Sushi Jiro at Keppel Bay (2020)
Sushi Jiro at Keppel Bay is a fine dining Japanese restaurant, and as far as I know is not affiliated with Chef Jiro Ono (the famous epic one in Japan). Honestly, we ended up here because my mother thought it was affiliated with the iconic Chef Jiro Ono. It’s okay, though, it’s not about where we go - it’s about the fact that we are with each other.
Anyway, we went in expecting something great. I must say that it seems a little shady (to me) that they rarely mention Chef Kenji who is at the helm of the restaurant. Maybe it’s because I work with matters concerning infringement and consumer confusion, or maybe it’s actually a shady thing to do. This is especially considering Chef Jiro Ono’s restaurant is practically world famous - even Tom Cruise will wait for a seat! I would think it’s natural to consider people might mistake Sushi Jiro for a branch-out of Sukiyabashi Jiro. Then again maybe Jiro is a common name, who knows!
I’ll stop rambling. On to the experience at Sushi Jiro!
We had a reservation and they asked us if we wanted to sit at the counter or at a table, we decided against sitting at the counter since there were three of us and side-by-side would hinder conversation. At first, it was a table in the inner side of the restaurant but my brother asked the waiter/manager if we could have one of those tables near the counter (i.e. brighter since the windows are across the wall behind the counter). There was some back and forth and in the end they gave us that table, which was really nice of them.
I ordered a 6-course Omakase and my mother and brother ordered a la carte. I’m gonna say now that I did specifically ask for 1) no spring onions and 2) no wasabi.
First came the hot sake - normal house pour kind. It looked cool to me, but I’m also a sake noob. It came in a tea pot… in a pot… of hot water.
My first course came before any other food - baby sardines, roasted abalone, and fish eggs (didn’t catch the specifics).
I am not a fan of eating whole fish like this… but I tried and it was okay. Although, I did specifically ask for no spring onions. Why are there spring onions on it? It’s less effort to omit them!
I wasn’t sure about the roasted abalone, because at first sight I could not find the said abalone. It was a whole lot of this ponzu-tasting stuff - very sour. I dug up the abalone and ate just those and that was fine. I like abalone.
The fish eggs surprised me. I didn’t see the fish eggs until I inspected my food closer - little wedges of compacted eggs! Adorable and also delicious. It felt good and it tasted good. I avoided all the other veggie-like things.
First course was not great, except for the fish eggs.
Next came my second course (no food for mother & brother yet). Amberjack, chutoro and akami sashimi. Mother pointed out there was wasabi with it - which I’d specifically asked not to have. They took it back and removed it (personally I didn’t feel it was a huge deal since it was barely touching the sashimi).
I’ve had better, but I will say it was fresh! This came around the same time as the fam’s Wagyu A5 beef steak from Miyazaki. I was so distracted that I forgot to take a proper photo of my own sashimi.
They had asked for the doneness we wanted and I suggested Medium so the fats can render. The Wagyu was fantastic. It was tender, it was done well, it was juicy. A lot of times when I have steaks at Japanese restaurants, there’s some sour sauce on or around it, but that wasn’t the case this time and I loved it.
MoBro’s sashimi and sushi arrived around the same time, too. Amberjack, salmon, and salmon belly sashimi, and chutoro and salmon belly nigiri. Yum, yum, and yum.
Next came a la carte mixed tempura and clam miso soup. MoBro loved the soup. I also found it interesting that the tempura included shisamo.
Now for the glorious golden child of my 6-course Omakase: Uni ikura rice bowl.
This was everything I wanted, everything I needed, and everything I loved. Nailed it. I just wish I could have more More MORE!
My next course was nigiri and it was an unusual collection. Tuna, barracuda, bonito, cuttlefish, and yellowjack. I had never seen (or imagined) barracuda and bonito as nigiri. Maybe it’s my limited imagination?
Tuna (maguro I believe) was good as usual. Barracuda was soft, meaty, and kinda fatty - good stuff. Bonito unsurprisingly tasted like… bonito flakes except not flaky. That was an interesting experience and certainly a unique nigiri. I am not a fan of cuttlefish. The yellowjack was good. Just like the preceding dishes, these fish were ~fresh.
Then came the a la carte teriyaki cod and salmon belly & amberjack nigiri. The teriyaki cod was not bad; moist and soft.
My last omakase course before dessert was dobin mushi. This was probably the second best course after the uni ikura. I can see why people drink it in winter - it’s so warm and comforting. Makes you feel calm and fuzzy inside. That’s a soup I thoroughly enjoyed.
MoBro were too full for dessert but I really wanted the Japanese melon. We tried to order it as a la carte (in case my omakase dessert was something else) and lo and behold! My omakase dessert was Japanese melon. ^^ Yum yum. Sweet and hella juicy as usual.
Overall this place was good, but not fantastic. I do appreciate how the menu offered dishes that aren’t typical for Japanese restaurants that we see all around. The service, though, had room for improvement. They seemed kinda grumpy, and also spilled (hot) sake which splattered all over my legs. That wasn’t pleasant.
I might return for fun (if not for the certainty of their dobin mushi and Japanese melon).
I’m not sure how much the bill was but the prices weren’t the most friendly. it’d be nice for a date night, if their service crew was just having a bad day when I was there.
Food: 4/5
Ambiance: 3/5
Price: ???
Service: 3/5
My experience: 3.8/5