We went to check out Hazuki, a Kyoto-style restaurant serving Kappo cuisine at Ngee Ann city. By the same people behind Sushi Masaaki, I was excited to give this a try cos sushi and kappo are my favourite Japanese kind of food. I would jump at the invite anytime. Ha

I was informed the friend wasn’t there when I entered the restaurant and was offered to wait at the dining area inside or the lounge. I chose the latter cos waiting in a silent restaurant with the staffs discreetly checking on you can be very intimidating

It’s a very fancy lounge

With 12 seats in the house, it was empty when we were finally ready to dine but soon the entire place was filled with people and we began our course shortly 

They had 2 menu to choose from and we went for the 11-course Tsuki, priced $380 (which I kinda regretted in the end cos it was so damn filling)

Shirako Chawanmushi

First up, chawanmushi. It was served pretty hot and in my haste of trying to gobble it down, I think the heat went though my chest. Lol. Served silky smooth, the texture complemented the smoothness of the shirako, though I wished there was more surprise in there

Kamasu, Kurama Ebi, Tairagai w Dashi Jelly & Oscietra Caviar

So artistically plated

I really liked the Kurama ebi. The succulent texture of the prawn was satisfying. The fish was decent too. And ending it off with the pickles was a like a balance of 2 flavours

Sashimi: Tai, Kinmedai, Chutoro, Fugu

Moving on to the sashimi platter, which in my opinion was pretty generous. The quality of the fugu was pretty good and I loved how it worked with all the pairings. The chutoro was excellent with a melt-in-the-mouth texture. It was a pretty filling plate of sashimi 

Hotate Shinjo w Yuzu & Kikurage

First sip. The soup reminded me of oden. Lol. It was light and done so to highlight what’s next to come. I thought everything came beautifully. The slightly torched scallop, white fungus and homemade fishcake was delicious. Even the carrot was sweet and tasty 

Breaking down into layers

Sushi: Nodoguro

Dusted with sea salt, I thought it was probably better withoutTempura: Sweet Potato

Pomfret

Hotate

Uba Uni

The tempura on a whole fell beyond expectations. If I had to pick one, the pomfret would probably leave the most impression on me. The rest were just okay. It wasn’t like wow, blew-me-away kinda good

Highlight of the meal, which the chef emphasized this was a small crab. Well, it looked pretty huge to me to be honest. Lol

Matsuba Kani w Liver Sauce

The crab was served in a way you have to dig out the flesh yourself. We spent some time doing it cos I didn’t want to waste any inch of it. And the result was rewarding, especially so when you eat it together with the liver sauce. You could taste the sweetness of the meat and the umami of the sauce. So good

A5 Wagyu Tenderloin w Uni & Truffle Sauce

This was my least favourite of the entire meal. Somehow, the cook on the meat wasn’t impressive and there was simply too much truffle. Like overdone. Lol. Sometimes less is more

Donabe of Kinoko & Saba

I love Japanese claypot rice. And I was anticipating the end of the meal. I’m glad to say it didn’t disappoint. And I had 3 bowls of it, with leftover for the friend to bring home as onigiri (they packed it really beautifully too)

With some miso soup of course

Mochi Ichigo

Never knew mochi could taste like this. This was so good. So good you have to try it yourself. I would gladly have another piece of it 

Musk Melon w Hokkaido Icecream & Caramelised Nuts

Fruits made such a good end to the meal. Even better when it’s melon. Didn’t really fancy the milk icecream. I wished it was another flavour 

Personally, I thought the serving was generous. The meal had its ups and downs but generally as a whole, I thought the quality was decent enough. Surprisingly the colleague also had a meal there the day after so in our conversation I asked her how did she find it. She told me she wasn’t impressed but when we went into details, she said everything was not bad. lol. I guessed in her defence, the price-point was debatable and would probably concur quality wasn’t the best. I’m gonna give the other menu a try and see if there are any surprises but for now, I still love my Japanese claypot rice

Hazuki

391 Orchard Rd, #04-18A Takashimaya S.C.

Ngee Ann City

Singapore 238872