Imperial and Innovative Cuisine at Ginzawa: Review

PUBLISHED April 6th, 2015 04:00 pm | UPDATED June 15th, 2020 06:26 pm

With the explosion of Japanese cuisine in Singapore, you would have thought that nothing can really surprise you anymore when it comes to a new Japanese concept. Clearly, Ginzawa at tai-tai hangout Palais Rennaisance is out to prove you wrong. While quality and freshness remain barometers that Ginzawa scores well on, it is Chef Donny Tan’s mix of imperial and innovative preparations that catch you unawares both on the eyes and palate.

Sake Kinutak Maki

First, the imperial. Raw salmon and seaweed remain humble ingredients until they are rolled up with a continuous strip of radish to form a Sake Kinuta Maki ($12). Cut into wheels and stacked, it’s almost too immaculate to eat. The pickled radish also adds a bright tang to the clean flavours of the ingredients it harbours.  Another starter of Komochi Ika ($12) employs a similar technique, with rings of squid encasing shishamo roe that sign off with a light, plummy aftertaste. Classic, ornate and simply gorgeous.

More grandeur and decadence lies in Ginzwa’s Wagyu Tataki ($30). It’s the kind that makes you fall in love with good beef again – the sheer delight of biting into raw, unadorned, slightly torched beef of excellent marbling. The restaurant’s teeming bowl of Tokusen Hokkai Chirashi (part of a $50 lunch set) may be a clear money-losing proposition, but it sure is a punter’s seafood-on-rice dreams come true – the treasure trove of fresh sea catches include an unctuous coin of scallop and an ambrosial slice of chutoro.

Sakura Ebi Mizuna Salad

Next, the innovative. A salad of tart mizuna leaves ($22) is tossed with a bracing combination of plump sakura ebi (fresh, not dried), flash-fried garlic chips, crispy soy fritters and subsequently dressed in a pert wafu, made with a determination to convert the most devout carnivore. Amid the drab, greasy Tempura Moriawase Deluxe ($35), an uni pocket pirouettes above the rest. It is uni wrapped with seaweed then deep-fried – a simple conception that forces you to wonder where it has been hiding all these years. In Tai Moto Yaki ($22), a snapper filet is coated with an egg yolk coating before being grilled, throwing the crowd favourite of miso-and-teriyaki-cod formula out of the window. While it is sure to divide fans of Japanese cuisine, it offers a peek into the mind of a cosmopolitan Executive Chef that has continent-hopped in the restaurant world for 30 years.

Tai Moto Yaki

Ginzawa’s previous life as Sushi Kuu made it a point to challenge Singaporeans’ price tolerance of Japanese nosh, banging on its association with the Hong Kong omakase destination of the same name. While the interior of the space remains largely similar – dim black with lots of wood panelling – its easing on the price and attempt not to overdo the bells and whistles of Chef Tan’s pedigree makes for a refreshing change. Not every dish is on point – the Kurobuta Tsuke Soba ($20) tastes as unexciting as it looks – but if you know what to order, you’re bound for a revelatory evening.

Top Image: Tokusen Hokkai Chirashi

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