Does Kiraku Mean Comfortable ?

A long time friend of mine recently invited the missus and me to savour some Japanese delights at his soon to be opened restaurant located smack in the middle of the CBD. Nestled in a basement unit at 55 Market Street, Kiraku is the latest in a series of Japanese themed restaurants that belongs to the Shin Kushiya stable of restaurants.

Kiraku serves up Japanese standards during the day (sushi, sashimi, udons, sobas & dons). The shabu-shabu (Japanese style hot pot) makes a daily appearance only during dinner service. The staff were very polite and attentive, which made us feel very kiraku. The head chef is from Osaka and he runs a capable team of sous chefs. I'll cut straight to the food from here on.

Please ignore the half eaten bits. You could probably tell that blogging was the last thing on my mind. On this plate from left to right we have chu toro (premium tuna belly) & sake toro (premium salmon belly). The piece with white stripes is the salmon belly. FRESHness guaranteed and bursting with flavour! Coats your mouth with a film of omega oil goodness. Definite must eat.

Kiraku maki to your left. Melt in your mouth pieces of foie gras draped over batter fried sushi rice. The soft, rich foie gras contrasts well with the crisp batter of the rice topped with a little tobiko coloured mayo. Presentation is pretty damn decent too.

More sake toro or premium salmon belly. Can't get enough of this stuff.

We ordered the Wagyu Suki Shabu. Look at the lovely, marbled & thinly sliced slivers from heaven.

Nice medley of vegetables to accompany the meat.

The whole point of shabu shabu. Dip, swirl and eat.

This is one of the things you can do with the raw egg that comes with every order. You're actually supposed to dip the cooked meat into the raw egg just before it enters your mouth but we decided to gently poach it instead.

The meal was washed down the gut with some lovely Shirataki sake. They have a comprehensive list of sakes available for the sake conoisseur.

The best part about the meal - one feels totally kiraku. You don't get the feeling of being overly full which is normally associated with overly oily and lower quality Japanese dishes.

Kiraku will be officially opened sometime this week and I have no doubts it will be a hit with the CBD crowd looking to satisfy their hunger pangs with some quality Japanese. Definitely Kiraku.

The In-Between Meal-Blog Digestive

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Fish.

Thanks to our excellent geographical location, enterprising restauranteurs and love for Japanese cuisine, we're pretty fortunate to get good quality seafood imported from Japan on a bi-weekly basis.

Fish Mart Sakuraya, which started out as a retail outlet to cater to the local Japanese community, has seen an increased response for it's produce in recent years and they have expanded their presence to 2 outlets and casual restaurants.

The prices are really reasonable and the quality of the produce speaks for itself. The key to good Japanese cuisine is respect for the produce. I always believe that any good self respecting Japanese restaurant swears by simplicity, wholesomeness and elegance. This is where Sakuraya puts so many other local Japanese restaurants to shame. The mayo-in-everything localized Japanese culture in Singapore is just so wrong.

What a beautiful picture of real food. Fresh airflown salmon (sake) and ohtoro (fatty tuna belly) of the highest quality decorate the black lacquered plate with just the right amount of perfectly cooked and seasoned rice served at room temperature with a mound of pink ginger. One bite of these gorgeous slivers of ocean treasure will despatch you to the heights of culinary heaven. It's that good.

The salmon head is equally satisfying. Freshly grilled and seasoned with a little salt. The juice from the lemon wedge cuts the rich fatty omega oils of the salmon and the grated radish makes a great complement taste wise. S$10.00 for a slice of grilled heaven.

Oishi desu.

Tuesday is Kind

Ever spent all morning trying to catch that mysterious electrical gremlin that causes one's computer to misbehave every now and then ? The situation is made worse when the computer isn't yours and you do it because it involves emotional blackmail.

Anyway, I took a wrong turn and ended up in Great World City where I went to the Oaks Wine Store to look for a belated gift to my Dad (it was his birthday the day before).

I had a good look at the wines on sale and double checked the reviews with my trusty 3G. My Dad prefers value for money glorified grape juice these days so I guess the purchase of 2 bottles of 2005 Blinder Mitchell Gunslingers Shiraz was ace! (1 for him, 1 for me to be shared with gourmand this weekend - I haven't asked him + if it is still unopened by the weekend)

S$39 for the 2005 Gunslingers sounds like a good deal for a supposedly "full bodied wine with notes of blackberries, pepper" plus it's categorized as a 90-94pt vino meaning a glass at home would cost approx $5.50 assuming the bottle yields 7 standard drinks. I hope it turns out well.

The 2006 Mitolo Savitar Shiraz generously presented to yours truly by gourmand just last week looks like it belongs to the upper crust of the barrel. I've not read any tasting notes on this baby but with a 95pt review, it should bode pretty well.

Yes I do admit I sound like a wine snob with points and all but I reckon if you're drinking your money you might as well drink it with some panache backed by trusted reviewers.

Cheers till the next bottle.