[Tasting] Kyoaji Dining 京味 @ 111 Somerset

Kyoaji Dining is located at Level 2 of Triple One Somerset. Kyoaji means “Taste from Kyoto” and it is a place where one could enjoy the warmth of Japanese culture and cuisine. Chef John Phua, Executive Chef of Kyoaji, has over 30 years of experience in authentic Japanese cuisine and has garnered many regulars over the years. Thank you Kris for the invite and Kyoaji, Chef John for hosting the lunch tasting.

Kyoaji

entrance

enjoy a taste of Kyoto at Kyoaji

For the upcoming CNY in a few weeks time, Kyoaji has crafted a colourful Yusheng platter to suit the occasion. The yusheng had lots of ingredients including sliced mushrooms, kelp, carrots, cucumber, lettuce, pomelo, pine nuts, sunflower seeds and bonito flakes. By default, the platter is paired with salmon, but one could request to change the fish to another type, subjected to availability. Just need to enquire and make your reservation from the restaurant in advance.

Kyoaji Yu Sheng 京味鱼生 @$48++ (UP. $68++)

colourful yusheng

The Kyoaji Yusheng is by far, the most flavourful one that I had! Lovely textures from the crunchy, nutty bits, wonderful savoury flavours from the bonito flakes and mushrooms plus all the fresh vegetables drizzled with the housemade specialty plum sauce that had just the right amount of sweetness to it. Yums!

all mine

The Kyoaji Yusheng is available from 16 Jan - 8 Feb 2020 for dine-in and takeaway. The platter could easily feed about 4 pax.

We also tried appetisers such as the corn tempura, which was lightly battered and had nice golden hue. Can taste its sweetness from the corn.

Toumorokoshi Kakiage (Corn Tempura) @$15++

Chawan Mushi in XO and Zuwai Kani Tama Mushi

lovely balanced flavours of the Snow Crab Meat Steamed Egg

If your preference is towards stronger flavours, then go for the fully loaded XO chawanmushi. Interesting, as I have not come across anyone who had done any hard liquor chawanmushi before! My favourite though, was the Snow Crab Meat Steamed Egg. So good. Balanced flavours that's light on the palate.

Bento @$35++

For lunch, one could opt for the Bento, which came with a side of small salad, chawan mushi, unagi, tempura, sashimi of salmon and tuna, pickles, rice, miso soup and dessert.

unagi from the Bento

sashimi from the Bento

Other than that, we also sampled the Seared Beef Roll. The beef maki was a palate pleaser. Flavourful beef slice with just enough oil to stand out, wrapping around slices of onions and good mouthful of sushi rice.

Gyuniku Aburi Maki @$30++

All in all, we enjoyed good balanced flavours at Kyoaji and the Yusheng is recommended for its awesome flavours and if you could get it at the promo price, why wait? Make your reservations today.

Lunch with buddies Kris, Ivan and Hence. Special thanks to Chef John Phua for your hospitality.

Kyoaji Dining

Address: 111 Somerset Rd, #02-05/06, Singapore 238164

Website: http://kyoaji.com.sg/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KyoajiSG/

Contact: 6694 3058

Business Hours:

Mon to Fri: 11:30am–3pm, 5:30–10:30pm

Sat to Sun: 11:30am–10:30pm

[Media Invite] Exquisite Japanese-Italian Omakase Dinner at Monte Risaia @ 59 Duxton Road

Monte Risaia is located at 59 Duxton Road and specializes in Japanese-Italian omakase dinner, meticulously crafted by Chef Taizo and team using premium ingredients and seasonal ingredients.

The counter seats could accommodate about 12 pax and it is where one could watch all the action that goes into each of the dishes served. There are two private rooms as well if you prefer so.

Chef Taizo Yamada in action

edible flowers

are we going to get those juicy tomatoes on vine?

first course and it involved torching~

finishing touches

 Mozzarella Al Forno

For the first course, one could choose between Signature Uni Pudding or the  Mozzarella Al Forno. I had the pudding but that wagyu looked so good! Didn't get a taste but it had aged Akagi wagyu, eggplant and avruga caviar ontop of the cheese. It already sounded delicious!

Was comforted by the solid whole pieces of sea urchin beckoning for a taste. So curious about the pudding. Was informed that the ingredients for the pudding were yellow eggs, cream and milk. Texture that was like tofu, creamy and non-funky. Lovey savoury flavours. 

Signature Uni Pudding

Then, the kitchen got really busy and there were larger plates laid out for our next dish.

assembling in progress

finishing touches on the Antipasto Misto

Antipasto Misto

The Antipasto Misto looked gorgeous. Like a picture! There were 5 components on the plate and Chef Roy would explain each components. "Have the cold seafood first, then followed by the seabream, the prawn arrabiata, the San Danielle ham with strawberry and finally, the fried gnocchi."

Sakoshi Bay oyster, yay! I lurrrve this oyster because it's so plump and fresh! Want to have this again.

Antipasto Misto - Sakoshi Bay oyster with ikura

Was pleasantly surprised by the seabream in shallot sauce. On first bite, one would have noticed the crunchy texture, which we later learnt is the shark cartilage. I think it was brilliant to use this. The sauce itself was mildly sweet, and tangy. The fish was firm and sweet. So good. This became my favourite piece.

Seabream with Shallot Sauce

The Prawn Arrabiata was also smile inducing. It was decorated with chrysanthemum petals, and what a lovely sauce it had. A tiny bit spicy and a whole lot tomato-ey. I liked this.

Prawn Arrabiata

Ice plant is an interesting plant, with stems that are dotted with tiny crystal lookalike, making it look as if it had been surviving in the Arctic for some time. It is edible and tasted crunchy, with a bit of water and tiny bit salty/acidic. The fried gnocchi was soft and nicely golden. Loved the cheese sauce underneath.

Fried Gnocchi with Ice Plant

After all eating all the gorgeousness, it was time for something more substantial. Chef would be cooking us pasta after the appetisers.

plating in progress

stirring the sauce

everything together now

 Signature “Shiso and Omaru Dashi” Pasta

The very first noticeable thing about the pasta was of its lingering fragrance. Loved the taste of shiso that's refreshing in a pasta dish.

lovely fragrance

guess what these are

The final course, was a meat item. Not just one meat but two! Grilled Iberico pork and sirloin beef duo. My goodness. The pork was awesome! This was the first time that I had preferred pork over beef. Such tender texture that was so gentle to chew on, and on-point flavours.

Grilled Iberico Pork and Sirloin Beef

The above 4-course omakase dinner set is priced at $98++ while a 3-course set is priced at $68++. Top-up $12++ to end the meal with a dolce.

Thank you Jennifer from JY Consulting for the invite and Monte Risaia for hosting the dinner. Special thanks to Chef Taizo Yamada, Chef Roy for the delicious food and Patrick for taking care of us.

Monte Risaia

Address: 59 Duxton Rd, Singapore 089523

Contact: 6970 0067

Reservation: https://www.chope.co/singapore-restaurants/restaurant/monte-risaia

Business Hours:

Mon to Sat : 6pm to 12am

Closed on Sundays.

[Tasting] TEN Sushi by Marusaya ( TEN Sushi & Bar ) @ 60 Robertson Quay ( The Quayside )

TEN Sushi by Marusaya (or also known as TEN Sushi & Bar) is located at Quayside, Singapore’s most sophisticated riverfront restaurant and bar community. Was invited for a tasting on a Friday night, and boy, it was buzzing! Hence, do make your reservations early.

restaurant's signage

Sushi food model on display (食品サンプル)

browsing the menu

Liked that the restaurant made it super easy to order for the first-timers. For example, there is a huge placard introducing the bestsellers, and on first page of the menu, are its signature dishes.

TEN Sushi is a casual sushi restaurant by Marusaya specialising in premium sushi with majority of its ingredients flown in from Japan. Helmed by Chef Hirai, TEN Sushi offers quality sushi and contemporary Japanese cuisine. Marusaya in turn, is a specialist in natural dashi based cuisine.

iced green tea 冷たいお茶

We began our meal with fresh oysters from Sakoshi Bay, Hyogo. Thick, fleshy, briny and creamy. Satisfaction guaranteed! These oysters were presented beautifully and came with toppings of either ikura or tobiko. Either way, the oysters were already good to be eaten on its own. The addition of tobiko gave it some crunchiness to contrast against the soft flesh, while ikura added continuous bursts of umami! A glass of wine/sake will complete the picture.

Japanese Oysters @$28++/$49++ for 6/12 pieces respectively

Sakoshi Bay Oyster 坂越湾牡蠣

The oyster fan in me was feeling satisfied after slurping up two of these good sized Sakoshi Bay oysters.

Next up, was the unagi roll. One could order the small roll (4 pieces) or the regular (8 pieces). The eel roll was lightly glazed over with a special teriyaki sauce.

Unagi (Eel) Roll ウナギ巻き寿司@$18++/$32++ for 4/8 pieces

The unagi sushi is actually a pretty big piece, hence each person could do two pieces to allow some space to try other sushi. The unagi was soft and tender with some savoury sweetness from the teriyaki glaze. Sushi rice was nicely vinegared.

closed up view of a piece of unagi makisushi

Another bestseller at TEN Sushi is the TEN Assorted Sashimi Deluxe. The sashimi set comprises of maguro (tuna), sake (salmon), hotate (scallop), ika (squid), amaebi (sweet prawns) and seasonal fish (2 kinds).

TEN Assorted Sashimi Deluxe @$58++

For the tasting, there were a few upgrades in the sashimi and we got some sea urchin and instead of a 5 pieces of sweet prawns, there was one large one (botan ebi?) in its stead. I only had the chance to try the some of the sea urchin, scallops, hamachi, salmon and squid. The tuna belly was snapped up pretty quickly.

For the meat lovers, you'll enjoy the A4 Wagyu Aburi Sushi. The raw slices of the wagyu looked enticing enough but we exercised patience as the beef needed to be seared, then glazed before we could indulge.

before the sear

searing in progress

glaze

A4 Wagyu Aburi Sushi @$18++/$44++ (2/5 pieces)

Thought that the small mound of rice underneath the seared beef slice looked kinda cute. The beef was of a nice chew and had a good oily mouthfeel. While not melt-in-your-mouth, the flavour was good and mild. Enjoyable.

peekaboo~

For more makisushi, there's Aburi Salmon Avocado Roll. Seared salmon layered ontop of sushi rice, with a piece of chunky creamy avocado, and topped with sliced onions, some green onions and tobiko. Mayo at the side.

Aburi Salmon Avocado Roll @$20++ for 8 pieces

with sauce

let's eat!

If you're feeling adventurous, one could also leave it to the expert hands of Chef Hirai for the Omakase Sushi platter. There's a 12-piece sushi omakase as well as Sushi Box for 12 or 24 pieces.

Omakase Sushi (12 pieces) @$49++

uni sushi, ebi sushi

tuna belly, kanpachi with spicy yuzu

salmon, tako and unagi

The sushi box was beautiful. Nicely arranged and easy to take photo! I can see that there's uni, toro, hotate, kanpachi/hamachi, squid, octopus, salmon, tuna, ebi and unagi and negitoro maki in the box.

Sushi Box (12 pieces) @$49++

Sushi Box (24 pieces) @$98++

To end, I'd recommend the Dashi Miso Soup. Well balanced savoury miso soup with mild sweetness. So comforting!

Dashi Miso Soup @$4++

I had a good meal at TEN Sushi. Thank you Jennifer for the invite and TEN Sushi for hosting the dinner. Thank you Mr Ueda and Mr Takuya for introducing TEN Sushi and to share with us more about the food. Special thanks to Chef Hirai who prepared the food for us that day.

Remember to make your reservations to avoid disappointment. Happy eating!

TEN Sushi by Marusaya

Address: 60 Robertson Quay, ＃01- 09, Singapore 238252
Website: https://www.bitejapan.sg/ten-en
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TENbyMarusaya/
Contact: 6735 0383
Reservation: https://www.chope.co/singapore-restaurants/restaurant/ten-sushi-and-bar-by-marusaya
Business Hours:
Daily: 5pm to 3am