Having learnt that Les Amis Group has a new (and recent) addition to its chain of restaurants, I was excited to check out Sushi Jin. And having learnt from their Facebook that Sushi Jin aims to offer a premium dining experience sans the hefty price tag, it just gave me a stronger reason to visit!

We tried to make reservation just the day before (of our intended visit) but was told they were fully booked. Thus, to avoid another disappointment, reservation for a Tueaday night was made 1 week in advance. Kiasu-ism at its best!

Sushi Jin is located in Owen Link, the 24 hours retail arcade between Farrer Park Medical Centre (has a red apple at its entrance) and One Farrer Hotel & Spa (with a green apple at its entrance).

Despite having opened recently (less than a month), the restaurant was busy when my friend and I arrived at 7pm. Most of whom we observed to be regulars as they were well-acquainted with head chef Raymond Tan.

We were led to corner seats of the sushi counter. Although we were seated in front of a chopping board, only 1 (chopping board) was used throughout the entire night as chef Raymond Tan was the only chef in the house. So yes, we were not treated to any actions despite taking counter seats.

And from the menu (pages 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11), we ordered:-

1) Jin premium omakase, $150 comprised of:-

(A) Appetiser (above) – Tai carpaccio (sliced sea bream with black truffle, seasoned kelp & chives). Having learnt that my friend would be ‘stealing’ bites from my omakase set, the manager took the initiative and got the chef to spilt this dish for us. A very considerate move. So yes, pictured only shows half of one portion. And this was good. While it was sliced a tad too thinly, it was sufficient for a satisfying bite cause it was long enough to be rolled up. Also available on the a-la carte menu at $32.

(B) Assorted sashimi (above) – So while these were fresh, I was a little surprised to see no blue fin tuna for our premium omakase set.

(C) Cooked dish #1 (above) – Salmon dumplings topped with mentaiko sauce. Something different and was not too bad. Almost like an open-faced salmon tempura.

(D) Assorted sushi (above) – And we were given golden eye snapper (kinmedai/alfonsino), torched swordfish, torched blue fin tuna with chopped tuna and foie gras topped with sea urchin (uni). These were not too bad, although it’s a personal preference that I prefer non-aburi styled sushi.

(E) Cooked dish #2 (above) – Rice bowl (chirashi) of chopped (marinated) tuna and salmon roe. We were told to mix the ingrdients up but it was not easy to cause the rice grains stuck fast to one another.

(F) Soup (above) – Containing shredded crab meat and a slice of sea bream (tai), we were told this was a seasonal item offered for premium omakase. And I enjoyed this.

(G) Dessert (above) – Tempura shiratama (deep fried glutinous balls).

2) Ootoro sushi, $32 (above) – Bluefin tuna belly.

3) Botan ebi sushi, $26 (above) – Spot prawn. The heads were deep fried for our continued eating pleasure.

4) Truffle seafood chawanmushi, $15 (above) – Prawn, crab meat & scallop steamed egg with truffle. I liked that the chawanmushi was served in a big cup. And this was good. Silky steamed egg with lots of ingredients, served along with the aroma of truffle. Nice.

5) Gindara no yuba tempura, $18 (above) – Bean curd roll cod fish tempura. Big chunks of fresh, juicy cod fish wrapped together with mushrooms. This was good.

6) Taraba no uni yaki, $88 (above) – Grilled Alaskan king crab with sea urchin sauce. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this. The sauce did not compliment the crab meat. Instead of enhancing, the sauce worked against it by clashing with the natural sweetness of the crab.

7) Inaniwa udon, $8 (above) – Thin udon with dashi broth. This was normal, although my friend felt it was a little salty.

With Sushi Jin’s declared aim to offer a 6-stars experience at 4-stars price, I came with very high expectation. However, the dishes offered for their premium omakase was not near that of 6-stars. For my premium omakase set, the only blue fin tuna served was in the form of aburi sushi. I was expecting akami to be offered in the assorted sashimi at the very least.

So if one take away the expectation, Sushi Jin offers a very reasonable omakase.

What I would say of Sushi Jin is that instead of 6-stars food, we were treated to 6-stars service. We left the restaurant being very impressed with the service! While fumbling with my phone, I accidentally knocked over my chopsticks. Before I could even turn my head to acknowledge the drop, the manager had already directed the staff to get me a new pair of chopsticks. Very observant, very fast, very professional level of service provided.

But do be cautious when taking sushi counter seats. The corridor / space behind he chairs was pretty narrow. It posed a little difficulty for me to walk in and out as I lugged my laptop bag and bulky handbag.

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