Monday, 29 July 2013

Food - Tanuki Raw!

As part of my birthday celebration, a friend and I headed to Tanuki Raw for pre-dinner cocktails and oysters. I'd heard about Tanuki's crazy happy hour oyster deal from another friend of mine months before, and have been looking for a good excuse to visit since then.


Tanuki Raw:
"Tanuki is a mythical, mischievous, shape-shifting creature.
"Enjoy happy hour overlooking Orchard Road.  5:00 PM - 8 PM daily, classic martini selections for $10, cocktails at $11, pints of beer for $10, freshly shucked oysters at $2, and salmon sashimi at $5."
Tanuki delights in the raw pleasures of food and drink.
Classic cocktails and urbane morsels amidst one of Asia's most vibrant streets."


And the Happy Hour Promotion:
"Enjoy happy hour overlooking Orchard Road.  5:00 PM - 8 PM daily, classic martini selections for $10, cocktails at $11, pints of beer for $10, freshly shucked oysters at $2, and salmon sashimi at $5."

Alright, how does one resist these?
1) Cocktails at $11? I mean, this is Singapore, and you'll be lucky to find a good cocktail for less than $15.
2) Freshly shucked oysters.
3) And in case that wasn't enough, they're priced at $2.

To kickstart the night, we ordered cocktails! I am a fan of cocktails. A good alcoholic drink for me would either be red wine, sparkling wine or cocktails. I don't really like mixers, and if I'm drinking alcohol for fun, then the drink itself should be fun as well.

I ordered one of my all time favourite cocktails - a margarita ($11). The margarita was quite good; the kick from the alcohol was there, and for someone who holds his alcohol quite well, I was already feeling some effects by the time I was done with the glass. Each alcoholic drink entitles you to 6 of the $2 oysters max, so I decided to make full use of the opportunity. I wanted to try the other types of oysters ($3-$10 each) but since I had a good dinner awaiting me, I decided to just enjoy the really cheap ones.

My friend ordered a mojito, another favourite of mine. I like my drinks sour. Sweet is okay, but not too sweet, and I love the mix of minty, sour and sweet flavours in the mojito. The mojito wasn't bad at all, but I would've loved for the flavours to be a bit more intense, especially the lime.


Together, we also ordered two plates of sashimi ($3 each, 1 portion per alcoholic drink), and finished off with truffle fries. I did not take any pictures of the food, but here is an Instavideo:



Please also ignore my friend's OCD tendencies regarding "things stuck in (his) drink"!

The oysters were fresh, and came with a shallot red wine sauce (if I am not wrong), which was passable. I enjoy my oysters with a tiny squirt of lemon juice and Tabasco sauce, and that was how I devoured all 6 oysters!

The fries were a last minute order, and were rather disappointing. They were crunchy, but too salty. I know fries should be salty, but this bordered on unhealthily and unreasonably salty.

On the whole, it was a great experience. Good alcohol at happy hour prices, and fresh, cheap oysters and sashimi. What's not to love? Service can be improved though. Our waiter was a bit confused, and made mistakes at least twice when bringing us our order. We also asked for mayonnaise for our fries, and he said,"OK." only to do forget about it and do other things. I like waiters who pay attention and have good memory, because it shows how serious they are about their jobs. But other than that, it was a great visit and I will be visiting again, with a good excuse or not!

Tanuki Raw
181 Orchard Road 
#02-03 Orchard Central
Singapore 238896

Facebook: Tanuki

Contact No: +65 6636 5949

Opening Hours:
Mon - Sun: 11:30 - 22:30
Happy hour: 17:00 - 20:00 daily

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