Don’t get distracted by the fact that it’s named after a village in Japan, as Akaigawa is more than just your typical ramen or sushi place—it’s one of the best SOUTHIEscoveries we’ve had this year when it comes to Asian-influenced dishes!👌🏽 It’s ‘soy’ good, methinks we should dub their food: ‘yay’sian fusion cuisine.😁


Southie Aisha and I were fortunate enough to get introduced to Chef Yussuff and his un'bao'lievable creations, inspired by his stay in the Japanese village, Akaigawa, and his stints as an executive sous chef in hotels and restos in Singapore, Hong Kong, Bahrain, and other places in Africa & and Latin America. Here’s everything we had and why we loved them ‘soy’ much:



🍜 Laksa Ramen* - 580 

It’s not every day you get to have the best of both worlds (or shall we say cultures?) in one hearty bowl!💛🥹 There’s seriously ‘noo’dull’ moment with this one, as you have prawn, braised beef, fried tofu skin, onsen egg, and an assortment of other ingredients in a rich, curry broth. Noms!😋👌🏽

*Their actual portion is good for 2-3. Our order in the photos was just split into 2 bowls.

🫔 Pork Spring Rolls with Asian slaw and homemade sweet chili sauce - 380
The rolls were light and delicious, and did not taste oily at all. Their homemade sauce was a great dip, but the Asian slaw a.k.a. Vietnamese salad really stole the show!🤯 It was such a refreshing complement to the spring rolls and one of the best palate cleansers I've had; it had that oddly-satifying balance of simple and complex flavor combinations from the different greens, veggies, and aromatics.🙌🏽 It was sooo good we had to beg Chef Yussuff to also make it a standalone dish and include it in his lineup of starters. LOL.



🍣 Salmon Aburi Roll - 480

OH MY GOODNESS!😱 If sushi places in the South had a 'roll' model, then THIS would be IT.🤙🏽 I can't stop gushing about how legit noms this version is cause every component was just perfectly made: the smoky salmon and the miso mayo were absolutely a match made in heaven; the freshness infused by the avocado & cucumber; and the contrasting texture of the prawn tempura and the rice. Ah! To this day, I still can’t stop thinking about it!🥹🥹🥹



🥟 Dumplings - Truffle Chicken (260/4pcs), Scallop and Prawn XO (290/4pcs), Vegetable (210/4pcs), Prawn Hargao (280/4pcs) served with chili & broad bean sauce (tomato-based, mildly spiced) and light soy sauce
Everything was sooooo GEWD!😭 Never imagined having truffle chicken in this form. The flavor was distinct but subtle, just like the scallop & prawn and vegetable versions.😋 What we loved best, however, was their hargao/hakao: its skin was thin and translucent, as one would expect it to be, but it didn’t easily break when we touched or pinched.🙌🏽 The clincher, tho, is the shrimp filling: it was ‘prawn’t and center in the dish, because you didn’t just have it one bite--every chew we took had shrimp bits in it!🦐 Talk about having all that and ‘dim sum’.😜

🥮 Trio Sesame Balls (Black Sesame, Matcha, Salted Egg) - 260

It’s a’bao’ time someone took the traditional buchi up 10 notches higher!👏🏼 Chef Yussuff’s version made a non-fan like me into a true convert. I especially appreciated the toasty flavor of the sesame seeds coating the chewy dough.👍🏼 We really caught some ‘fillings’ over these, as they also had delicious flavors: matcha, salted egg, and black sesame.💛 Loved the Black Sesame most, while Southie Aisha enjoyed the Salted Egg one.😋

✅ PLUS POINT: Their staff were friendly, professional, and clearly well-trained. They had great initiative, as they knew when you need them, how and when to offer help, or what to say if you have questions about the food.👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

We really think more Southies should check out Akaigawa, as it’s seriously one of the best Asian fusion places we've ever tried down South, PLUS it’s located in quite a hard-to-spot area in Festival Mall. It’s just along Civic Drive, facing Asian Hospital, and close to the Landmark side rotunda. You won’t regret it, Southies, for reals!👌🏽

Thank you so much for sharing your passion for cooking and your delicious creations, Chef Yussuff!🙏🏽 Special shoutout to Southie Nicole for the WHOAsome reco and the introduction!🫶🏽

Check out their socials and other deets, give them a go some time, and tell us what you think, Southies!👇🏽
📱 @akaigawa.official on IG
👍🏽 Akaigawa on FB
📍 Festival Mall, Upper Ground Floor, East Wing (Civic Drive, facing Asian Hospital, near Las Flores and Landmark Rotunda)
💰 Mode of Payment: Cash