Sun with Moon Light: Quality Japanese lunch sets from S$18.80

It’s not surprising that Japanese eateries are popping up everywhere, what with Singaporeans’ love for all things Japanese. But best of all, a true gem is finding quality Japanese food without breaking the bank. 

If that sounds right up your alley, you’ll enjoy Sun with Moon Light — an affordable, yet reliable haven for west-siders, located in Jem shopping mall.

Sound familiar? The brand is the sister concept of the better-known Sun with Moon restaurant at Wheelock Place.

The original Sun with Moon offers an extensive selection of Japanese cuisine at affordable prices, ranging from nabe (Japanese hotpot), donburi (rice bowl), creative sushi rolls, to kamameshi (traditional Japanese kettle rice), teriyaki steaks and more. 

By contrast, Sun with Moon Light has a more curated menu, featuring favourites from its wider menu. Think of it as a beginner’s guide to Sun with Moon — a casual dining experience that’s more affordable and more accessible (for west-side heartlanders). 

The restaurant launched earlier this year in February, and has since been fine-tuning its offerings — its latest menu has 30 new additions and was last refreshed in June.

It’s no stranger to the long-time west-siders or office workers around the area, so when we visited the restaurant on a Monday afternoon, it was already filled with workers on their lunch breaks. 

We’d say get in early to beat the lunch crowd if you’d like to go for its lunch set menu!

Sun with Moon Light’s refreshed menu 

The restaurant offers lunch sets from S$18.80, with a variety of accompaniments to choose from.

For chirashi, kamameshi and donburi lunch sets, you can enjoy either a tonjiru (miso soup) or a mini udon to go with your protein. Meanwhile, nabe and teriyaki sets come with a choice of tonjiru or chawanmushi. 

Besides these, pick once again from four side dishes — agedashi tofu, chicken karaage, cheese imo mochi, and pork Yanagawa toji (pork omelette). 

If you’re looking for a unique experience, go for its kamameshi bowls — a traditional Japanese rice dish cooked in a kama (iron pot). 

If you’ve never had kamameshi before, here’s what you can expect. Sun with Moon Light’s kamameshi arrives at your table steaming hot and halfway through the steaming process. You’re also given a miniature hourglass, so that you know when the contents of the iron pot are ready! 

Lift the wooden lid and mix the rice and ingredients well before serving it.

We opted for the new premium kaisen kamameshi (from S$26.80), which also comes in sets for lunch and dinner.

Albeit one of the more pricier items on the menu, it is well worth the money with its generous portions of fresh seafood and comforting, hearty ingredients. 

It comes with grilled shio koji-marinated salmon, unagi (eel), crab meat, scallop, prawn and salmon roe. 

That’s not all: Dig a little further into the pot to find troves of shredded egg, edamame beans and potatoes. 

The rice bowl is robust in flavour, without being too salty. I particularly enjoyed the hints of sweetness from the seafood and the explosion of textures from the array of ingredients found in the dish — the prawns and scallops were fresh and succulent, the unagi moist, yet firm, and the ikura popped with a burst of flavour in the mouth.

We opted to have this as a lunch set (S$29.80). Paired with agedashi tofu and tonjiru, the set was a hearty and comforting option — a solid choice for a mid-week pick up!

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We also tried its salmon avocado yukke chirashi (from S$21.80), another new addition to the menu. It came with heaps of thick slices of raw salmon sashimi and avocado chunks.

The salmon slices were coated in a light, sweet-spicy marinade — a secret recipe, according to staff! — which tingled our tongues slightly. 

To accompany our lunch set (S$26.80, we chose the mini udon and the pork Yanagawa toji (pork egg omelette). Despite the name, the mini udon was pretty sizable — you’ll definitely be getting a bang for your buck with this selection of side dishes. 

If you’re not quite feeling any of these, there are plenty of other options, too. You could go for its teriyaki sets with various proteins, such as usugiri onion beef (sliced stir-fried beef) with salmon or chicken steaks (from S$20.80 for a set). There’s also usugiri onion pork with the same choice of accompaniments.

If you prefer to have something more comforting, go for its new yose nabe, a generous hotpot of pork slices, chicken, salmon, prawns and mixed vegetables with your choice of soup (from S$27.80).

Sun With Moon has a pretty decent roll selection, but had five new flavours join its ranks. 

We tried the crispy prawn mango roll (from S$10.40), which was slightly sweet and tangy — it made for a good contrast to our more savoury and carb-heavy mains. Topped with black tobiko (flying fish roe), the roll sees slices of soft mango wrapped around a maki-roll of ebi fry (fried prawn).

There are four other flavours: Unagi & avocado aburi salmon roll (from S$13.40), teriyaki salmon belly mango roll (from S$10.40), teriyaki salmon belly avocado roll (from S$10.40), and a premium Nixon roll (from S$16.40) — a sushi roll stuffed with cream cheese, omelette, cucumbers and seaweed, topped with grilled eel and fish roe. Do note that these four flavours are only available at dinner, though!

Sun with Moon Light’s desserts

Although not a new addition, we recommend its signature Sun original tofu cheesecake (S$7.50) — a light palate cleanser after your hearty meal. There are hints of nutty soy notes, which underscores the creaminess of the cheesecake.  

The tofu cheesecake — made with soybeans — is a classic item that’s also available at Sun with Moon’s Wheelock Place flagship.

If you’ve already tried this, then check out the new 3 Kind mizu warabi mochi (S$8.50).

It came in three small dishes, each with its own unique sauce and toppings — brown sugar sauce with soybean powder, strawberry sauce with sesame powder and green tea sauce with green tea powder.  

While we enjoyed the firm, chewiness of the mochi, we were hoping for a lighter, more refreshing dessert after the heavy meal. It ended up being quite a rich, flavour-heavy dish, with the mild bitterness of the matcha, sugary sweetness of the strawberry and the savouriness of the brown sugar-soybean mix coming together in a heady combination.

It was nonetheless a treat to eat — a fun dessert with incredibly jiggly mochi and vibrant colours. A good choice, if you’re looking for a rich dessert.

For something more refreshing, the shiratama cream anmitsu (S$9.80) would probably be a better bet. Prettily plated in a bamboo-inspired cup, this dessert comprises mini mochi balls, red bean paste, green tea ice cream and a dollop of red bean paste — perfect for a hot Singapore day!

This was a hosted tasting. 

For more eats, read about the new opening of Farm House food court. Alternatively, check out the newest openings in Singapore here. 

Sun with Moon Wheelock is on the GrabFood Delivery Service and offers free delivery (up to S$3 off with GrabUnlimited). 

Do explore the GrabFood Dine Out service for awesome deals.

You can also book a ride to Sun with Moon Light to try its new menu.