First time trying Sushi Zanmai in Singapore. Met my bro for dinner and he opted for Japanese cuisine, so we went to Sushi Zanmai at IMM.
The restaurant was fairly relaxed at 7pm and we got a table almost immediately.
Mar special menu
Though they have physical menus, one places the order by scanning the QR Code.
Drinks were served almost immediately upon placing the order. Got myself a refillable cold green tea.
sashimi 3 types; salmon, hamachi and akami
Hama Sashimi Moriawase @$19.90++
Sashimi slices were not too thin though I did glimpse that the table next to us, were given thicker slices of salmon belly.
Chuka Wakame @$2.80++
The chuka wakame was slimy-er than other places, not sure why.
gari
I do like the pickled ginger at Sushi Zanmai, pretty good and tender.
aburi engawa sushi (@$2.80 per piece) and hotate sushi (@$2.50 per piece)
The sushi was ok only. I had expected more flavours from the aburi. The engawa sushi looked as though it was torched with the toppings and perhaps that was the reason why the aburi was not 'enough'? It didn't bring out the oily flavours of the engawa.
ebi tempura @$9.80++
The ebi tempura was well fried and served piping hot.
ice-cream for dessert
goma ice-cream
Overall, this place reminds me of Sushi Tei. I would probably return for the sashimi.
Staff was proactive in topping up the refillable tea and I do appreciate the service. Thank you!
There is a Sushi Zanmai app that one could download from the playstores and for first-time user, one could utilize the one-time $5 voucher to offset the bill. Just need to inform the staff at the cashier, show the voucher and redeem before one pays.
Sushi Zanmai @ IMM
Address: 2 Jurong East Street 21, #02-23 IMM Building, Singapore 609601
Saw that this restaurant offers omakase and I have not tried one before, so why not? Made reservation for 12pm slot for the MYR188++ lunch omakase. A deposit of MYR100 was required when confirming the reservation.
entrance
I was there like 5 mins earlier and staff informed that one needs to wait till the appointed time to be seated.
staring at sake bottles to pass time
Seemed like no one arrives on time for omakase? It was a whole 10 mins of awkwardness as the Chefs saw that I was the only attendee who had arrived for the 12pm slot and our small talk only lasted for about 2 mins before they decided to leave me alone and go about their prepping work.
first person view
gari was set ahead of lunch
sauce glaze for the sushi
various toppings for the nigiri
Was a tad surprised that no complimentary green tea was offered at the establishment. Ordered the Kojimaya Untitled #01 sake to try. The 'Untitled' is the brewery's way of expressing going beyond the concept of categories.
Taste profile of the sake was light and crisp with rounded sweetness.
My omakase session started at about 10 mins past 12pm.
Asked Chef if he mind people taking photos, and he said go-ahead and that they are used to it.
Lunch Omakase
Appetiser
appetiser - fried fish with corriander sauce, crab meat with spinach and ikura
The spinach was lightly blanched and hence, the flavour was subtle for the first dish in the appetiser.
fried fish with corriander sauce
The fragrance from the fried fish was captivating and the green sauce had a mild hint of spice.
Sashimi
kanpachi, ika and toro (added MYR30++ for a piece of toro)
Thus far, my experience with ika sashimi outside of Japan has not been great and likewise, the version here did not dispel that notion. I loved kanpachi and this met the expectation and it was a good choice to top-up for toro. Chef slightly aburi'ed the toro and hence, I could savor the lovely oily fragrance from the fish.
Chawanmushi
with truffle and cheese
Oh my, first impression of the chawanmushi was "Why is it so big?" Ok, I was amused alone as the rest of the dining companions were still at their appetiser/sashimi course.
This dish came in the biggest container that I have ever seen for a chawanmushi! Impressed and there's this naggy feeling that I'd be full by the end of course #3.
cheese pull~
Served piping hot, so it naturally one needs to slow down even for fast eaters. The truffle was not overpowering and I was surprised, that cheese works in chawanmushi too.
Nigiri
Chef Danson preparing the 1st nigiri
seabream with plum sauce
Had accidentally smeared almost half the plum sauce onto my fingers so am not sure if that was the reason why the 1st piece was just clean tasting.
Aji (spanish mackerel)
pretty looking akami with caviar
Actually, I had no idea how many pieces of nigiri would the Chef be serving. He didn't mention, and I didn't ask and menu did not state. Haha!
I was also wondering if one was supposed to take the sushi plate from the counter or just the sushi piece but seemed like the service staff would be hovering nearby and will assist to take the plate placed at the counter by the Chef and places it in-front of the diner.
next piece, aburi in-progress
aburi saba with ginger flower
I can safely conclude, that I liked the aburi'ed version of the sushi more than non-torched version. And, I overheard the couple next to me requesting Chef to aburi all the nigiri in the set for her companion as he doesn't eat raw fish.
hotate with ikura and cream cheese
The junior Chef was helping Chef Danson to torch something else while he was prepping for the others. I was wondering whose dish was that for, and it turned out, it was for the finale handroll.
Handroll
Engawa Handroll
Of course, the handroll was handed directly to the guest, with which I accepted with thanks.
delicious handroll
Ok, now I understand why so many raved about engawa handrolls. It was simply delicious with the oily mouthfeel and the slightly torched fragrance. And to have two pieces of engawa in the roll, was indeed luxurious.
Soup
red miso soup
The red miso soup helped to cut away any greasy feels from the previous courses.
Dessert
goma ice-cream with blueberry
I was feeling rather full while trying to finish the miso soup. Black sesame ice-cream was just the right remedy to end of the meal.
Service was good at this establishment. Chef Danson explained all the dishes served and he was happy to respond to any queries that the guest might have. Service staff was also pro-active in clearing away empty plates.
Sushi Qubey
Address: Jln Sultan Ismail, Bukit Bintang, 50250 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur
Went there for their ala-carte buffet. At every table, there is a QR code to scan. So one will submit their orders via this method. Be prudent on the first order of everything, to guestimate the serving portions and appoint designated person in the group to prevent over ordering.
entrance
Started with dobin mushi (tea pot soup). Flavourful and warmed the tummy.
土瓶蒸し (Dobin Mushi)
is that Matsutake mushroom?
Of course, we need sashimi and we ate lots when it is buffet. Happy to know that we enjoyed the sashimi slices here, especially the hamachi (yellowtail).
salmon and tuna sashimi
tako and hamachi sashimi
swordfish sashimi
yummy
Of course, we need some greens. Is seaweed considered vegetables?
ワカメ wakame salad
Ebi Tempura
For prawns, I prefer the tempura version over the panko fried version as tempura version tasted lighter.
deep fried prawns
There's also a one-time serving of their special grilled mentaiko prawn (one piece per diner).
Ebi Mentai
Was disappointed in beef shogayaki though. It first appeared with smoke emitting from the plate, so we were surprised when the meat was only lukewarm/closer to cool. When our friend who came late ordered another one at a later time, the temperature was better for the dish.
beef shogayaki
The other deep fried stuffs that we had were tebasaki and karaage. Hmm, no need for repeat.
karaage
lotus root
tebasaki
There's sushi and maki too. Irodori Maki was nice. If I had to choose between Hamachi sushi and Hamachi sashimi, I'd go for the sashimi.
Irodori Maki
Hamachi Sushi
grilled scallops
shishamo
grilled salmon/mackerel
Although I didn't have much carbs during this buffet except for irodori maki (1 slice), ended up pretty stuffed after just 1 hour of eating sashimi and fried food.
There's a coffee machine in the restaurant that you could get yourself a cup of coffee to end the meal.
Buffet Lunch & Dinner for Adult is priced at $39.80++, Child is priced at $24.80++ (Below the age of 10).
Irodori Restaurant
Address: 382 Havelock Road, Four Points by Sheraton Singapore, Riverview, Hotel, #03-01, Singapore 169629
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