Took a friend for a birthday celebration at Sushi Masaaki since both of us have not visited and I have heard pretty decent reviews about it. They had 2 seatings for dinner so which we went for latter. The interior gave me a modern sushi-ya kind of feel with bright lightings and soft music playing in the background. The place was full and everyone was ready to welcome what was prepared for the night. We took the Miyabi course at $280 which consist of starter, appetiser, grilled dish, sushi, hand roll, rice bowl & dessert

And was lucky enough to be seated infront of Chef Massaki-san though he did not stay through the night. I say they were a friendly team, trying their best to engage conversations with you and not making you feel too stressed which I really appreciate

First dish of the night: Hokkaido Hairy Crab, Yuba, Dashi Jelly

I really liked the yuba. The texture mixed with the sweet hairy crab finishing off with some roe was a nice start to the meal

And then we went into floral arrangement suddenly. I’m kidding. Though I must say the friend and I were pretty amused. They really took effort dressing up for their sashimi course and even placed a pot infront of us (cos we did not have sashimi) so that we can have a photo with it

Chawanmushi w Sweet Corn & Uni

This chawanmushi was amazing. The layer of sweet corn on top mixed with the soft and light texture of the egg custard, with the creaminess of the uni. It really lingered on the tastebud

Unagi w Tamagoyaki Roll

We watched Chef Masaaki grilled the unagi. It took awhile, but it was definitely worth the wait. The piping hot unagi had such a fantastic aroma and sweetness when you eat with the sushi rice and crispy seaweed, it was downright satisfying

Shiro Ebi

Moving on to sushi proper, the shari stood out on this first piece. The warmth, texture and the vinegar. I say the vinegar was on the heavier side yet a slight bitter towards the end. It was pretty unique and the friend agreed as well

Akami

The Akami piece was a classic combination. The shari blended so well with the fish it was delightful to taste

Aji

I’m a fan of good Aji, and I successfully converted the friend to liking Aji. Ha. It was so flavourful and full of umami I would gladly have another piece

Of course, one for the gram

Kinmedai

A very beautiful piece, speaks a lot on the skill of the chef

Aori Ika w Uni

This was pretty interesting. The texture the ika tasted really mushy but when mixed with the uni, there was an explosion of flavours in your mouth

Nodoguro

Another one of my favourite fish, this had the texture of a scallop which was something I had never tasted before and I say it was really good

Otoro

Needs no introduction

Kamasu

I had an extra piece of sushi. I loved it

Ankimo

We were just chatting about ankimo and they served us a variation of it. Wah, the richness of the ankimo was spread out with the sushi rice and finishing it off with a crispy seaweed was delicious

Miso soup

It was so good the friend had a second portion of it. lol

Bafun Uni w Sushi Rice & Caviar

Negi Toro

Coming to the end of the meal with desserts

Melon w Sato Nishiki Cherry

Warabi Mochi in Caramel Sauce

We had 2.5 desserts cos there was an extra birthday cake. By the end of the meal, we were so full we wanted to roll out of the door. lol

The experience I had at Sushi Masaaki was amazing, from the food to the service. And I would gladly go back again. I really enjoyed their sushi pieces and it was close enough to make you feel like you were in Japan. It definitely made it into one of my sushi restaurant list

Sushi Massaki

26 Beach Road

South Beach #B1-17

S(189768)