PUBLISHED April 30th, 2014 01:40 am | UPDATED May 22nd, 2017 05:16 pm
Psssst…we want to let you into a secret. If you have been trying to bag yourself a seat at neighbouring restaurant Teppei for some jaw-droppingly good value sushi and Omakase then we are about to share with you a nugget of gold: Sushi Kou. Why wait for a month when you can (at the moment) pretty much stroll right in and have your fix of incredibly good value Omakase or sushi just a stone’s throw away? To wait would be pure folly!
Nestled at the base of the Orchid Hotel in Tanjong Pagar, Sushi Kou could easily be missed as your attention is stolen by the queues at neighbouring Keisuke Tonkotsu King. But if you did you’d be kicking yourself for having missed out on fresh and affordable sushi, and Omakase at this little Japanese gem.
With set lunches starting from as little as $16, and multi-course Omakase menus starting at $50, we think the restaurant’s name which means happy sushi, is very fitting indeed! Produce is flown in direct from Japan twice a week, ensuring not only delightfully fresh ingredients, but when it comes to Omakase, a culinary adventure crafted around the best ocean catches and seasonal vegetables Chef-Owner Koda Naokatsu discovers in his box of tricks.
If you’re a beginner to Omasake, the general format goes: appetizer, sashimi, grill, fried, braised, sushi and dessert, resulting in a fun dining experience as you hop from one to the other curious to discover what will be laid out before you next. With that in mind you get a lot of bang for your buck considering typical Omakase set prices across Singapore. N.B: as the prices of the sets rise so does the quality of the ingredients included.
We opted for the $80 menu, where our tastebuds were led in a dance of dishes that featured everything from elephant yam, to more types of fish than you can shake a stick at, to vegetables from Kyoto and plenty inbetween.
Out of the seven dishes there were definitely some stand out items – the sashimi platter, which featured six different types of fish including succulent chunky salmon, melt in your mouth tuna belly, meaty snapper and buttery hamachi – all of which left us swooning. The braised item on our day of dining was a beautifully tender duck breast which won us over with a very more-ish smokey-sweet flavour combination.
And of course what kind of foodies would we be if we didn’t mention the sushi? Ahhh the sushi. Again, 6 types featuring sweet akami (the lean, red meat of tuna), rich scallops and sumptuous sea eel amongst others.
7 courses might sound like a lot, especially for a CBD lunch time outing but rest assured – if you’re on a timer for lunch, the staff there know to check how long you have to make sure your dishes arrive within the allocated time. Better yet, if you’re looking for a a quick introduction to Omakase, then the $50 set makes a good starting point. Failing that, just go after work so you can rest, relax and enjoy.
For a very hard to find combination of exceptional quality and wallet-friendly prices, Sushi Kou absolutely does the double. Watch out Teppei, you’ve got competition.
Written by Ms Demeanour
On this occasion the meal was compliments of Sushi Kou
Read more reviews at For Fans of Bluefin Tuna – Sumiya: Review and Japanese Kaiseki in Tanjong Pagar – Shun Ka Shuu Tou: Review