions of 2:30hrs each - 1700-1930hrs for the first session, and 2000-2230hrs for the second session.
The tickets are priced at $128 per pax and that covers:
- Two sakes from Shimane
- your personal Riedel glass which you can bring home after the event
- 4 dishes featuring Autumn season specials (including Shimane prefecture Monkfish and Hokkaido Buri)
There will also be 3 flights of 4 sakes each priced at $15/$20/$25 per flight (available a-la-carte as well).
If you take a shine to any of the sakes at the Open Bar, you can purchase them as well!
Tickets for the Sake Open Bar will go on sale next Tuesday, 15 Oct. Each session is limited to 22 participants. The link will be posted on IG.
See you at the event!

We’re heading into the Karasumi season this year. Mullet roe is a specialty that’s eaten across East Asia as well as the Mediterranean. You can easily buy them when they’re in season.
I chose to make Karasumi at the stall because it, above all else, binds together my love of Japanese cuisines, whisky, sake, Shochu and the very fine craft of aging and preservation.
I’ll be making a very small quantity of this vintage for sale this year. They’re hawker style Karasumi - rough and ready, but unique and hopefully edible.
Details will be made available closer to January when the bulk of my Karasumi is mature and ready.

P.S. please don’t expect commercial quality Karasumi from me - can’t measure up to those.

Been getting quite a few messages regarding booking slots the past couple of weeks. So I thought I’d just pin this up here to help with the answers.

1. When is the next booking window open for reservations?
- 27 January. The slots for spring and summer 2025 (Feb to end July) will be open for booking on that day, some time between 9am to 7pm. In the meantime, if you’re looking for slots from now till end Jan, just check the website on and off for cancellations. There’re tons of those every week - especially among first time reservations. Guess they got scared off by my hawker food. 😂

2. Is there a menu?
- Erm. No. There isn’t one. But I split the calendar into 4 seasons of 3 months each, and micro-seasons of 2-3 weeks each. So the menu generally changes daily.

3 What is the price?
- I’m keeping prices steady next year. So it’ll be $175 NETT for the Spring and Summer dinners.

4. Can I bring my own bottles?
Yes. Corkage will stay at $45/ bottle or you can get a 1-for-1. I change my sake list every 2 weeks and there’s a small wine list which rotates seasonally but if you’re the sort who love big names and prestige brands, it’s best to bring your own bottles. There’re also 150 labels of whisky and cognac - all IBs and limited bottlings. It’s a small collection which I curate to pair with my food.

5 Can I cater to dietary restrictions/ preferences?
- short answer is no. My hawker stall focuses on wet aged fish; a lot of which I serve raw or with minimal cooking. Although there’s a Bird in my stall’s name, you won’t find poultry or meat on the menu. Catering to dietary restrictions and preferences is impossible as I am a one man show. But do tell me if something might kill you or send you to the hospital - I’d better know if you have severe allergies. Hopefully it’s not to seafood. However if you’re an expectant mum; or you’re a loving dad-to-be who’s keen to show solidarity to your pregnant partner, I’ll be happy to cook through your fish.

Ok. That’s about it. See you at the stall some time! Ovenbird SG isn’t for everyone but if you’re into simple, no frills Japanese fusion food and you love your fish… you’re always welcome!

Anko Risotto | Anko Nikogori. Made full use of Tanaka san’s fabulous 12.6kg Shimane monkfish to prepare this dish for Friday dinner service. Monkfish dashi was used to cook the Risotto using Miyagi Sasanishiki and Nagano Koshihikari rice. The creaminess of the grains are mind blowing.
The risotto also featured in-season fresh French Chaterelles, Japanese Sh*take, Girolles and French chestnuts.
Finished with an updated Nikogori - Monkfish aspic of stomach, skin, o***y and meat trims set in a seasoned monkfish dashi.
Very grateful to Tanaka san for sending such brilliant produce. This isn’t classy; it’s simple, no frills hawker food which celebrates in-season produce.

Messi Shirako from Shimane. Huge one. Aged 4 days. Simply grilled. Absolutely 🤤.