Omakase at Kaiho

On a whim, my friend and I decided to dine at some hole-in-the-wall sushi joint at Cuppage. But I am so glad we did because the Omakase set was just absolutely mind-blowing as the chef (Bernard Tang, previously from Sushi Yoshida) really took care of us – providing us little info about the food we were eating, giving me a free shot of excellent whiskey when he heard me coughing my lungs out, feeding us until we literally had to roll off our counter seats. 

 

- Our first appetizer – potato salad, Japanese style.The first weird stuff of the day – sacks of fish sperm. This tasted…interesting. Heh, actually it was creamy and largely tasteless. The weird part was swallowing the chewy sacks.

- Our sashimi platter – OMG! Save for the octopus, which was too fishy. All the other slices were the freshest, sweetest, and softest sashimi I’ve ever eaten!

 

- Our second appetizer of the day – firefly squids cooked in vinegar and sake. Soft, mushy, and sour. I think this is an acquired taste. ;p But the chef shared that these firefly squids are only available in this form because they die once they are out of sea. So the only way we can have it fresh in Singapore is this carpaccio version.

 

- Swordfish done agedashi – style.

 

- King crab soup with leeks and mushrooms. The crab meat was so sweet and succulent, we slurped every single drop of it. After which, we promtly declared our tummies at the point of bursting.

 

- Grilled promfret in sweet soyu sauce. I must say, I was quite surprised when they served this – it’s kinda like mum’s cooking. 

 

- Red miso soup with mushrooms.

 

- Nigiri Sushi Aburi-style (partially grilled). I loved every single piece! They just simply melted in my mouth – the rice was moist and sweet; the freshly grated wasabi inserted between the fish and rice was such a kick!

 

- The next set of Nigiri – the cuttlefish was chewy and the mackerel was fishy and meaty at the same time. And when the chef asked if we wanted more, I couldn’t say no though my stomach was seriously bursting.The chef insisted we try these sardine nigiri. According to him, the fish is slightly fishier and oilier at this time of the year (Winter) due to the thicker layer of skin. I must say though, I don’t think I really enjoy eating raw fish with skin on. It’s just…too raw.

 

- The meal ended with a simply choya jelly. This simple-looking thing is actually quite a stunner. The taste of choya lingers long after the jelly is swallowed, just like sweet momories of a good meal.