Dinner @ Kappo Shunsui 割烹 旬水 [Revisit]

January 22, 2019 in Japanese

My siao-on instagram foodie friends were keen in visiting Kappo Shunsui for their supper menu. And since Kappo Shunsui’s head chef had changed from Tomo Watanabe to Nobu Nishi from my past visit, I thought “why not.” And since we were visiting for their supper menu, we agreed to dine at 9pm.

However, when the call was made to make our reservation, we were informed there was no supper menu. Ie, only dinner menu. Hmm… And in the same tele-conversation, the staff mentioned there’s $150 (8 courses) and $250 (9 courses) for us to choose from. Since the main difference between the 2 menus was a beef dish, we decided to go with $150.


On the day of our dinner, my ‘siao-on’-sters agreed to meet straight at the restaurant. And to enter, one was required to press the console for the staff to open the door. But regular customers would be able to open the entrance door easily just by scanning one’s finger print as the restaurant would have regular’s fingerprints registered into the digital lock system. And since we had pre-selected our menu, we commenced mizu course ($150) with:-


1) Dish #1 (above) – Bonito.


2) Dish #2 (above) – Fish cake with scallop, melon skin and eggplant in dashi broth.

3) Dish #3 (above) – Sashimi assortment of medium fatty tuna (chutoro) and lean tuna (akami).


  

4) Dish #4 (above) – Sweet fish (ayu) tempura served with seasonal vegetables (yam, corn and green pepper).

5) Dish #5 (above) – Big-eye snapper (kinmedai) and winter melon.


6) Dish #6 (above) – Rice topped with sea urchin and salmon roe (ikura) in claypot.

7) Dish #7 (above) – Miso soup.

8) Dish #8 (above) – Sweet corn pudding.

9) Brown rice tea, Complimentary (above)

Would I still recommend Kappo Shunsui? Well… I really ain’t too sure. There wasn’t many “wow” moments except for the bonito dish. I am sure the ingredients served depended on the season, but I doubt it would have been any more impressive had we opted for the $250 course. You know… Like better ingredients would be used.

But if one was in Somerset and needed a quiet-yet-can-still-impress eatery to go for late dinner or supper, Kappo Shunsui would be the place. Although walking within Cuppage Plaza to get to Kappo Shunsui wouldn’t be that quiet. Ha.

KAPPO SHUNSUI 割烹 旬水
5 Koek Road, Cuppage Plaza, #04-02, Singapore
6732 0192, Website, Facebook
Overall: 7
Opening hours:-
Food/Beverage: 7
Tue – Thur, Sun : 18:00 – 01:00
Ambience: 7
Fri – Sat : 18:00 – 02:00
Value: 7
Service: 7
* Closed on Mon

Dinner @ Kappo Shunsui

June 21, 2017 in Japanese

Hitting a dead end in my search for sushi restaurants, I texted my IGGF (InstaGram GirlFriend) if she knew of any new ones. And that was when she shared a picture of a gold door. However, that was all that she knew of the new Japanese restaurant. Now, I pride myself as a search guru. So… The challenge (to identify it is) on. Keke.

Unfortunately, nothing turned up when I google-ed ‘new Japanese restaurant’ and ‘golden door’. No! Die, die must find out. So I analysed the photo (of a mere gold door) and concluded it should be located in an old shopping mall based on the faint reflection of the shopping mall interior. Hmm.

And fate had it that I was meeting a friend at Cuppage Plaza that night. Just when my friend and I were at level 5 and making our way to the carpark after dinner, I caught a glimpse of a familiar-looking wallpaper at level 4. One can say I was on full alert mode. Ha! Excused myself to check it out and there it was… The Japanese restaurant which my IGGF and I were looking for. Kappo Shunsui!

Unfortunately, due to my IGGF’s and my conflicting schedules, we were only able to meet for dinner 3 weeks later. And it was a huge bummer when we saw posts of Kappo Shunsui appearing on instagram just days before our visit due to the restaurant having conducted media invite. Secret, no more. Sob.

My IGGF and I arrived at the restaurant at 7pm. I honestly loved how low key the exterior was. Reminded me much of Japan. Pressing the console was akin to pressing a door bell where the staff would be alerted to open the door.

Opposite to the minimally designed exterior, the interior was designed with much attention put to the smallest details. The corridor to the toilet had floor lights in addition to ceiling lights. And yes, they have their own toilet which was nicely furnished too.

And from the menu (pages 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6), my IGGF and I ordered:-

1) Omakase, $249 comprised of:-


(A) Dish #1 (above) – Simmered octopus, broad bean, seaweed, potato lotus, and jelly made with bonito broth, soya sauce and vinegar.

(B) Dish #2 (above) – Pike eel.


(C) Dish #3 (above) – Sashimi assortment of torched barracuda, kingfish (hiramasu) and red snapper (tai). My favourite was the barracuda! We saw head chef Tomo Watanabe spritzing some liquid over the dish before it was served to us. And out of curiosity, we asked the staff what it was. The staff humorously replied “Ajinomoto.” Hahaha. But of course, that’s just water.

(D) Dish #4 (above) – Medium fatty tuna (chutoro) and vinegared gizzard shad (kohada) sushi.

(E) Dish #5 (above) – With ponzu sauce, grated radish and chili, we were served long tooth grouper (kue) and vegetables in a pot of simmering soup.


(F) Dish #6 (above) – Grilled arctic surf clam (hokkigai). And for this dish, we were treated to a (mini) performance where head chef Watanabe san slammed the clams onto the counter and exaggeratedly sprinkling salt into them before grilling it over charcoal. It was a good thing I finished my soup cause some salt went into my pot. Ha. And we loved how he put the grilled clams onto shell-looking ceramic plates. And yes, we were told the ceramic items were all head chef Watanabe san’s personal collection. Nice.


(G) Dish #7 (above) – Tomato with tomato jelly and micro tomato. How cute! And yes, we were told hand-squeezed tomato juice was used to make the jelly. A really refreshing taste. I enjoyed it much.


(H1) Dish #8 (above) – For the meat dish, my IGGF was served beef from Omi. We were told the slab was grilled on the surface before continuing to slow cook it for 1.5 hours in dashi stock. And she couldn’t stop raving about it.


(H2) Dish #8 (above) – And because I don’t eat beef, I had a fish dish instead. Was told it’s a family of cod; Abura bouzu.


  

(I) Dish #9 (above) – Claypot rice with braised red snapper head. And we gasped to know we each had half a head to ourselves! Such generous portion! We were loving it, of course. Haha. I normally share fish head with friends cause I am not too good at eating it. So for the first time, I was taught to eat the ‘correct’ parts; The jelly parts around the eye. Yummy! No more peaceful sharing of fish head in the future. Haha.


(J) Dish #10 – Almond pudding with cherry from Yamagata.

2) Homemade ‘warabimochi’ with ‘hon-warabiko’, $12 (above)

For all the excitement that my IGGF and I built up leading to our visit, I was glad the dinner didn’t disappoint. We left happy and satisfied. =)

Head chef Watanabe san couldn’t speak much English. So we depended on the waiting staff for translation. And it was through the staff that we learnt head chef Watanabe san moved from Japan (Tokyo) to Singapore with the aim of achieving a Michelin star. “Japan too tough. Too many stars,” the staff said. Haha.

But back in Japan, head chef Watanabe san opened an izakaya which was on Michelin Guide’s Bib Gourmand list for 3 years (2015 to 2017). “Chef’s dream was to do multi-course (kaiseki),” the staff further explained. Ahhh… And hung on the walls (near the entrance) were extracted pages from the Michelin Guide. Evidence? Keke.

Do I recommend Kappo Shunsui? A big yes from me!

KAPPO SHUNSUI 割烹 旬水
5 Koek Road, Cuppage Plaza, #04-02, Singapore
6732 0192, Website, Facebook
Overall: 7.5
Opening hours:-
Food/Beverage: 7
Tue – Thur, Sun : 18:00 – 01:00
Ambience: 7
Fri – Sat : 18:00 – 02:00
Value: 8
Service: 8
* Closed on Mon

Dinner @ Kappou Japanese Sushi Tapas Bar

June 4, 2017 in Japanese

As fellow blogger MyFoodSirens very aptly put, there’s no going back to ‘normal’ sushi after dining at artisanal sushi restaurants. But, but… I can’t fly to Japan just because my craving for sushi kick in. And thus, the search for good sushi restaurant (in Singapore) re-commenced. And being one who prefer to explore new eateries, I was determined to sniff out hidden gems. Keke.

And that’s when I got to learn about Kappou Japanese Sushi Tapas Bar. Led by a female head chef too? That got me pretty excited. With that, I contacted Kappou on their Facebook page to make reservation for my next meet up with my IGGF (InstaGram GirlFriend). And one should make reservation at least 2 weeks in advanced. Because Kappou is a small restaurant that could only sit up to 8 people, our first preferred date was not available.

Located in Fortune Centre, it’s a 15 to 18 minutes walk from Bugis MRT station. However, I was slightly shocked to see the entrance door ajar due to their portable air conditioner’s exhaust pipe upon arrival. Hmm…

With no physical menu, the staff started us off by explaining they only offered omakase at Kappou. Between $68, $98 and $128, my IGGF and I decided to go with $128. And with that, we started our $128 omakase dinner with:-

1) Dish #1 (above) – Fried dumpling skin and pâté made with kinki fish liver, cream cheese, wasabi and miso.


2) Dish #2 (above) – Homemade tofu with shrimp (ebi), served in dashi with yuzu skin.


3) Dish #3 (above) – Mascarpone cheese with fruits.

4) Dish #4 (above) – Abalone. Really tender and good. But it was a very, very small slice. And we were told the abalone was steamed for 4 hours with sake, carrot and kelp before it’s further soaked in the same pot of water previously used to boil clams.

5) Dish #5 (above) – Sashimi. Unfortunately, head chef Aeron Choo mentioned a Japanese (fish) name which was a first for us. Yes, even to my IGGF. Head chef Aeron further shared its English name is big scale flatfish.





6) Dish #6 (above) – Sushi assortment of lean tuna (akami), medium fatty tuna (chutoro), slightly torched snapper (tai), a fish from the family of yellowtail (although my IGGF and I thought it was mackerel), and abalone liver. For the lean tuna, we were told by head chef Aeron that it’s very soft as it’s from topmost part of the dark cut slab triangle; Chiai or 血合い. Odd, I thought meat nearer to bloodline was more muscular and thus tougher. But my real gripe was that the lean tuna was sliced too thinly. When I picked the sushi up my fingers, the tuna tore into 2 pieces. In fact, I was very disappointed with the sushi leg of our course. I couldn’t even say the sushi served at Kappou is size XS. The amount of sushi rice (shari) used was way too little. It was a very bad ratio of rice to topping (neta). Wanting to taste the rice better especially when we were told 3 blends of rice were used, My IGGF and I requested for more sushi rice. Unfortunately, we were a little too late; Head chef Aeron was already preparing our last sushi which was abalone liver wrapped around a ball of sushi rice.

7) Dish #7 (above) – Rice, sea urchin and salmon roe. A very small portion too.


8) Dish #8 – And when head chef Aeron passed us our rice bowls (bara chirashi don), she mentioned it was prepared with additional rice. I guess it’s from our previous request for more rice in our sushi. And for the toppings, 2 types of fish (1 cooked and the other raw), bonito flakes, fried shrimp, salted fish roe, seaweed, pickled radish and sesame seeds were used. It was a pretty good combination.

9) Dish #9 (above) – Oden.

10) Dish #10 (above) – Dessert was matcha cake, creme brulee styled sponge cake served with red bean and sea-salt ice cream, and dehydrated sweet potato.

11) Dish #11, Complimentary (above) – My IGGF and I were still hungry after finishing the full course of our dinner. The fact that my IGGF was not full was worrying because she’s a small eater. And because head chef Aeron came up to us (and other diners) at different times to say “If you are still hungry, you must let me know okay? I cannot let you go home hungry”, my IGGF and I waited to be asked the golden question of “Are you still hungry?” after we finished our dessert. We sure did wait long as head chef Aeron and her one and only staff were busy. And we were served a bowl of ‘porridge risotto’ as termed by head chef Aeron. Meant to be a cold dish, we were told this was pressure-cooked for 3 days in fish broth before it’s cooked again as al dente.

Would I recommend Kappou Japanese Sushi Tapas Bar? A firm no.

Don’t be deceived by my pictures as they don’t truly show how ridiculously small the portions at Kappou were. Irregardless of the price, no course meal should leave the diners hungry. Something is certainly wrong when I overheard every diners saying they were still hungry. Honestly, I can’t imagine how more hungry my IGGF and I would be if our rice bowls (dish #8) were not upsized.

And even though head chef Aeron mentioned we shouldn’t be shy in letting her know that we were still hungry, the set up of the restaurant doesn’t exactly encourage interaction. In a way, I felt like we were begging for our food. So no, I definitely won’t recommend Kappou.

KAPPOU JAPANESE SUSHI TAPAS BAR
190 Middle Road, Fortune Centre, #02-10A, Singapore
9819 2058, Facebook
Overall: 5.5
Opening hours:-
Food/Beverage: 5
Mon – Sat : 18:00 – 23:00
Ambience: 6
Value: 5
Service: 6
* Closed on Sun