Review of my Favourite Sushi-ya in Singapore: Shinji by Kanesaka

Hi everyone, this would be my first post apart from my introduction, so any feedback regarding my content is greatly appreciated!

I live in Singapore, and am very fortunate that there is absolutely no lack of good food in this city - from street food up till the fine dining establishments. This review will be about what I consider the best sushi (or Japanese) restaurant in Singapore - Shinji by Kanesaka.

Shinji by Kanesaka is the first overseas outlet of Michelin-starred chef Shinji Kanesaka, who is based in Tokyo. He has since opened another 2 outlets - one more in Singapore and the other in Macau's City of Dreams. The menu in the restaurant is based on an Omakase format (loosely translated as 'I'll leave it to you') signifying trust in the chef to not overcharge you and allowing him freedom to tailor the menu to your preferences. However, if you prefer you could opt for ala carte as well. Lunch is generally more wallet-friendly (3 sushi-only sets at $75, $125, $180 and Omakase sets at $250 and $300 onwards, dinner runs from $220 for 15 pieces of sushi and $300 too $500 onwards for the Omakase sets

I went for dinner, and these were the items I had.

To start, we had an appetiser of Tai Shirako (Sperm sacs of the snapper fish)

Next up was a platter of sashimi: Mackeral, smoked Spanish Mackeral and Conch. The shoyu (Japanese soy sauce) that they gave as a dipping sauce was perfect - especially if you followed the chef's recommendation to dip that stalk of shiso into the shoyu for an extra layer of flavours.

Another platter of sashimi followed: aburi (using a charcoal, not blowtorch) barracuda and octopus so so tender.

Followed by the universal (okay not quite but pretty much universal) crowd pleaser - sea urchin! Here it was accompanied by squid sliced into strips - the contrast between the briny, soft texture of the uni was nice with the soft, chewy, milky squid. However I do prefer their other version - sea urchin with white shrimp more as compared to the squid one.

Treasure box.

Not everything here is raw: this was cooked snapper with gingko nuts. Decent, but definitely the weakest dish of the night.

Next was the much anticipated sequence of sushi.

They usually start with tai (red snapper) lightly seasoned with salt and sudachi. No dipping sauces provided here - you trust the chef.

Buri.

Chutoro - the side of the belly. This visit was in the winter months (though Singapore doesn't really have seasons but the fish is from Japan) hence the fish was significantly fattier - this level of marbling even exceeds even Otoro, which is the fattiest part of the belly in summer.

And of course the otoro was simply spectacular.

We had a few more pieces of sushi, concluding with this piece of anago, or sea eel, brushed with tsume sauce - made from boiling eel bones into a reduction.

The usual way of ending a Japanese meal - with excellent Japanese fruits. These are really, really, extremely sweet.

So, if any of you are coming to Singapore and like sushi, I would really highly highly recommend this outlet. There are two outlets - one at Carlton Hotel and the other at St. Regis Hotel, this visit was to the St. Regis Hotel outlet.

There is more than one high-end sushi-ya in Singapore, and I will be sharing about the others in time to come, but Shinji is my absolute favourite.