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2014-03-11 250 views
I eat at Shinzo more times than I care to admit. It's my guilty pleasure! I would highly recommend the Omakase dinners if you have the time to indulge in good food and warm hospitality. Chef Lawrence Chia (brother of Chef Ronnie Chia, Tatsuya at Goodwood Park Hotel) helms the culinary team at Shinzo. Like most well trained Sushi Chefs, Chia is able to engage in lively, animated conversations with his guests at the Sushi counter without accidentally cutting his fingers! I've had their Omakase din
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I eat at Shinzo more times than I care to admit. It's my guilty pleasure!

I would highly recommend the Omakase dinners if you have the time to indulge in good food and warm hospitality. Chef Lawrence Chia (brother of Chef Ronnie Chia, Tatsuya at Goodwood Park Hotel) helms the culinary team at Shinzo. Like most well trained Sushi Chefs, Chia is able to engage in lively, animated conversations with his guests at the Sushi counter without accidentally cutting his fingers!

I've had their Omakase dinner and their weekly special lunch set. All the items in the sets are also available in the a la carte section on the menu. It's great quality food at a reasonable price ($150). As Ancy N puts it, "omakase is brilliant, but oh so expensive (you can easily cough out $300 and up per pax)".

Omakase (お任せ) is a Japanese phrase that means "I'll leave it to you" which essentially means you are entrusting the chef with your meal. No choices. Just eat. Initially, I was skeptical to this dining concept because I am a picky eater but my dad (a Japanese culinary fanatic) ensured me that everything will be alright so I decided to give it a go! Chef Chia did make it a point to ask me if there was anything that I did not like eating and food that I have a strong inclination towards. He then proceed to design courses I would be having throughout my meal.

DINNER ($150)
APPETIZERS & STARTERS:
1. Grilled cutter fish slices served with mayo dipping sauce at the side which was topped with Tobiko (fish roe).

2. Hotate foie gras (Scallop and foie gras) - Another lovely fusion of sweet scallop and the beloved french delicacy. The presentation was excellent!

3. Uni Chawanmushi (I ordered this on the side) - It came highly recommended by Straits Times food editor, Tan Hsueh Yun, and it was delicious!

SASHIMI:
Chef Chia generously dished out the sashimi platter which consisted of salmon, tuna, hamachi, toro, sword fish and prawn. This can only be described with 1 word - OISHII !!!

HOT DISHES (by Chef Daniel):
1. Kuro Buta Katsu - Juicy pieces of black pig's meat deep fried till golden brown with breadcrumbs.

2. Lamb Rack Ninnikuyaki - Lamb rack in radish garlic sauce

4. Salt grilled fish - It was one of the best grilled fish I've ever had. Crispy on the outside but its meat was still so soft and tender on the inside that it just melts in your mouth! There was no fishy taste at all. This fish was perfect sans marinate! I am impressed.

NIGIRI SUSHI:
Next came Chef Chia's famous handmade nigiri sushi! The fish is flown in directly from Japan.
1. Toro
2. Engawa
3. Katsuo
4. Kajiki
5. Shima-aji

DESSERTS:
To end the meal on a sweet note, we had some seasonal fruits:
1. Muskmelon - Without a doubt the muskmelon was the star of the platter. It was so sweet and smooth! This Japanese melon is regarded as a high-priced gift in Japan and can cost up to $62 per melon!

2. Ice-cream (I ordered this separately) - Shinzo has 3 flavors of ice-cream. Matcha, black sesame, yuzu (seasonal) and grape (seasonal). I prefer the yuzu and Matcha (topped with red bean).

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NOODLES (I had on a separate occasion):
1. Wagyu Beef Somen - I loved the Sōmen noodles, they are very thin white Japanese noodles made of wheat flour.

2. Tuna on angel hair paste - Interesting fusion dish! Loved it!

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LUNCH SET ($68):
I ordered the Executive lunch set which came with...

APPETIZERS & STARTERS:
1. Pitan tofu - A fusion of the silky smooth Japanese cold tofu drizzled with a century egg dressing and topped with little bits of century egg and Tobiko (fish roe).

2. Kani Sarada - Crab meat salad in spicy lemon dressing. I loved the dressing! The crab pincer meat was also very sweet and fresh.

HOT DISHES:
3. Salt Grilled yellow tail cheek - Chef Chia knows that the salt grilled fish are my favorite so he tries to include it in my set whenever possible.

4. Fish soup - Its taste is similar to a miso soup with yellow tail fish pieces inside. Initially, I was worried it might taste fishy (boiled fish and all) but my fears were unwarranted.

5. Chirashi (Sashimi with sushi rice) - I requested the Hamachi and Salmon. It was delicious and the portions was very generous too!

Overall excellent experience! My tip would be try to book in advance to get a counter seat like Cindy Q mentioned in her review. I believe the full Shinzo experience is one that not only consist of great quality Japanese food but being hosted by the Chef. Chef Chia is full of entertaining stories, witty comments and is a of fun to banter with!

(The above review is the personal opinion of a user which does not represent OpenRice's point of view.)
Post
DETAILED RATING
Taste
Decor
Service
Hygiene
Value
Date of Visit
2014-03-01
Spending Per Head
$68 (Lunch)
Recommended Dishes
  • Toro
  • Chirashi
  • Uni Chawanmushi
  • Pitan tofu
  • Salt Grilled fish
  • Kuro Buta Katsu