A revisit to Shinji was definitely on the cards but it is not everyday one gets a chance to. Availability is fleeting and of course, the price tag. If one day every meal cost the same as Shinji, I would probably own Seah Street.
Lunches are priced a fraction of dinner, starting from $75 and goes all the way up to $250 for Omakase. Granted the clientele of Shinji have mostly deep pockets, I was just surprised how many there are.
Details, details.
Spring onion and seaweed, an unconventional pairing yet I enjoyed that biting heat from the onions and savoury seaweed.
The best thing about counter seats is I get to watch the chefs work.
Hi Chef! I did not manage to get his name but watching him prepare my sushi was therapy.
Eating with my hands is the best way to consume sushi.
My Hana course ($75) entitled me to 9 pieces of sushi, nigiri, handroll and dessert. Superbly fresh sashimi adorned my sushi, and surely I cannot find better words to say how far in sushi kingdom I have arrived. Those captured below are a combination of Hana and Tsuki ($125) set lunches.
Yellowjack
Squid
Chutoro or semi fatty tuna
Otoro
Aji
Marinated Red Fish
Marinated Sardine
Eel
Tiger Prawn
Without a doubt the sushi was delicate and fish was superbly fresh. No major surprises except the details they pay so much attention to. In particular the serving of this tiger prawn sushi to both me and the mister, mine was thoughtfully sliced in half and his was served in whole.
Chopped Tuna
12 sushi courses gets one 3 more pieces, and uni was one of them. Sublime.
This box made me feel criminal - how about absconding with the whole box?
And slightly more than a third went into our bowls of Uni rice ($50). The chefs are even amused that word has gotten out on this particular item that is not even on the menu! Word of mouth, really.
Chef adding his pearls of roe before serving us.
Then the life changing bowl of rice happened. In life, we probably cannot overplan but this kind of satisfaction can be and it proved to be worth every cent. Spoilt rotten with a puny rice bowl tossed in uni - I am not sure if uni on rice would be as gratifying as uni rice per se, topped with chopped tuna and fish roe. If this ain't suicide for the cholesterol, I am not sure what is. Every grain was coated with a delicious orangey-yellow hue, I only wish portions were bigger.
Before I can even burp in satisfaction, a hot bowl of tuna fishball miso soup was served. Hearty and very comforting, I have a thing or two about soups and this was really satisfying.
The Chef eagerly asked in his halting English if we were full - before proceeding with the pickles and radish.
I love tamago for its creamy, smooth and laced with a certain sweetness, this could be dessert.
And there all my sushi courses ended with a lovely wasabi chopstick holder.
Dessert was astounding, in a bad way. I did not enjoy the buttery shortcake sliced in such haphazardness. Surely Shinji could have done alot better. Well, I wiped it clean out of respect for the price tag.
Shinji always pampers and between lunch or dinner, I would recommend dinner for the full experience yet note that it would cost almost 2.5 times more. Lunch came across as harried and too rushed.
Shinji by Kanesaka
Raffles Hotel
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