Ki-sho, Singapore

[Bu Pun Su]

Ever since I left Singapore for good a few years ago, I no longer follow the island’s restaurants development that well. Perhaps, this is why, sometimes I tend to re-visit the same places. Last month, when I returned to Singapore for a few days, somehow I really missed Japan and its cuisine especially the kaiseki part. Thus, it’s my ‘mission’ to have a good meal at Japanese restaurant at least once. I heard the name Ki-sho almost a year ago and gave it a miss; I want to wait and see whether the restaurant can sustain many positive reviews. I thought now it’s the right time to give it a try.

 

Apparently the menu at Ki-sho has evolved. This time, there’re only 2 choices of Omakase sets available. I opted for “Kai” menu; supposedly this option contained about 10 dishes. Chef Kazuhiro Hamamoto, the restaurant’s Head Chef, said that it had been difficult to serve 3 different menus daily at the counter (plus a couple dining rooms upstairs). Thus, he did the current change. However, the restaurant was still very flexible. The regular lady next to me, dining with her Korean boy friend, told Hamamoto-san that she would like to have a few uni dishes, some sushi and beef for the meals. I had no idea which menu she ordered. On another occassion, guests only wanted to eat 15-20 pieces of sushi for the entire meal and Chef Kaz had no issue to comply with the guests’ requests.

 

If any of you read my Japan’s foodie trip last year, you would have known that I love Matsutake mushroom. Because of this, I informed the restaurant in advance about my desire to have 2-3 dishes containing Japan’s Pine mushroom. I had no idea whether Matsutake was famous in Singapore. However, I know that here, it’s not that easy to find any sweetbreads or game animals even when they’re in season. My meal began with Katsuo no tataki; the Bonito, served in reasonable size, was meaty and tasty with smoky aroma and flavor. Some of highlights for my meals are as follow:

 

-Matsutake dobin mushi with Amadai. The broth was nourishing and did a good to bring out Matsutake’s unique aroma. The Matsutake itself was meaty and pleasant while the Tilefish flesh was quite firm and delicious. Although not at the level of Matsutake nabe I had in Tokyo, overall, I was really satisfied with this dish

-Japanese Wagyu beef is the best in the world. Here, the beef (from Gunma prefecture) was charcoal-grilled in such a way that almost no oily juice left on the beef. It seemed dry, but it actually intensified the delicious flavor at the beef’s meat. Additionally, I also loved the Toriyama beef roll with uni and egg yolk – a bonus item from the Chef. As you can imagine, it’s bursting with umami flavor: buttery & creamy sea urchin + fatty and marbled grill wagyu + rich egg yolk + ‘balanced’ by vinegared rice all in one package; it’s ethereal

 

-As a former chef at Waku Ghin, you can expect ‘similar’ dishes to be offered here. His signature dishes actually involved Uni and both of them deserved to be served over and over again. Firstly, a dish known as Uni & Caviar (except no botan ebi here). The portion of the sea urchin (aka + murasaki uni) was generous; it’s creamy and easily melt in my mouth. The crisp Italian caviar contributed a little to the overall taste, the vinegar jelly balanced the uni’s rich flavor while the beans, shiso and corn gave extra layers to the dish overall enjoyment - excellent.

Secondly, it’s called Uni ‘risotto’ – served before the dessert. Hamamoto-san recommended me to have it as part of the nigiri sushi dishes. Unless you’re a Sea urchin lover (I am for sure), you may find too much uni being served here. The sea urchin rice was awesome; it’s combined with delicious ‘toppings’ of ikura, shiro ebi, wasabi and chutoro – a pretty display of flavor and texture contrast. These 2 dishes are probably my favorite here

-Lastly, prior to sushi courses I was asked about my favorite kind of morsels and toro was one of them. I was not too impressed with otoro and akami sashimi served earlier, but toro at the sushi was not disappointing at all. I liked my soft and flavorful Otoro (aged for 2 weeks & wrapped the entire rice) as well as Kama toro (lightly seared and slightly more intense than the Otoro)

 

You can see the pictures below if you want to know the rest of the dishes (Note that – I forgot to take the picture of miso soup with clam and goma tofu). In general, I am very pleased with my meal at Ki-sho. Kazuhiro Hamamoto is talented and friendly, very capable of producing creative & delicious dishes and make guests to be at ease all the times. His potential is still very high and I’m sure his culinary finesse will keep growing with time. As a matter of fact, I was surprised with his sushi qualities. The fishes (optimum flavor with right size and texture) went along very well with his rice (texture, acidity and temperature wise). No wonder, a few guests came here only for sushi. It’s not that often you will find a chef who is able to produce top kaiseki dishes and make great sushi at the same time. In the period when celebrity chefs restaurants become a trend, I’m happy to find a young and talented chef given a high degree of freedom to run his own show. I hope he will stay in Singapore for several more years.

 

Ki-sho is located on Scotts road, almost the opposite of the Sheraton hotel. Exterior-wise, the building was grand in colonial style; however inside it’s very Japanese. The interior was minimalist and zen-like. The counter can accommodate up to 11 diners altogether. During my dinner, there were 6 Japanese guests and 4 locals – good business even though it’s only on Tuesday. The private rooms were also occupied as Hamamoto-san was also busy plating some dishes. In Singapore, many good things will cost you something. Due to this, I chose not to drink any alcohol. The service was excellent; staffs were efficient and helpful. I was escorted outside when I got my cab – that’s good enough for me  In Japan, it’s almost certain that the chef would go out and bid you farewell.

 

Pictures - https://picasaweb.google.com/118237905546308956881/KishoSingapore Along with Shinji Kanesaka, Tenku Ryugin and Waku Ghin, Ki-sho quickly becomes my favorite Japanese restaurants in Asia ex-Japan. Should there be an opportunity (6-12 months later), a future re-visit here will be expected from me

Edited October 17, 2014 by Bu Pun Su (log)

[Bu Pun Su]

After having a very good meal at Ki-sho last year, I decided to return here a couple of months ago. It was a Tuesday evening and the restaurant happened to be very quiet. After a Japanese gentleman came and escorted me to my seat, he informed me that I was the only customer as far as the dinner reservation was concerned. I was surprised but a bit happy too, with the possibility of having a private dining with the affable and capable chef Kazuhiro Hamamoto. Hamamoto, dressed in white (like in most kappo kaiseki places in Japan) this time, greeted me. Then he offered to do an omakase in which most dishes would be different than my earlier meal and I immediately complied with his suggestion. Of course, I could always request to repeat the same dishes like last time if I wished.

 

Similar to last time, I had 8 “appetizers” and some of the highlights were:

-I loved my first 2 courses. I began with soft and sweet komochi yari ika (with its egg) accompanied by fresh and delicious white bamboo shoot and wakame. Following this, I had tasty and top qualities of tairagi, akagai, ikura and asparagus served on the pen shell.

-The clean and light noresore was a pleasant delicacy (having it for the first time) served simply with yuzu and ginger

-Uni with caviar and jelly was (again) excellent. This time, the dense and rich sea urchin was 100% bafun uni from Hokkaido. I certainly would love to have it every time I eat here

-The heavenly Toriyama wagyu beef was prepared in ‘roll’ form this time instead of the ‘cube’ cut, highlighting its marbled meat. As expected, it was moist and very flavorful.

 

I had a lot more sushi courses this time (18 pieces or so) since I chose not to have the uni rice (kinda regretted it but I was full at the end of my meal). I thought Chef Kazuhiro’s sushi making skill was underrated. For me, he made one of the best sushi in Singapore – probably my favorite at this moment. Some morsels that I liked very much were:

-Ika: crunchy, silky and rather sweet

-Sayori: elegant, clean and delicious

-Nodoguro: interesting and fatty

-Aji: fresh and flavorful; often underrated

-Awabi: ‘crispy’ with subtle taste. I enjoyed its ‘chewy’ texture

-Engawa: succulent with concentrated texture; one of my favorite pieces of the night

-Tsubugai: inherently sweet with crunchy texture

Clams served at Kisho possibly the best one in Singapore but not many people would enjoy these morsels. Outside the items above, the usual suspects sushi such as kama toro and otoro (both in aburi), bafun and murasaki uni, as well as anago were wonderful as well

 

The Spring dessert was good. I had sweet and refreshing white strawberries served with sake jelly. Kazuhiro Hamamoto-san also kindly gave me 2 glasses of in-house sake. Meikyoshisui junmai ginjo and junmai daiginjo. Both were awesome but generally, I prefer the fragrant and ‘stronger’ junmai daiginjo.

 

The service at Ki-sho was consistently good. The tea/water was always refilled and often replaced with new ones when the ocha was not hot anymore. Staffs were courteous and friendly; they would escort you on the way out as well or even wait until you get on your vehicle (taxi in my case). The best part was the personal and direct interaction diner had with the knowledgeable and kind head chef Kazu. With a good command of English, he was ready to explain and answer any questions regarding the dishes or Japanese food in general or talk about something else. Essentially, guest’s overall experience mattered for him. And I certainly had a great meal here; I left full and felt very satisfied with plenty of delicious dishes I consumed. It has become my favorite restaurants in Singapore. Ki-sho actually has “prevented” me from coming to Waku Ghin (the other restaurant I used to go nearly twice a year in the past) since mid-2013 – well, my budget was limited so I could not visit both.

 

Based on 2 visits, I scored the overall dining experience at Ki-sho to be 95/100 (about 2 ¾* by Michelin standard). To read more details about the ambiance or other details, you’re welcome to read my longer writing below or just find my 1^st meal review.     

 

More detailed reviews: http://zhangyuqisfoodjourneys.blogspot.com/2015/06/ki-sho-singapore.html

Here are the pictures from this meal:https://picasaweb.google.com/118237905546308956881/KishoSingapore2ndVisit

[Bu Pun Su]

If I have to choose my favorite restaurants in the world, at this point, I would say: L’Arpege (though L’Ambroisie slowly creeps up to take over) and Kyo Aji. But, I’m thinking it’s always nice to have favored dining place near where I live. This choice happens to be Ki-sho. The (Japanese) food there was really good; the staffs and especially the head chef himself (Kazuhiro Hamamoto-san) always made me feel welcome and comfortable. The setting and ambiance is both lavish and relaxed, except the cost of the omakase meal, there’s hardly anything I could complain about this place.  This will be another review about my last 2 dinner meals at Ki-sho: in Autumn ’15 as well as in early Summer ’16

 

I will try to make it a “relatively” short review here

 

-The highlight from the Autumn meal will be dishes with white truffles such as Tai with Alba truffle (I saw the same dish served at Kadowaki) and Sukiyaki with white truffle (taking advantage of egg and truffle combination). There were a couple of items with shirako: in its milk form and tempura; the cod milt was smooth and milky but the flavor here was clean and not too intense. For me Ki-sho served the best “kai” sushi in the country: the mirugai and tsubugai were excellent whereas for the awabi, Chef Kazuhiro presented in different form (chopped crunchy raw abalone with its liver, uni and shari - awesome)

 

-The summer meal served plenty of delicious cooked fish dishes such as Amadai soup, Nodoguro with white asparagus puree as well as simmered Amadai with awabi and kamo nasu. The torigai and akagai were spot on as well. Oh, the sashimi had the best combination including lightly grilled kinki, Tachiuo, shima aji etc.

 

The usual dishes (in both meals) such as uni rice, uni jelly caviar, tuna in many different forms, and beef have always been consistently great. The service was professional, unobtrusive and friendly. The communication with Chef Hamamoto and sometimes with other guests was part of the fun and satisfying experience. Business wise, it seems they’re doing well – it was a full house affair (even the private room was packed, the chefs keep making dishes to be sent upstair) during a Friday night dinner; there were several sports car park outside. To cater the increasing demand, now Ki-sho opens for lunch too and Kazu-san added a chef who’s also allowed to make and serve nigiri sushi.

 

I had 2 wonderful meals and it still stands as my favorite restaurant in Singapore. No Michelin star? No problem for me though I believe they deserve a 2-star award from the red guide IMHO. Please see the links below for more comprehensive reviews and pictures

 

http://zhangyuqisfoodjourneys.blogspot.co.id/2016/10/ki-sho-singapore-3rd-4th-visit.html

 

3^rd meal photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/7124357@N03/albums/72157669683417781/with/27909913785/

 

4^th meal photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/7124357@N03/sets/72157674497132075/with/29846158592/