Lunch @ Shinji by Kanesaka (Raffles Hotel)

April 3, 2015 in Japanese

I’ve long heard about the Japanese restaurant at Raffles Hotel. Oh yes, I’m referring to Shinji by Kanesaka. Friends who have dined at Shinji raved about their sushi. They said I haven’t quite tasted sushi till I tried Shinji. But with my stubbornness of not wanting to check out restaurants that’re located within hotels, it has taken me a long while to finally visit Shinji. Haha. And with that, reservation was made for lunch on a Saturday. Reservation is a must, by the way.

Taken from Shinji’s website, Shinji is an extension of 2 Michelin stars chef Shinji Kanesaka’s edo-style sushi restaurant and it’s his first venture outside Japan. Omakase menu is executed by a native Japanese team of artisan chefs with head chef Koichiro Oshino at the helm. And head chef Oshino has worked with master chef Kanesaka for more than 20 years.

Upon entry, one would enter the counter area which could sit up to 15 people. There’re private rooms too, but I believe the entrance to the private rooms are different cause halfway through our lunch, the chefs began preparing food for a big group. But I did not see the big group walk in. And it’s brilliant that there were different entrances to minimise disturbance to our dining experience. Taken from Shinji’s website again, the restaurant was designed by Junzo Irikado, with organic materials like wood and paper flown in from Japan to provide for the restaurant’s furnishing and fixtures. And one highlight is the restaurant’s main sushi counter which was singularly carved from the trunk of a 220-year-old Japanese cypress or hinoki tree.

And from the menu (pages 1, 2), we ordered:-

1) Omakase special (yume), $250 comprised of appetiser, assorted sashimi, assorted cooked dishes, nigiri sushi and maki sushi, soup and Japanese fruit:-

(A) Tai (above) – Snapper.

  

(B) Bafun-uni (foreground), murasaki-uni (background) (above) – Short spine sea urchin, violet sea urchin. Salt was also given to be used sparingly to enhance the sweetness of the sea urchin.

(C) Kobashira with awabi kimo (above) – Adductor muscles of clam with abalone liver. Clam was skewer grilled (yakitori). And I really liked the slight smokiness from the clam and chef Oshino’s creativity in using abalone liver as its accompanying sauce. So good.

(D) Aoyagi (above) – Orange clam.

  

(E) Katsuo (above) – Bonito.

(F) Shiro-ebi with uni (above) – Baby white shrimp with sea urchin. One of my favourite combinations!

(G) Kinmedai (above) – Big-eye snapper. Served with gravy and topped with egg-mayonnaise. Except for the Japanese kai-lan, I really enjoyed this dish.

(H) Momotaro (above) – Tomato. I did not really like this. Not because I am a bring-on-the-meat person, but it was acidically sour. But I finished this especially after witnessing the behind-the-scene; A long knife was used to slice off the skin of the small tomato, thinly. Wow. That’s some skill.






  



(I) Assorted sushi & makimono temaki roll (above) – Kanpachi (greater amberjack), sawara (Spanish mackerel), wakaremi (dorsal fin of tuna), shimofuri-otoro (shimofuri being the cut of partial-chutoro & partial-otoro of tuna where it has snowflake-like marbling), aji (jack mackerel) topped with spring onion and ginger puree, kuruma-ebi (tiger prawn) served boiled and halved for ladies, maguro zuke (marinated suka tuna), sayori (needlefish), temaki roll (hand roll) of crisp seaweed wrapped around warm shari (sushi rice) and strips of otoro & cucumber, preserved pickles (foreground in last picture) and custard-styled tamago (egg) (background in last picture). I especially enjoyed the sushi course of my omakase. I got to try many premium cuts like wakaremi and shimofuri-otoro which were my firsts. And it was indeed the shari (sushi rice) that set Shinji apart from their counterparts. The shari had more flavour with its stronger vinegar taste. And it’s because of this that one must eat sushi in the correct manner where the topping should touch one’s tongue first. Yes, it makes a difference. A newly-made friend (waves to @lailian27) who also frequents Shinji shared with me of how every sushi is made of 150 rice grains. Oh yes, apparently someone verified that fact too! And that fact showed the consistency in every sushi. Wow.

(J) Negima-jiruScallions and tuna soup. With kelp too, tuna was served in the form of a meatball.


(K) Dessert (above) – Our omakase set was to come with fruit (melon). However, it being spring, Shinji had its seasonal dessert of monaka which is a Japanese sweet with filling sandwiched between thin, crisp wafers. Shinji’s version was with azuki beans, matcha ice cream and glutinous rice that’s pink from sakura essence. I requested to change my dessert of fruit to monaka. But chef Oshino was very nice to give me both. All thanks to my friend who’s a regular too! Keke. Sakura leaf (not pictured) was also given for one to wrap the monaka with. But I chose not to cause I did not like the slightly bitter taste the leaf leaves behind.


2) Chirashi, $50 – Rice which was uniformly mixed with a generous amount sea urchin, and further topped with minced tuna. So good.

I totally enjoyed my lunch. It was one of my most memorable Japanese meals in Singapore. We were spoilt by chef Oshino with the beautifully executed dishes. And remember how I always feel short changed when vegetables were served for my omakase? I’m so glad I was given none at Shinji. Well, just 1 dish of tomato is acceptable for some balance. Ha!

And service was impeccable. Staff were friendly and polite. The same goes for the chefs too. Chef Oshino had a pretty good humour! But what I really liked about Shinji was the ambience. It was very… Tranquil. I was able to detach myself from what’s happening beyond the four walls and concentrate on the meal. I finally understand why friends flock to Shinji whenever they’re stressed. Haha.

As I came with a friend who frequents Shinji, my omakase meal was somewhat customised to her preference. Which wasn’t a problem cause we’ve similar palates. Keke. Chef Oshino served us 2 different types of sea urchin cause my friend loves sea urchin. So really, to have a memorable omakase meal, even if it’s one first time at Shinji, always let the chef know one’s likes and dislikes. Or be a regular at Shinji (which I think isn’t difficult cause one really do crave for their sushi) and have one’s preference remembered by the chefs. Ha!

Sushi? Shinji, for sure! They have reasonably priced sets which wouldn’t cost one to break the bank. For lunch, 9 and 15 pieces of nigiri sushi are priced at $75 and $180 respectively. If not, there’s 15 pieces at $220 for dinner. All come with maki sushi, soup and dessert. =)

SHINJI BY KANESAKA
1 Beach Road, Raffles Hotel, #02-20, Singapore
6338 6131, Website
Overall: 8
Opening hours:-
Food/Beverage: 9
Mon – Sat : 12:00 – 15:00 (Lunch)
Ambience: 8
Mon – Sat : 18:00 – 23:00 (Dinner)
Value: 8
Service: 8
* Closed on Sun

UPDATE 1: Restaurant was awarded 1 Michelin star by Michelin Guide Singapore 2016.
UPDATE 2: Restaurant has moved to 76 Bras Basah Rd, Carlton Hotel, Lobby Floor.
UPDATE 3: Restaurant was awarded 1 Michelin star by Michelin Guide Singapore 2017.

UPDATE 4: Restaurant was awarded 1 Michelin star by Michelin Guide Singapore 2018.

Dinner @ Waku Ghin

November 28, 2014 in Japanese

Waku Ghin has been on my list of restaurants-to-try ever since celebrity chef Tetsuya Wakuda chose to open his second in Singapore in 2010. Taken from their website, Waku Ghin was derived from two Japanese words. Waku means to arise like water pouring forth from a hot spring, and Ghin to mean silver. Also chef Tetsuya’s favourite colour.

For this dinner, my newly made friend (waves to @felhuang) assisted to make reservation. =) And we were lucky to be slotted for the following week. Others had to wait 2 to 3 weeks.

Credit card was required to confirm the booking. After the phone call, the staff proceeded to send an email where we needed to return the confirmation form via email or fax. Not taking beef, it was also at this stage where we highlighted our dietary restriction. Do be careful of the cancellation fee though. $400 (which is also the full cost of the 10-courses degustation meal) is charged for no show or for cancellation after 6pm one day prior to booking. So I say, even if sick also must turn up!

There’re 2 seatings. One at 5.30pm, and the second at 8pm. We went for the earlier one.

Overlooking the casino, Waku Ghin was located right at the end of the long corridor. And the staff was smart to have used that to their advantage. They must have figured we were heading to Waku Ghin after we walked past a certain point of the corridor. So it was magical as they pulled the door open for us when we were 5 steps away from the entrance.

We waited at the bar for a short while before we were led to 1 of the 4 private dining rooms. Also know as the chef’s kitchen.

We knew we were in very good hands of the staff as they pulled the chairs for us, provided hooks to hang our bags, etc. And we kick started our seafood omakase with the chef showing us a tray of ingredients which was to be used for dinner.

And with that, we started our dinner:-

1) Carpaccio of tuna with bitter salad (above) – Served with ponzu dressing, this was refreshing. (Although I noticed the other couple in the same room as us were served fresh oysters)



2) Marinated botan shrimp with sea urchin and oscietra caviar (above) – Using kita murasaki uni, this is the dish which most, if not everyone, come for. So beautiful visually. And to tuck in, we were told to use the mother of pearl spoon. Of which I was not surprised that Waku Ghin paid attention to details such as using pearl spoon, which was to avoid oxidation so as not to alter the taste of these delicate, high quality caviars! But eating this dish sure was a challenge. I was struggling not to let any of the precious balls drop out as I tried to get a bit of the 3 ingredients onto my spoon. Ha!

3) Grilled kinme from Shizuoka prefecture with puree of capscium (above) – This was good, although if I had to choose, this was my least favourite of the entire meal.


4) Puree of potato with soft poached egg, white truffle and oscietra caviar (above) – This would be a seasonal item. It being the white truffle season, I am so glad the chef decided to pair it with egg and a spoonful of caviar that’s hidden under the shaved truffles. So good!


5) Tasmanian abalone with aonori (above)



6) Braised Canadian lobster with tarragon (above) – And a lot of effort was put into this dish. Our chef started works on this after our 3rd dish, only for it to be ready as the 6th dish. Not that we are complaining. I enjoyed watching the chef in action. It was not just a dining experience where we tucked into the food. It was also watching a performance as the chef made every (elaborated) move with an intention. We were also given bread to soak the broth. My friend thought there was a little too much garlic, but the broth worked out well for me.

7) Charcoal-grilled Tasmanian petuna ocean trout with marinated witlof (above) – Our 7th dish was supposed to be a beef dish. But because we don’t take beef, our dish was replaced with ocean trout. Our chef did mention (at the start of the dinner) that the ocean trout could be served raw (carpaccio) or grilled. But we left it to his good hands to decide which was better, and the seared ocean trout certainly did not disappoint.



8) Somen with myoga and junsai (above, top most) – For this course, we were given the option to choose between noodle, rice or have a small portion of both. And of course we went with small portion of both. Ha!

9) Consomme with rice and snapper (above) – I liked how light the clear soup was. Really good. And I felt it was brilliant that they fed us with the warm porridge after the cold noodle.


10) Gyokuro (above) – And to end the savoury portion of our dinner, the chef did a tea ceremony where gyokuro tea leaves were brewed before us. Don’t underestimate this small cup. Gyokuro is a rare and expensive tea from Kyoto!

We were then led to the lounge area where we enjoyed our desserts. Service was so good that they even carried our bags for us. I felt guilty cause my bag was really heavy with my laptop in it. Oops. And I really felt it was a good idea to house us at a separate area where we could sink into the sofa as we had our cakes and petits fours! We were given the window seats where we were even in time to catch the 15 minutes long Wonderfull (a light and laser show) at 8pm. Although the show was nothing much, but it was still a value-added to the entire dining experience. Ha.

11) Musk melon (above) – Fruits would be 1 of the 2 types of dessert served.


12) Montblanc (above) – Cake being the second type of dessert, we were given mont blanc. Actually this was a request we made during reservation. And it was really good. I seriously loved this. Even the chestnut was infused with alcohol. Other signature cakes of Waku Ghin’s include ghin cheesecake (a light lemon curd cheesecake).

13) Petits fours (above) – Raspberry macaron, orange chocolate gateau (not too sure if this is the right word), meringue with hazelnut, yuzu jelly and raspberry bon bon. If one is too full, these petits fours can also be packed in a box. But the variety of these would differ if one have the petits four at the restaurant and bringing them home.

14) Coffee or tea (above) – I opted for latte.

15) White truffle floating island, $60 (above) – Having read about this dish and knowing that it’s only available during the truffle season, we just had to order 1 portion as a-la carte to share. And yes, it’s a truffle-everything dish where even the ice cream was truffle!

I won’t lie. $400 (before GST and service charge) per person for the omakase is a big amount to splurge for a meal. It took me 4 years of pondering before I came. Ha. Food was definitely good. But what set Waku Ghin apart from other fine dining restaurants was the experience. It was not just a dinner of great food, top notch service, with attention paid to the smallest details like giving us wet chopsticks so that the rice won’t stick to our chopsticks (although we did not have any rice dishes). Rather, we were also watching a performance where the chef carried intention in every moves he made. The way he stirred the sauce in the pot, etc. Although it’s to note that the chef was not always at the counter since some of the dishes were prepared in the kitchen.

And for fans of fine dining, it’s almost like “What’s fine dining if you have not tried Waku Ghin?” (^^lll)

But good news is that Waku Ghin has a bar menu (pages 1, 2) where one can enjoy drinks with food that’s more affordable. Easier on the wallet in the sense where one can order food by dishes rather than having to order an entire set (as with our dinner). There’s a ‘sea urchin set on vinegared rice with caviar’ ($90) that sounds interesting.

So yes, Waku Ghin certainly delivered. It’s definitely a place worth coming if one wishes to splurge. Like seriously splurge. And since I am no high roller, I am satisfied with this one visit. =)

WAKU GHIN
10 Bayfront Ave, The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, Atrium 2, #02-01, Singapore
6688 8507, Website, Facebook
Overall: 8.5
Opening hours:-
Food/Beverage: 8
Mon – Sun : 17:00 & 20:00 (Dinner Seating)
Ambience: 9
Mon – Sun : 17:30 – 02:00 (Bar)
Value: 8
Service: 9

UPDATE 1: Restaurant was awarded 1 Michelin star by Michelin Guide Singapore 2016.
UPDATE 2: Restaurant was awarded 2 Michelin stars by Michelin Guide Singapore 2017.

UPDATE 3: Restaurant was awarded 2 Michelin stars by Michelin Guide Singapore 2018.

Lunch @ JAAN

October 10, 2014 in French

Having seen the nicely taken photographs of the food at JAAN on instagram, I was really excited about checking them out. I was particularly interested in their egg dish which used dry ice for the dish presentation. I am a sucker for such. Keke.

However, the 55′ rosemary smoked organic egg is only available in the 7-course menu for dinner. Priced at $238, we decided to go for lunch instead which had the same egg dish but in their more affordable 3-courses ($68) and 5-courses ($118).

Reservation is strongly recommended. When I called, I was told the next available slot for lunch was 3 weeks later. Although when I called a second time to reschedule the lunch appointment, I was able to change it easily to a week later.

And to be honest, I have not been coming to City Hall area. Took me a while to find my way to Swissotel Singapore from City Hall MRT station. Ha. To get to JAAN, one must come from Swissotel main lobby. There’s a lift dedicated for patrons heading to Equinox Complex.

And once we stepped out of the lift, the receptionist for the restaurants at Level 70 checked our booking before leading us to JAAN. As requested in our reservation, we were allocated window table! Yeah. But ladies, please remember to put on sunscreen. (^^lll) Ha.

And from the menu (pages 1, 2, 3, 4, 5), we ordered:-

1) Degustation lunch (5 courses), $118 comprised of:-


(A) Amuse bouche (above) – Rye crackers to go with the Chef Julien Royer’s take of hummus. Made with lentil, auvergne and chestnut paste. And I especially liked the fluffy black sesame sponge and cracker topped with cheese. So good!

(B) Amuse bouche (above) – Oh yes, amuse bouche continued! What I did not manage to capture in picture was the initial presentation where flask containing the mushroom tea and wooden cups of cepes sabayon were placed on a piece of oak. After a detailed explanation, the staff then poured the mushroom tea into the wooden cups. It was a little magical as we watched the contents foamed. And this was so good. It was just so tasty.


(C) Beetroot ‘collection’ (above) – Burratta artigiana, honeycomb, radish. Unfortunately, this was one dish we could not truly appreciate. Not a beetroot fan.


(D) 55′ rosemary smoked organic egg (above) – Ratte potato, chorizo iberico, buckwheat. And the dish that I came for! Eggs made a dramatic entrance with the dry ice effects. Ha. Egg cooked at 64 degrees for 55 minutes to achieve a gooey yolk of vibrant orange. And I admit I got a little distracted (by taking photographs) as the staff explained the content within the glass bowl. And once the explanation was over, the staff poured the egg into our bowl of chorizo iberico, smoked ratte (potato) and toasted buckwheat. And this was so good. Lift up the glass bowl to release the scent of rosemary that’s placed underneath.

(E) Hand dived scallop (above) – Crayfish, cauliflower, miso caramel.

(F) Grilled mangalica pork (above) – Baby girolles, violet artichokes, sherry vinegar.


(G) Black truffled brie de meaux (+ $20, supplement) (above) – Hazelnuts, truffle ice cream. I decided to go for the cheese and was surprised when the staff seemed to have given us a very generous portion for 1 that easily fed my girlfriend and I. Brie cheese with sandwiched filing of hazelnut and black truffle, toasted poilane (sourdough) and black truffle ice cream.


(H) Palate cleanser (above) – Kyoho grape on a bed of grape granite and sago pearls.

(I) ‘Choconuts tart’ (above) – Tastes & textures. This was so good! Chef Julien Royer even went to the extent of introducing elements of different temperatures! Staff scooped warm chocolate cream onto the cold tart.

(J) Cafe express (above) – Mignardises. Comprised of lollipop which was rosemary-scented ice cream coated with chocolate, coconut marshmallow and canele.

(K) Coffee / tea – I opted for latte.

My girlfriend and I left JAAN feeling very full, but very satisfied and happy! Having tried a few lunch courses at similar fine-dining restaurants, we were surprised at the generous offering of amuse bouche at JAAN.

Food was not only beautiful on plates, but tasted really good too. Great job, head chef Julien Royer! I liked the dramatic entrance of (some of) the dishes with the use of dry ice. Keke. Service was impeccable. Staff were professional with a personal touch. I highly recommend one should dine at JAAN at least once. But set aside at least 2 hours for a comfortably paced meal.

And depending on where one is seated for window table, the view varies between Suntec City and Marina Bay Sands. Of which both are equally great.

JAAN
2 Stamford Road, Swissotel The Stamford, Equinox Complex, Level 70, Singapore
6837 3322, Website, Facebook
Overall: 9
Opening hours:-
Food/Beverage: 8
Mon – Sat : 12:00 – 14:30 (Lunch)
Ambience: 9
Mon – Sat : 19:00 – 22:00 (Dinner)
Value: 9
* Closed on Sun
Service: 9

UPDATE 1: Restaurant was awarded 1 Michelin star by Michelin Guide Singapore 2016.
UPDATE 2: Restaurant was awarded 1 Michelin star by Michelin Guide Singapore 2017.

UPDATE 3: Restaurant was awarded 1 Michelin star by Michelin Guide Singapore 2018.