A-LAN Japanese Cuisine & Juice Bar @ KINEX

In my quest to look for (cheaper) alternatives to Doongji's avocado coffee, I found this place, A-LAN Japanese Cuisine & Juice Bar, which serves Japanese food. Of course I was going to go try. I was planning to take a nice leisurely walk there, but weather was too hot, so I took the bus instead.

I don't remember coming to this mall before. I guess it was operational when I was away. The basement food court area looks very different from the normal Kopitiam or Food Republic-style food court. Instead of stalls lined up together along the perimeter, they were situated individually (most of them) in the middle with the tables set up around them. The stall facades look nice, very atas, and the food options are also different from the usual options in most food courts. Of course, the prices are also atas.

I got the Nanban Tori Katsu Set ($10.90) and the Avocado Coffee ($4.80). I actually ordered without knowing what nanban is, but I figured you can't go wrong with fried chicken. After a bit of online sleuthing, I found out that nanban is like a tartar sauce. It tasted like egg mayo with a touch of vinegar. I was planning to just eat the fried chicken by itself but in the end, I finished the nanban, it was so good. The set came with a chawanmushi, a square of tofu, miso soup, and two slices of watermelon. The rice had furikake flakes on it. All standard dishes in a Japanese bento set.

The coffee was good, as good as Doongji's. I was actually sitting in front of the stall waiting for my order and had a good view of them making the drink. They put real avocado slices (and not syrupchawanmushi) in the blender for the shake. For the coffee, it was from a bottle of instant Nescafe coffee. I am not mad at that, as I drank that when I was based in the middle east.

I give this 4 Aunty Karens. The "service" was good. The lady at the cashier was friendly and cheerful. She served my food with a smile. I saw her interacting with other patrons and she was never sully or short-tempered. The food overall was good, although a tat pricy for food court food. The avocado coffee was a bonus. I will probably be back when I have a coffee craving, and will try other offerings, or even food from other stalls.