塚田農場 Tsukada Nojo @Miyazaki, Japan

We have always enjoyed the soup at 塚田農場 Tsukada Nojo in Singapore, and now we had the chance to try out at the 宮崎 Miyazaki outlet where it all started 🙂

Apparently, in 宮崎 Miyazaki, they use only free-range, home-bred domestic chicken. Only selected farms that have passed Miyazaki Prefecture’s stringent production conditions are allowed to breed this specific type of chicken, which produces leaner meat with well-marbled fat. Reading the description, we were more than ready to try all kinds of chicken cuisine 😀

• お通し (Otooshi) Cover Charge (¥350 per pax + 8% tax) : Appetisers came first, of course 🙂 The vegetables were so fresh, sweet and crunchy, and so addictive with the miso dip!
• からの 宮崎地鶏刺身盛り Chicken Sashimi (¥1320+): Chicken in Miyazaki is really fresh, and this was our second time trying out completely raw chicken meat. This time, we got to try chicken sashimi of various types, including 胸身 Chicken Breast, ささ身 Chicken Breast Tender/Tenderloin, モモのタタキ Thigh Meat Tataki, レバー Liver, ハツ Heart, and 砂ずり Gizzard. We could taste the freshness and sweetness of each piece. I must say, be it raw or cooked, gizzards were simply a bit too tough for my liking. The rest of the sashimi was awesome though 🙂
• 月見つくね (Tsukimi Tsukune) Chicken Meatball with Egg Yolk (¥530): The meatball was very juicy and tender, and it was so heavenly to mix in the really fresh egg yolk.
• ニラ釜玉 (Nira Kametama) Cooked Leek and Tsukadama Egg (¥450): Yet another dish with egg yolk (we find egg yolks so irresistible), this time on top of a bed of fresh chives. Pretty yummy, but we preferred the chicken meatball (we are also quite carnivorous sometimes :x)
• とろとろコロッケ (Toro Toro Korokke) Sweet Potato Croquette (¥100 each): There was a minimum order of 2 pieces, and the bite-sized croquettes had a lovely, light crispy crust, with soft and creamy fillings inside. Eating this with the tartare sauce was quite addictive!
• むね焼 (Muneyake) Grilled Chicken Breast (¥980): Grilled with charcoal, the chicken had a lovely aroma and was tender and juicy. It was served with 自家製ねぎ生姜 homemade scallion and ginger, which added complexity to the flavours.
• 炊餃子 (Taki Gyoza) Dumplings (¥780): Hmm, we wondered if there was some miscommunication with the waiter who pointed at a few items and informed us that all had the same chicken soup base. We picked this as we wanted to try out the dumplings too. The gyoza arrived in a pot with a dark soup base and dark-coloured collagen, which was quite different from the whiter version we had in Singapore. As it turned out, this soup was very salty 😮 The juicy gyozas were delicious though.

からの 宮崎地鶏刺身盛り Chicken Sashimi

月見つくね (Tsukimi Tsukune) Chicken Meatball with Egg Yolk

ニラ釜玉 (Nira Kametama) Cooked Leek and Tsukadama Egg

とろとろコロッケ (Toro Toro Korokke) Sweet Potato Croquette

むね焼 (Muneyake) Grilled Chicken Breast

炊餃子 (Taki Gyoza) Dumplings

While we did not drink, the guests at another table were having beer out of mugs made of ice 😮 It certainly looked very interesting, and I supposed, a great way to keep one drinking 😛