Magosaburou, ION Orchard, Singapore

Tags

beef, best beef in Singapore, bibimbap, japanese beef, japanese restaurant review, kobe, magosaburou, marbling, restaurant review, rib eye, rib eye core, sashimi, sashimi salad, shin shin, singapore, singapore beef restaurants, singapore japanese beef, singapore restaurant review, sirloin, steak, sushi, tenderloin, tongue, wagyu

I never eat beef. It’s pretty obvious as my blog has never featured beef. However, I couldn’t resist the temptation anymore as I’ve seen (and smelt!) many a succulent beef dish! So I thought, if I were to try beef anyway, why not go for one of the better beef places in Singapore? Which led me to Magosaburou, I’ve seen pictures of it online and it planted the seed of temptation into my head T___T. I’ve gone back a couple of times since, so this post would include pictures from 2 or 3 visits. I must say though I loved it at the start…but it got a little disappointing in my last visit. In any case, I shall lay off beef for a while… since I don’t usually eat it, my body just isn’t used to it!

So here goes… the first visit:-Sashimi salad. The best sashimi salad I’ve ever had! The sashimi slices were generous and in thick slabs, it had tuna, salmon, scallop and ikura in it. The sauce seemed like a sort of ponzu/goma sauce but it was divine with the salad! I always order this when I go. The last visit though, the slices seemed smaller and thinner. I’m not sure if it’s my imagination but I hope they don’t skimp on the sashimi the next time!Beautiful, healthy and tastyBotan Ebi and Uni sashimi. The sashimi is fresh, the prawn still retained a little crunch before your teeth sinks into the creamy centre. And I should add that the botan ebi is of a good size and plump to boot, not some prawn wannabe melting into obscurity with its head half hanging/wilting off its body. So two thumbs up for this. The uni was delicious too, fresh and creamy. No complaints on the sashimi end for this post  We ordered a la carte beef from the menu. Kobe Wagyu, Kurimi and some thinly sliced tongue. I don’t know my beef cuts well so I don’t know what Kurimi is!  We also ordered some samgyeopsal (marinated pork belly). Needless to say, the beef was still the main star of the show.The beef is presented nicely on a platter, this is where you decide whether you want to cook it yourself or have the restaurant cook it for you. We chose to leave it to the pros. The cooking makes or breaks the beef, so since this was going to be an expensive meal, we’d rather not risk it!Foie Gras Cawanmushi… apparently the foie gras was in a more solid form than this but I didn’t notice as I was busy taking photos of the beef.So this is what tongue tastes like… its delicious! Slightly chewy with some resistance, but with lots of flavour in it.Then the kurimi. Its delicious as well, but there is very little fat or marbling in it so its a little tough. But hey, what would I know right? I have no benchmark to compare it to!Then this came along. There was just no competition, this was hands down the best cut of the night. Its the Kobe-Wagyu and it was the most tender, full-bodied, amazing depth and round flavoured meat I’ve ever tasted. Now I know why people scoff at me when I say I eat lamb instead of beef. I really didn’t know what I was missing. My two dining companions were in raptures as well, though one of them did say that I should try the beef in Japan as its even better than this! Certainly this is the best he has tried in Singapore though.We ordered a bibimbap as well. It came in a stone pot so it would be of the dolseot bibimbap variety. Again this was a first for me. I never order bibimbap when I’m at a Korean restaurant, I usually opt for Kimchi Jiggae instead. I think I became a bibimbap fan after having this! It had the perfect ratio of vegetables and meat to rice, and that crispy rice which came from the bottom of the pot adds such a pleasant crunch without being so hard you have to chew voraciously at it. All in all, a good bibimbap indeed!

These are photos from the second visit. We got greedy and ordered the mixed beef platter as well as some kobe beef which was on promotion. I think this was a way better choice than ordering a la carte as I didn’t know what I was ordering!

The mixed platter includes the Kurimi and shin shin but also has Rib eye, rib eye core and a nice tenderloin steak.And the kobe promotion included more rib eye cuts and sirloin.Rib eye was amazing… thin slices of marbled, tender beef. I can’t remember what this was… either the sirloin or the rib eye. Both were equally good and melted so charmingly in my mouth. 

In comparison the shin shin was just alright. The rib eye core was fantastic as wellI think this is the tenderloin steak, done medium well with a touch of pink in the middle. I reckoned this was pretty well cooked with a nice sear on the outside. Had enough bite to it and was bursting with beefy goodness.

I must say though, at this point I felt I had too much fat. I should have had some rice to go with it, just a few slices of this would have been enough with it.

The thinly sliced rib eye. Since its that thin you barely needed to chew it. The meat itself had a lot of that beautiful marbling it so it was so juicy and again, oh so very slightly pink, that I think that if I put it in my mouth it would have just slid easily into my throat

I think the following photos were from another visit. The mixed platter set included tomo sankaku in place of one of the other cuts of meat. I believe the platter is an assortment of the chef’s choice cuts. I highly recommend the mixed platter!

Here’s a very bad photo of the bibimbap. Yes we ordered it again, it seemed quite small the second time though. Still delicious.

I didn’t fancy the tomo sankaku very much. Had a little bit of a strong smell to it.

And in repetition to the meats already shown:-

Something to note, I ordered the maguro and otoro sushi in my last visit. It was nothing great, the fish slices were small and doesn’t taper off like the authentically Japanese sushi. It’s also thin and miserable looking. For the price, which was outrageously expensive, I feel pretty ripped off on the sushi. I’d advise not to go for the sushi at all.

Even without the overly priced sushi, the bill is usually pretty steep. I normally spend up to SGD 500 for 2-3 people. So to maximize the experience, go for the beef platter and/or sashimi salad and bibimbap and forget about the sushi.

Details of the restaurant is as below:-

Magosaburou

Address: 2 Orchard Turn #04-11A & 05-01 ION Orchard, 238801

Phone:6634 1411

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Hoedeopbap again!

Tags

dinner, easy recipe, healthy, hoedeopbap, hotate, hwedeopbap, koream sashimi salad, lunch, One bowl meal, quick meal, sake, salad, salmon, sashimi, scallops

Bought some really fresh, plump salmon sashimi and some scallop as well. Thought I’d just quickly whip up some hoedeopbap (Korean sashimi salad) to go with some freshly cooked rice. Rice is one of my guilty pleasures and I try not to have carbs at night but I couldn’t resist… yet again T___T

Here’s the link to the initial post I did up on Hoedeopbap. I just changed some of the vegetables and type of fish according to the ingredients that I have on hand. The one thing that doesn’t change is the sauce. Also, I managed to get hold of Korean perilla leaves (kkaenip)! It was so difficult to find in Singapore, so I was shocked when I came across it by accident in a korean grocery store in Kuala Lumpur. I quickly snapped up 3 packs of it!

My prize: the korean perilla leaf in all its glory

And the rest is just arranging the salad so it looks pretty 😉

Mix it up well and good.

Devour!

❤

Aurora Salmon at Kuriya Fish Market, Great World City, Singapore

Tags

Aurora Salmon, fatty salmon, food tasting, japanese, Kuriya FIsh Market, Leroy Seafood Group, Norwegian Seafood council, premium salmon, review, salmon sashimi, sashimi, singapore

About a month ago I attended a food tasting event at Ichiban Boshi at Great World City. It’s a place I used to frequent pretty often until a year or two back. I had a couple of not so very pleasant experiences and have since tried to avoid going back. However they’ve just recently introduced something interesting called Aurora Salmon at the Kuriya Fish Market which is attached to the restaurant. It is a kind of premium sashimi-grade salmon from Norway brought in by the Leroy Seafood Group.

The name itself caught my interest, there’s just something whimsical and a tad bit mysterious about it, just like its namesake “Aurora”. This salmon is indeed farmed under the Northern Lights of the Arctic Circle in a pristine environment and optimal conditions so as to produce salmon with a higher fat content. I’ve tried wild salmon before as well, it is a much deeper orange and has less fat content which is perhaps why I prefer the farmed ones.

I have to be honest and state that my favourite fish to have as sashimi is the tuna. I rarely ever specifically order salmon sashimi unless it comes in a set or in one of those mixed sashimi dishes. But I thought I’d set my prejudice aside and give it a go.

Seeing all the food bloggers there and the variety of good cameras being used, I was embarrassed clicking away on my iPhone. My SLR is just not user friendly enough to snap food pictures at a close distance or I’m just not good enough to handle it correctly. Not all the pictures here are mine. I need a 35mm lens!!!

So here’s the lunch menu:

And here are the chefs preparing salmon sashimi for us. The fish is absolutely plump, shiny and beautiful.

     

So we all had a first taste of the salmon sashimi before we sat down to lunch. I first tried it with soy sauce, but the soy sauce had a sour tang to it that got in the way of the salmon so I tried it again later without the soy sauce.

I must say as far as salmon sashimi goes, this is good stuff. You may not realize it right away, and you may even need to taste test normal salmon sashimi against the aurora salmon sashimi to see the difference, but it is indeed smoother, fattier and more savoury than your normal salmon. And then later on you might not want to buy normal salmon anymore.

So here are a few more pictures into lunch. I’m not sure if they will be including this into the Ichiban Boshi menu, I only know that the Aurora Salmon is being sold in Kuriya Fish Market outlets. The salmon is flown fresh into Singapore within 2-3 days of harvesting so I’m feeling pretty confident about its freshness.

Aurora Salmon carpaccio salad. It’s all right as far as salads go but I think the salmon skin could do with some work.Aurora Salmon sashimi. More of this please.

Aurora Salmon Miso Soup. I’m not a fan of salmon cooked in soup, it is so much tastier fried, baked or as sashimi. If you prefer milder flavours then perhaps you might like this, but fish cooked in soup tends to get overcooked and have a tendency to get tough as a result.

My favorites, the salmon teriyaki and assorted sushi platter 😉 Anything with mentaiko and mayonnaise is a winner! XD I hope for less rice in the sushi platter next time though, there was way too much in terms of rice to fish ratio.     

As I was leaving, I was pleasantly surprised when they handed me some Aurora Salmon sashimi to take home. Best door gift ever!

Salmon sashimi for dinner then!!!While I still don’t order salmon sashimi at restaurants I find that I’m actually craving this Aurora salmon, in all its buttery and smooth finery. It’s perfect with hot rice.Definitely going back for more soon!

 

Kita no Ryoba; Curb market, Sapporo, Japan

Tags

abalone, akami, crab, curb market, donburi, fish market, hokkaido crab, hokkaido melon, ikura, japan, japanese, kita no kyouba, maguro, restaurant, restaurant review, salmon, salmon roe, sapporo, sashimi, scallops, sea urchin, uni, yubari melon

Hokkaido is supposedly famous for fresh seafood, so I headed over to Nijo market in Sapporo first to get a feel of the place. It was a really small market, and not as cheap as I expected. There is still quite a selection of the Hokkaido specialties of crab, scallops, sea urchin and ikura as well as a smattering of restaurants serving up some donburis. I didn’t try any of the restaurants there though, and decided to go to the Curb market instead.

At least the shopkeepers there aren’t as pushy as the ones at Nijo market! Came across this restaurant almost immediately and decided to just go ahead and give it a try. 

Here’s some pictures of the menu:

mmm yes, give me ALL the seafood!!!! *drool*

I ended up coming to this restaurant 2 times during my very short stay in Sapporo. So the pictures here are spread across two meals.

Ordered a giant scallop which came on a mini grill. They don’t grill it for you, you have to watch out for it yourself. At the smaller establishments at Nijo or maybe even at the curb market, you can request it grilled with butter or some other sauce (I had a giant scallop at the Nijo cooked in butter and it was so so good!). The scallop here came out just slightly overcooked. Not bad but not great.

And of course I had to have the sea urchin and ikura donburi. It was so good. However, it could have been better. Indeed it seemed fresh, the restaurant being situated right smack in the middle of a fresh fish market, but the sea urchin lacked the soft creamy texture that I love. This variety is more of the solid type of sea urchin. It would have been perfect if the sea urchin had slightly less form and more smooth texture (we all know that the less-than-firm types of sea urchin just equates to more of that delicious buttery flavor!). I believe that the uni sushi that I get at Daiwa Sushi at the Tsukiji market in Tokyo is way better, and that is comparing apple to apple since the prices are similarly in mid-range.

My cousin had the salmon, scallop, tamago and crab donburi. He doesn’t eat much raw fish (blasphemy!!!) but he enjoyed his dish. The scallops and crab were so naturally sweet. Now we’re talking 😉 Really delicious.

Cousin also ordered some grilled crab and salmon.

The crab was obviously quite plump and delicious but I never was that big a fan of crab. I like it best when its already peeled for me haha ;p

The salmon on the other hand had a lot of bones, my cousin had his job cut out for him picking the meat from the bones. I’d suggest to skip this dish.

I decided to be adventurous and ordered this crab dish:

It is juicy sweet crab meat simmered in some sake in crab shell grilled over a small fire. So basically at the end of the process you get crab meat in a broth made of some sake and the oh-so-sinfully-rich crab brains/guts. It was beautiful *eyes tearing*

but that was before the abalone came along…..

This tasted like heaven on a plate. I expected the abalone to be tough, but it was tender and perfectly cooked. Then it was bathed in this sauce… this gorgeous rich sauce that tasted as if it would be perfect on a steak but still goes well with everything else… somewhat like a mixture of butter and sake and something else. So utterly decadent, divine and just simply lip-smacking good. I was tempted to eat the whole thing by myself instead of sharing. This is the highlight of the entire meal. And to actually overshadow the uni, that’s no small feat.

Here’s a donburi from the second visit. It was mouth-watering and again brings tears of joy to my eyes. How can anything be so utterly beautiful *cries*. There’s sweet crab meat, briny ikura and uni and the clean akami all in one bowl. I love Hokkaido!

Yes, and another helping of that simmered crab meat in kani miso….

Absolutely beautiful isn’t it?

And then….

Yes I went overboard with the abalone. This time it came just a tad too cooked but still darn good nonetheless. That sauce!!!

Ended perfectly with a slice of Yubari melon (please don’t confuse this with Hokkaido melon, Yubari is in a different class). Filled with the sweetest melon juices and none of that tasteless crunch you normally have upon eating the ordinary cantaloupe you find everywhere else.

Check out the picture below, a slice of Yubari melon costs 580 yen whereas on the right, a slice of Hokkaido melon costs 380 yen. And yes there is a difference 😉

THe damage from the first day. Second day was way worse as I got a little too greedy with the abalone.

One of the places you have to visit when you’re in Sapporo. I wish I were there right now ;(

Naruto kyaraben (character bento) with ikura

Tags

bento, character bento, foodart, ikura, japanese, Kyaraben, lunch, lunchbox, naruto, naruto bento, naruto character bento, naruto kyaraben, naruto seaweed art, sashimi

So for my next bento, I did a Naruto Kyaraben seaweed art. Again, I used the same tools as before but its easier this time around as the ingredients required for the seaweed art is only cheese and seaweed. I thought ikura would be perfect for giving him that volcanic bubbly nine-fox demon effect so I added that in as well. It helps that I love ikura 😉

Tools used are the same as before or maybe less… :  cutting mat, cutter for intricate designs, paper, pen/pencil, binding clips

So first, you draw an outline of your bento so you can draw your design within these boundaries. And then you draw your character, emphasizing on the black areas. You will cut out only the white bits. I think I shot myself in the foot by finding a drawing so intricate that it was difficult to cut the white bits properly T___T

Next, place the sketch over the seaweed on the cutting board, and clip paper and seaweed securely onto the board.

Start cutting the white bits. That is the cutter I used. I initially used a ceramic cutter but this is way easier. 

And continue the cutting while removing the seaweed bits at the same time. It will be easier to keep the board free of excess paper/seaweed moving around. 

You can see here that the patterns are starting to develop on the sheet of seaweed.

I suggest cutting the smaller bits first before you cut the large areas. This is because its easier this way and will result in less tearing of the seaweed. 

Almost done.

I put some rice into the bento, topped with seaweed and placed the slice of cheese where I wanted it. I’m not sure if it was a lucky mistake that I placed the cheese on the rice while it was still hot! So basically my cheese was warm and sticky such that anything that stuck to it cannot be removed! Therefore if you mess up the placement of the character here, its all ruined! On the bright side, the seaweed is more adhesive and very unlikely to fly away. 

Once you’ve stuck the seaweed character onto the cheese, build your bento! Ikura against a dark seaweed background lends a little mystery to the overall effect 😉 and the tiny yellow tomatoes were just there to contrast with the smaller ikura.

We’re done!

This bento is made for immediate consumption because there is no way you can put sashimi in a lunchbox and expect it to keep well in room temperature. Bacteria and all.

So yes, devour once you’re done with your pictures!

Time taken to complete: 1.5 hours

Coming up next: Naruto bento with ikura

Tags

anime, bento, character bento, ikura, Kyaraben, maguro, naruto, naruto bento, naruto kyaraben, sashimi, seaweed, seaweed art

Hoedeopbap / hwedeopbap – Korean Spicy Sashimi salad Rice bowl

Tags

chogochujang, dinner, gochujang, healthy, hodeopbap, hoedeopbap, hwe deop bap, hwedeopbap, Korean, korean spicy sashimi salad, lunch, perilla leaves, red pepper paste, rice, salad, sashimi, sesame oil, shiso, spicy, sweet and sour

I’m currently on a Korean craze. I also am hopelessly addicted to Running Man, a korean variety show. But way too often do they show delicious, mouthwatering looking korean dishes and delicacies. Like sizzling Korean bbq, grilled oysters, kimchi, ramyeon, sea urchin, spicy ddukbokki and the list is endless. One of these demonish dishes I just saw on another episode is something called ‘ganjang gejang’, which is raw crab marinated in soy sauce and fermented. It sounds disgusting but it looks so good T______T I googled countless recipes on it but then decided against making it. One because I have no clue how to get the freshest of crabs in Singapore, and secondly, I don’t think I have the courage to successfully pickle/ferment the crab LOL.

So I settled for this dish instead. Technically its supposed to be a spicy sashimi rice bowl, but, like chirashi-don (sashimi on vinegared rice) versus just sashimi and rice in separate bowls, I really prefer to keep them separate. I like my rice hot, and this would wreak havoc onto sashimi if placed onto the rice directly like that. So yeah, I put it in a separate bowl. The sashimi salad is spicy, sour and sweet and has a nice crunch from all the vegetables in there. It could have been spicier, perhaps next time I’ll add some sliced chilli padi into the sauce for for a “BURN TONGUE BURNNNNN” experience =D 

Ingredients (2 pax)
I adapted the recipe from here http://www.food.com/recipe/spicy-sashimi-bowl-hwe-deop-bap-221946

• 2 cups cooked rice (Japanese or Korean, preferably)
• 2 ounces tilapia fillets/other white fish sashimi (I used tai)
• 2 ounces tuna, sashimi quality
• 1 cup salad greens, any combination (I used only butterhead lettuce)
• 1/8 onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 carrot, thinly julienned
• 1/4 English cucumber, thinly  julienned
• 2-3 inch daikon radish, thinly julienned
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled, minced
• 1 chili pepper, thinly sliced (I’m replacing this with chilli padi next time)
• 4 perilla/shiso leaves, thinly julienned (*edit* Korean perilla leaves)
• 16 Perilla/shiso leaves for wrapping (*edit* Korean perilla leaves, no other substitute unless you don’t mind a lettuce wrap)

Cho Gochujang (sweet and sour chili sauce)

• 3 tablespoons korean red pepper paste (gochujang) or more if you wish
• 2 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon sesame seed
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1/8 teaspoon salt, taste before adding (optional)

Instructions

1. To be really specific, julienne ALL THE VEGETABLES thinly and around the same thickness and length where possible.
2. Arrange the vegetables in a bowl.
3. Julienne your sashimi too, not as thinly as the vegetables, but try to cut it into long strips. Makes it easier to pick up with the vegetables later on, rather than cutting it into cubes.
4. Mix all the ingredients for the Cho-gochujang in a bowl and taste. Add more spicy or salt if you wish but I think the salt content is fine without the optional salt.

5. Arrange the sashimi on top of the vegetables, top with minced garlic, and cho-gochujang sauce and garnish with shiso leaves.

Tastes a bit like the Chinese Yu Sheng which I really really like. And it is pretty healthy isn’t it 😉

Take a few photos of your slicing efforts

Then you mix the salad. Toss it and mix it and get the sauce into every nook and cranny.

Get your hot rice ready, alongside some shiso leaves for wrapping. If you don’t like the taste of shiso leaves, you can replace them with lettuce or other vegetables.

And so, you take a leaf, plonk some of that hot rice on top, followed by the sashimi salad. Stuff it into your mouth. Charming.

Yummeh~

Truffles Part 1 – Carpaccio with trio of truffles

Tags

black truffle, black winter truffle, canned truffles, carpaccio, carpaccio with trio of truffles, carpaccio with truffles, fusion, sashimi, starter, tai, truffle oil, truffles, white truffle oil

So I decided to indulge in my newfound love for truffles. I ordered two black winter truffles and it arrived today! Super excited. Its now stored in rice in my fridge, and accordingly I placed eggs in the same container just to maximize the use of the truffles. My fridge smells like truffles now mmmm.

This is a dish I had at Aoki, a japanese restaurant in Singapore, and its pretty easy to replicate. It is also foolproof and perfect as a starter. The chopped canned truffle adds a little bite to the dish and the fleur de sel not only makes the dish look aesthetically pleasing, it also gives a briny crunch to the fish that, on many levels, is so different from your ordinary table salt.

Will be putting up several truffle-themed posts, this is just the first 😉

They’re pretty big aren’t they?

Ingredients

1 tbsp Truffle oil

Tai (sea bream) sashimi grade sliced thinly

Fleur de sel

1 summer black truffle from a jar

Generous shavings from a fresh black winter truffle

Instructions

1) Chop up your summer truffle into little chunks. Don’t mince it too finely as we want some texture to this dish.

2) Arrange the fish on the plate

3) Sprinkle the chopped truffle on top of the fish and drizzle the truffle oil.

4) Add shavings of black winter truffle on top and season with fleur de sel.

Enjoy the heady rush of truffle!

Aoki restaurant – Singapore

Tags

aburi, anago, aoki, ara, chutoro, engawa, hotate, japanese, maguro, otoro, restaurant review, sashimi, sayori, scallop, singapore, sushi, truffle, truffle cawanmushi

Aoki Restaurant at Shaw Centre is a restaurant by the Les Amis group. You can hardly find it as the entrance is very obscure and the name of the restaurant is written in Japanese. It seems to be the trend for sushi gems to be hidden away in hard-to-find hideouts, especially in Japan but I didn’t expect it to be like this in Singapore as well. I like it though, the hunt and then the rewards you reap once you find these temples of food.

Set lunches are affordable ($35-50) as it serves top quality Japanese food in a traditional Japanese ambience. Dinner sets are available from $40-80. Should you feel like splurging, there is the omakase set during ($100), while dinner sets are priced at $165, $300, $400 and $500.

The bar counter seats 15 guests, however we chose the table seats as those are more conducive for a girly meal. There are only three tables. All in all a very cosy and intimate restaurant. Would love to try the bar counter next time as I like to watch the chefs prepare the food. Makes it taste better 🙂

So this is the table/room. Very very enclosed if you decide to shut the sliding door all the way. Not for the claustrophobic.

On a random note, the menus they handed us seemed a little beat up.

We both decided to go for the $300 omakase dinner sets. Pricey but we’ve planned to make room for a monthly treat like this whenever we can plus we both really really needed the uni!

So to start, raw shrimp mixed with some uni and topped with a dollop of caviar and a sprinkle of edible flowers. The flowers tasted sharp, not unlike shiso leaves and complemented the creamy flesh of the shrimp, uni and the delicately briny caviar. I wished there were more of it 😦

The next dish came as a surprise. A carpaccio of Tai sashimi in what tasted like truffle oil, chopped black truffles and a generous shaving of white truffle on top. I’m not a crazy big fan of truffles but this dish made me open up and embrace the heady world of truffles. The firm chewy fish in the aromatic oil and truffle slices were absolutely delicious, and to me, very creative.

Just look at it! Gorgeous!

Next course: Sashimi

Top left we have an ark shell sashimi and scallop, and going clockwise we have otooro, something that looks like sashimi from a great trevally judging by its creamy pink flesh but I could be wrong, ebi and chutoro.

All very fresh and delicious. Generous thick cuts too. The scallops were creamy, shell was crunchy, otoro and chutoro tasted like butter in my mouth and in fact so did the great trevally sashimi.

After all that indulgence came a Japanese tomato, which is unlike any other tomato that you’d normally find in the grocery stores in Singapore. The locally grown tomatoes in South East Asia are hard and sour most of the time. This tomato, with its bright red color, firm yet supple flesh, tasted savory when dipped into the salt. Its like a red tomato sauce party in your mouth and is just so so rich in flavor. 

Truffle cawanmushi. The cawanmushi is slightly thicker in texture than your normal Sushi Tei restaurant, but still delicious. Again topped with chopped truffles, probably a dash of truffle oil and shavings of white truffle. Egg custard perfumed with truffles made for a pretty heady experience. I would love to try making foie gras cawanmushi one of these days. Bet that would be amazing!

Now this was when I got slightly annoyed. More of the waitress’s fault rather than the chef/restaurant. I know that we were at the tables and not the counter, but I do think we still deserved to know what type of fish we were being served. The waitress served me sushi and just said “white fish”. I KNOW it is white fish, I can totally see it from the color, but it tells me nothing else. I asked every time she served sushi about the type of fish that was being served. They always had to go and check with the chefs, which I thought was pretty bad. Shouldn’t you know what fish you are serving especially since you’re working in a pricey sashimi/sushi restaurant? Ok I’m digressing from the main topic.

On the left is Ara sushi, and on the right is Engawa sushi. See, I would never have known the names if I didn’t ask. And it was a good thing I did! They were absolutely delicious! Both of them had a chewy/crunchy texture to it and a light, subtle ocean taste to it. I would have preferred it if the chef had seasoned it rather than leave us to our devices (ie our soy sauce saucers) as I always find it difficult to dip the sushi into the soy sauce without making a mess. Shinji was better in this sense, they seasoned all the food unless they made special sauces for you to sample with the food. Shinji’s gari (pickled ginger) is also way better than Aoki’s, much crunchier and it seemed fresher too.

Next plate of sushi, the toro and an aburi toro. The fish was good, toro again was buttery while the aburi had a nice scorch to the fatty meat. But it bothered me a little that the shape of the sushi was so long and can’t be popped into the mouth whole. The bite wasn’t to my liking either.

So I flipped the sushi over and finally noticed what was bothering me. The rice is long grained and a bit too tightly packed. I prefer short grained rice in sushi and they must be packed just right such that it doesn’t fall part in your hands but not too tight so that it can still fall apart in your mouth. This needed a little bit more chewing. So a little disappointed on the rice.

Next, some scallop sushi and sayori sushi. The scallop hardly needs introducing, but the sayori, I’ve never had it before. It is Japanese halfbeak or needlefish. As you can see, the flesh is white with shiny skin and the fish is fresh, the taste itself is very delicate bordering on light.

Uni! My favorite! This uni sushi by itself costs like SGD 28. Yikes. I could get a tray of uni for SGD 45. But of course it wouldn’t be as tasty.

My friend requested for the steak tataki (I think that’s what its called) as her sister highly recommended this dish to her. She was a little disappointed as the beef was cold. She liked the egg though, which, being fresh and well done, had none of the slight but noticeably foul smell that raw eggs tend to have.

Braised anago sushi. I wish it had a little more char on it, but it was good otherwise.

Dessert was not included in the set so we were asked if we wanted to order a dessert. We declined and continued to drink tea and chat for quite a while. Then the chef sent over some fruits on the house (I’m not sure if this was because we were so thick skinned and sitting so long with just tea and not leaving, or if it was because the chefs were being nice, but we appreciated it very much!). 

 

All in all a pleasant dining experience, not the best but still pretty good.

Aoki Restaurant

Aoki Restaurant
1 Scotts Road
Shaw Centre #02-17
Singapore 228208
Tel: +65 6333 8015
Mon to Sat: 12noon – 3pm, 6.30pm – 11pm
Sun: 6.30pm – 11pm

Sashimi Presentation

Tags

amaebi, fish, flowers, healthy, maguro, prawn, presentation, sashimi, sea urchin, shisamo, spring onions, tuna, uni

When it comes to Sashimi, there’s not much to talk about cooking. You just need to get your fish sliced and arrange it on a plate. Since I had some time to spare, I went hunting up some edible flowers from the market. It really makes a dish so pretty and fresh!! Just look at that picture!! Even took the ama-ebi (prawn sashimi) and arranged it nicely so that it fans out.

The uni was slightly tricky so I used it to fill in the spaces between the prawns. Then I placed the shisamo leaves (most times this will come together with your sashimi but if it doesn’t, you can buy it) at the edge of the plate and arranged the maguro (tuna) slices on it in a fan. Then I topped off the maguro with chopped spring onions before placing the flowers and petals randomly all over the plate.

Sashimi may be good on its own, but sometimes it tastes even better when the eyes are feasting as well ;p