Food Review: Kissajin At Shaw Centre, Orchard Road | Affordable Japanese Omakase From S$68++ By Les Amis Group

Posted on November 9, 2022 by theRantingPanda in Food

The Place Located right beside Jinhonten, I checked out Kissajin at Shaw Centre recently, a new causal Japanese Omakase restaurant by the Les Amis Group. While Jinhonten also serves Omakase menus, Kissajin is much more causal and laid-back, and fortunately, more wallet-friendly as well. The interior of Kissajin is mainly decked in wood and bronze in a relatively open setting. Simple, yet elegantly done.

The Food Only Omakase menus are served at Kissajin, where Lunch Omakase is at S$68++ for seven courses while Dinner Omakase is at S$98++ for eight courses.

My meal started with a complimentary starter course where we had to “fish” for our ingredient. A fish bowl is brought to each table, where we then fish for the mystery ingredient.

It turned out to be sesame tofu beneath what looked like mini balloons, to go with the salad.

I had the 8-course dinner omakase (S$98++) and started with the Zensai, an assorted mix of appetisers – Tazuna Sushi (egg, salmon and prawn), Smoked Scallop, Seasonal Mochi, Karaage and Konjac. My favourite is the crispy Karaage!

The second course is the Katsu Sando, pork sando and egg sando separately. The texture of the sando is quite crispy, and the tender pork sando is my preferred sando as compared to the egg. The Chawanmushi is served together with the Katsu Sando, and it is a mushroom Chawanmushi.

Next up is the Sashimi which is an assortment of Salmon, Squid and Tuna served with bonito jelly.

For the Yakimono course, I had the Kagoshima Wagyu which is served with kimuchi (Japanese kimchi). The thinly sliced tender beef is served with Yakiniku sauce, which is not overly fatty in terms of flavour. The kimuchi helps to balance the richness of the beef.

I then had the Tempura course, a Prawn tempura served along with shredded snow crab, yam and broccoli. I personally prefer my tempura batter to be crispier.

The last savoury course is the Udon where I had the Kagoshima Wagyu Inaniwa Udon. Tasty broth with hints of citrus note, where the Inaniwa udon has a springy texture.

The last act is Dessert and it is the Cream Anmitsu – a combination of Japanese agar-agar, red bean, whipped cream and fruits.

Rants The portions are relatively small for each course, which may not be substantial for some diners.

Will I Return Again? Head to Kissajin if you are looking for a competitively price Omakase experience in Singapore. The catch is that do not expect ingredients like fatty tuna (otoro) or sea urchin (uni) in the courses here, though you still get a variety of ingredients presented in different cooking preparations.

This was an invited tasting, though all opinions expressed are our own.

Make your reservations instantly at Kissajin here.

TheRantingPanda says:
Taste bud: 3.5/5
Hole in the pocket: 3.5/5
Ambience: 3.5/5
Overall Experience: 3.5/5