Shin Yasuke is brought to you by Chef Tomoo Kimura and his team, with the aim of promoting local talents in the sushi scene. Located in River Valley, this 12-seater joint serves sushi only and is helmed by Chef Alan and Chef Renjie and also Manager Ken who also fronts the house. They have 2 seatings – the first from 6 to 7.45pm and the second from 8.15 to 10.15pm with just one menu serving 15 pieces of sushi at $180++

Don’t expect any traditional furnishing of a sushi-ya and to be honest, the ambience somewhat reminded me of the famous R sushi at Tanjong Pagar (in other words, not much ambience la) but they are a team of a very friendly crew and you felt like you are going to a friend’s house for a meal

Even though the reservation was supposed to be for 8.15pm, the dinner only started 20 minutes later cos the chefs were still busy preparing. And so I was just enjoying my sake while watching the action going on

You would find the similarity in shari used here from Sushi Kimura with 2 kinds of vinegar used here, aged 15 years and aged 2 years to give their slight reddish in colour and also the burst in acidity as you sample each sushi piece

Hira Masa

First sushi piece to set the pace. Rice cooked nicely with warmth just right though the vinegar definitely outshone the fish here

Shima Aji

Still on the vinegar (cos the taste was so evident), I found that you can really taste the burst of acidity at the start when you chew and the taste slowly dissipated towards the end

Zuke Akami

This was the first piece that actually brought my attention back to the fish. I like its consistency of the marinate on the fish and how soft the tuna was

Snake Mackerel

This was a really interesting piece and I don’t recall I had this anywhere before. Generally, the whole flavour profile of this was very light with not much sweetness, though the crunchiness of the spring onion did leave an impression of me

Kampachi Belly

Chutoro

To be honest, I had expected more from the chutoro. Well, it was just okay and there was sinew in it

Kinmedai

The Kinmedai was decent. It was smokey and a little fatty which was enjoyable to taste

Suma Ika w Sesame

I enjoyed the texture of the squid too and the fragrance that came alongside with it

Otoro

Hotaru Ika

The taste of the ika was a little bit on the stronger end so you might like this or not

Shiro Ebi

Salmon Roe

Wah. This was very salty. I had never tasted something like this before. It felt like they have drizzled a little too much of soya sauce on it

Negi Toro w Smoked Radish

Can you believe this was my favourite out of the entire meal? It was none of the nigiri sushi which was well, pretty surprising

Pen Shell

For some reason, the pen shell was pretty flat and lacking in sweetness

Preparing our last maki for us

which came in the form of a giant Futomaki with tamago, chopped tuna, crab meat and radish

And ending with Japanese Mochi as desserts

with a complimentary glass of sake on the house 🙂

Honest thoughts: If you had been to better/nicer Sushi-ya, you might need to lower your expectations a little when you visit Shin Yasuke. The shari is good but I wasn’t really impressed by the fish. And mostly after having each sushi piece, I felt it was lacking in something. If you are looking for a place that serves fuss-free sushi, this is the place for you but if you are looking for something more than that, then you might want to consider your options again. This place might have the Kimura brand, but sadly I felt they have still have way to go to reach the Kimura standard

Shin Yasuke

428 River Valley Rd, #01-03

Loft@Nathan

S(248327)

Sharing the drinks menu here below