Food tasting: eGrill & Piza at The Cathay Basement, Singapore 229233

Had a tasting of the newly launched Japanese modern fusion diner eGrill & Piza (yes, not a spelling error) a couple of weeks ago at the Cathay basement. The mall seem to get quite a high turnover as many of the shops I used to see are now closed, so I do hope eGrill & Piza can manage to stay on! I was intrigued by the Japanese-flavoured handmade pizzas so I decided to give it a go. And indeed it was the pizzas that night that wowed me the most!


We tried the Salmon Mentai Pizza and Spicy Teriyaki Chicken Pizza (S$15.90 per pizza). First up - the Salmon Mentai one was definitely the more 'family-friendly' among the two. With generous toppings of bonito flakes flapping gently in the wind and a creamy sweet mayonnaise sauce, the thin-crusted pizza had a nice bite to them. The minced salmon was a little overwhelmed by the toppings, I reckon. 3.5/5

The Spicy Teriyaki Chicken Pizza was much more 'shiok' in my opinion because of the really spicy kick due to the chilli padi seeds in there. That elevated the pizza to more than just Japanese or Western - the spice kicks it up to the Singaporean level! The chicken themselves are coated with some teriyaki sauce. Not that amazing on it's own - I just liked the surprise of the chilli. 4/5

We also tried other side dishes, and some skewers. There's a promo where for just S$36.80 you get two skewers and two pizzas for four pax! That's pretty affordable. The skewers (S$3.90 ala carte) though I didn't think was that awesome, probably 2.5/5 only. You can mix and match 2 for $6.90 or 3 for $9.90.

We had the Shrimp Paste Chicken Skewer which was ok (not much of the shrimp paste flavour) and the two fish skewers which I really didn't enjoy. The Salmon Belly Fin Skewer I found had loads of bones, and was a little raw/pink on the inside. The Grilled Mackerel Skewer was too fishy. My favourite had to be the Beef Meatball Skewer - it was just nice. 

The skewers are all cooked using a robotic yakitori machine (hence the name eGrill) imported from Hong Kong and it's the only one in Singapore. The skewers are placed on a rotating tray and grilled without much oil or smoke with red hot wires. A pity on the latter actually. Real Japanese yakitori tastes good because of the charcoal smokey flavour. This is probably a healthier way to cook meat though.


By the way I was surprised that there's also alcoholic drinks (and sodas for teetotallers). Side dishes include a Smoked Salmon Salad (S$3.80) which is quite a good price for salmon and greens in Singapore. 3/5

 I also really enjoyed the Truffle Fries with Truffle Salsa (S$8.80) - the fries were not overcooked (pet peeve) and quite fragrant without the often overpowering artificial truffle smell. You could order one of these to share with the set meal! 4/5


Lastly, we also tried the Sugarcane Prawn with Thai sweet chilli (S$5.80). Actually this felt a little incongruent in a place of Japanese styled pizzas and skewers, but at least it tasted delicious. In fact, I find the side dishes better than the skewers, and comparable to the pizzas! 3.5/5

Final thoughts - while an interesting concept for sure, I find eGrill & Piza to be slightly off its mark, just like how the place is spelled. I'll recommend for students (20% off with student pass) and groups of 4 to go for their awesome promos but the rest could probably skip the place and find something better (maybe in Plaza Sing).


eGrill & Piza
#B1-01, The Cathay Basement, 2 Handy Road, Singapore 229233
+65 67363055
Daily 11.30am to 10pm

Thanks to eGrill & Piza and Brand Cellar for the invite!

By the way, do join me on the new Pepo App's "Singapore Foodies" chat group where we chat about where to eat in Singapore, and delicious #foodporn photos! 

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