Sushi Kou Omakase

Sushi Kou Omakase, The Moonberry Blog

Japanese restaurant Sushi Kou not only presents quality Japanese cuisine at affordable prices, but also some of the most value-for-money Omakase sets in Singapore. Sushi Kou, which means happy sushi, bridges traditional Japanese aesthetics with modern sensibilities in its cosy 50-seater restaurant with floor-to-ceiling wood finishes that are accented by strips of yukata prints along the walls.

Sushi Kou presents three delightful multi-course Omakase menus at $50, $80, and $100 (minimum of 2 sets) which are available at lunch and dinner. An Omakase meal is never the same each time as the best oceanic catch and seasonal vegetables are flown in twice a week from their close circuit of suppliers in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Hokkaido. The beauty of an Omakase experience is allowing the chef to offer different dishes to the diners that showcase the best seasonal produce cooked in a variety of ways.

The $80 Omakase set I had at Sushi Kou was comprised of the following:

Appetizer: Inari Mayo (shellfish, beancurd skin, flying fish roe); Hotate Daikon Nitsuke (scallops braised with radish)

Sashimi: Otoro, Mutsu, Kurodai, Hirame, Hotate, Hamachi

Yaki [Grill]: Murasaki-gai Cheese Yaki (mussels baked with cheese)

Age [Fry]: Kasago (deep-fried fish)

Nimono [Braise]: Niku Tofu (beef and tofu)

Sushi: Otoro, Kohadai, Shimaji, Anago, Hamachi, Ikura

Dessert ice-cream: salt, yuzu, green tea, sesame, chocolate bars

While I enjoyed my Omakase experience at Sushi Kou, inevitably I compared and contrasted it with Teppei, a highly popular Japanese restaurant situated right next door which also offers Omakase at similar price points and has a two to three month long waiting list. IMO the offerings at Sushi Kou are on the traditional side in terms of content and presentation: ie. basic and safe. I’ve eaten at Teppei before and I’d say the food quality, portion served, variety at both restaurants are on par.

I can see why Teppei is much more popular as I find that the presentation there is much more engaging; trendier and more playful. But with only bar seating for 21 diners at one time, along with that ridiculously long waitlist, eating at Sushi Kou is so much more relaxed as the restaurant is spacious and the overall atmosphere isn’t as hectic and frazzled as its next door neighbor. I almost feel like because there are two dinner seating times per evening at Teppei, I can’t mindfully savor my food and leisurely sip my sake. Speaking of which, I flipped through the sake menu at Sushi Kou and whoever did the copywriting for it must’ve been high on sake or a born comedian.

Definitely had a chuckle reading the sake menu, while grinding fresh wasabi root for my sashimi and sushi – a first for me using traditional tool made of shark’s skin grater. I can only say, don’t do this while you are hungry because it takes patience to slowly grind the hard root into a beautifully aromatic paste. But it’s worth every morsel so don’t dump it all into the soy sauce.

Would I eat at Sushi Kou again? Yes, why not. I enjoyed the Kasago deep fried fish tremendously and was encouraged to gnaw at every part of it, bones, eyeballs, fins, lips and all. The best part was indeed the crispy fins and bones. That course alone probably took me a good ten minutes – which is the point of dining out, isn’t it? Not feeling rushed and enjoying every bite of the Omakase set.