In Japan, it’s easy to find BBQ restaurants that serve pork, chicken or beef. But lamb? Not quite common in Japan. And over here in Singapore, there’s a small and quaint Japanese Hokkaido-style BBQ Lamb restaurant that offers lamb meat only. It is one of those establishments along Circular Road that if you do not look closely, you might miss it. Thanks to its adorable Lamb sign, it is easy to spot this restaurant. The Hitsuji Club is one hidden gem that probably many didn’t know about.
I am definitely sceptical about eating lamb meat because I didn’t really like that stench in lamb meat. It can be rather overpowering and I wasn’t sure if grilled lamb is going to taste any better. But this Japanese restaurant has proven me wrong.
The seating area isn’t huge and it could probably accommodate up to a maximum of 20 pax. It’s a cosy BBQ restaurant and guess what? The waiter or waitresses are usually the ones who would BBQ the lamb meat for you on the grill. Over here, you can get all the attention you want as a customer.
After we settled down at the table, we were both given a refreshing hot towel to freshen up ourselves. It was such a thoughtful gesture and most restaurants don’t provide hot towels.
When we flipped open the menu, it brought me to this page when it says that Lamb is healthy? I didn’t know if lamb is healthier than beef or not until I did a quick Google search. Lamb actually has lower saturated fats, more omega-3 and fewer calories as compared to beef. And as mention in their menu also, Lamb is lower in cholesterol as compared to other types of meat. This truth about lamb is pretty mindblowing. If lamb is healthier, why aren’t people eating more lamb?
We are definitely off to a good start knowing that the lamb meat is healthier meat option. At least, we could indulge during this BBQ meal in peace, along with some Japanese beer and Plum Wine.
When it comes to BBQ, the sauce and seasonings are important. Over at Hitsuji Club, they gave us a bowl of garlic soy sauce. To enhance the flavour of the sauce, you can add in some garlic or chilli powder.
For starters, we have potato salad and a chicken with sesame sauce salad. Both are cold appetisers that taste great as well.
Now comes the main course – Premium Jingiskan with lamb chop set ($65). It’s quite a huge meat platter which is meat for two or three pax. It consists of lamb fillet, special loin, premium lamb chop and an assortment of vegetables and mushrooms. Instead of ordering a platter, you could also order the type of meat from their Ala cart menu.
Toshiyuki, the restaurant manager of The Hitsuji Club, was serving us that evening. He would first place some lamb fat at the centre of the grill so that the melted lamb fat could coat the whole grill plate. He proceeded on to grill the meat and vegetables for us.
The lamb meat was imported from Australia or New Zealand. And the cooked lamb meat was thinly sliced so it tasted very tender and succulent. Strangely, it doesn’t have that lamb meat scent after grilling. It just tastes like beef except that it is less fibrous and easier to chew on than beef.
The meat was cooked to perfection and it goes really well with the sauces and seasonings. You can pair it with some rice but we didn’t order any rice since the platter was quite big!
After the savoury affair, we had some green tea ice cream which was really delicious as well.
My partner said that it is worth coming back again to Hitsuji for its fine lamb meat and excellent service.
65 Circular Road
Singapore 049419
Tel: 6221 3789
