Kyoten Japanese was a place I accidentally came across on IG and when I tried searching for reviews online, there was actually quite little of it. To head into a sushi-ya that is headed by a non-Japanese chef, it can go both ways but that aside, I was still rather excited to give this place a try. Located near Plain Vanilla Bakery at Tiong Bahru, the place was actually packed for a weekday lunch. We took a long time to decide which menu to go for (cos we were literally arguing over it). I hope the server wasn’t judging us. Lol but eventually we went for Ten Omakase ($120) which comprises of Seasonal Appetiser, Japanese Steamed Egg, Grilled Seasonal Fish, Chef’s Nigiri Sushi (11 pcs), Sushi Hand Roll, Miso Soup and Dessert

Ankimo

The monkfish liver was really nice. Smooth and creamy, it felt like foie gras yet not overly fatty

Chawanmushi

A well-executed smooth and silky cup of Japanese steamed egg with a flavourful dashi stock

Shining Eyes Fish

This was a rather different grilled dish. We joked that our eyes will be shinier after eating this. The fish was a little on the oiler side though the meat was really fine and you can savour the sweetness of the fish

Marinated Toro

Ooh, the first piece of sushi. To be honest, I was surprised. The texture and overall composition of the shari was good. And the fish was a delight too. I love the way the chef created texture on the fish – presentation +10. lol

Botan Ebi with Roe

Kampachi

Shima Aji

Shiro Ebi

I really like the shiro ebi. The sweetness of the white shrimps filled the entire mouth it was so good

Silver Belt Fish

The first thing you taste is the smokiness of the skin that clouds the entire palate

Kinmedai

Kamasu

Somehow the kinmedai and the kamasu tasted similar to me. At some point I was like hmm, this tasted like the previous piece. I thought they could have done it a little more raw, felt a little too cooked for me

Nodoguro

The nodoguro incorporated a hint of yuzu which was surprising and refreshing

Otoro from Oshima Island

The otoro was really good. It was fatty towards the end with the fats melting in your mouth

Murasaki Uni

The most common type of uni from Japan, this shiro uni was everyway we like it – sweet & creamy!

Toro Handroll

Tamago

Cake-like tamago!

Desserts

And a birthday surprise came in the form of caramel cupcake which we guessed it must be from Plain Vanilla

To be honest, I was really surprised by Kyoten cos it way exceeded my expectations. To have such level of standard, I find it impressive. So much that when I left the place I was thinking when is the next time I should return cos I really wanted to try their dinner menu the next visit. Good food coupled with good service, I hope this little gem stays this way for a long time

*UPDATE*

I went back to the restaurant a second time, to be only met with a disappointing service and a really bad experience. To summarise, please request for counter seats if you want to be seated there. It doesn’t matter what Chope says. I only found out when I reached and they told me the seats were all full cos people have asked for it, even though Chope says seats are not guaranteed. So it means it can be done. To have Omakase at tables it’s simply unacceptable and they didn’t even bother to communicate beforehand. As customers, we don’t request much but it was simply a one-liner communication and they couldn’t even do it but just plainly coming up with excuses. I was so upset the entire meal and it really left a bitter taste in my mouth. And. I felt there was no sincerity in their apologies and there was 0 customer recovery

Kyoten Japanese Cuisine

5 Yong Siak Street, Singapore 168643