The Place Located in Dhoby Ghaut at UBS Building, Ganko Sushi is a mid-range Japanese restaurant with a history of sixty years since its first outlet in Osaka. There are more than 100 outlets across Japan and Hong Kong, where Singapore is their first Southeast Asia outpost which opened two years ago. 

The space of Ganko Sushi is spacious and open, with regular dining tables, a long sushi counter setting and a private dining room. 

The Food The new 15-course sushi omakase menu is priced at S$130 per person, where ingredients are imported three times a week from Osaka Fish Market. Other than Omakase menu, there is also an ala carte menu to choose from. 

I had the 15-course sushi omakase and here is what to expect: 

For a start, I had an appetiser which consists of luscious Sea Urchin, Black Sesame Tofu and mashed up Lady’s Finger. 

Next up is a soup course served in a teapot-style – a clear comforting dashi broth with some slices of fish meat and mushrooms. 

The next part of the meal is a series of 12 nigiri courses. Ganko uses Chidori Vinegar in folding its Niigata rice, a mellow and mild vinegar from a two-hundred-year-old brewing recipe.  

Here are the nigiris I had: 

Shima Aji (Striped Jack) 

Amadai (Sea Bream) 

Kinmedai (Golden Eye Snapper) 

Nodoguro (Blackthroat Seaperch) 

Tairagai (Japanese Pen Shell) 

Shiro Ebi (White Shrimp) 

Botan Ebi 

Sea Urchin Handroll 

Otoro 

Tuna (3 types, Otoro, Chutoro and Akami)  

Fried Ebi (Prawn Head) 

Anago (Sea Eel) 

Tamago 

In general, the nigiri sizes here are larger than other Japanese restaurants so you definitely get more rice and by proportion, a larger piece of the fish. I generally prefer my shari to be slightly sweeter, where the version here could come across a tad dry for some of the nigiris. 

Dessert 
A platter of seasonal fruits for dessert is the beta way to conclude an Omakase meal for me. 

Rants Fairly fast paced meal where I was done in under 80 minutes. Not necessarily a good or bad thing, which depends on how pressed you are for time. 

Will I Return Again? A 15-course meal for S$130 is a reasonably competitive price point, though I am also of the view that the Japanese Omakase competition is stiff at the moment, and it has already gone beyond how fresh your ingredients are for a restaurant to survive in the longer term. It is a decent dining experience at Ganko Sushi, though there isn’t any particular course which stands out for me. 

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

TheRantingPanda says:
Taste bud: 3.5/5
Hole in the pocket: 4/5
Ambience: 3.5/5
Overall Experience: 3.5/5

Ganko Sushi 
9 Penang Road 
#01-01 
Singapore 238459 
Tel: +65 8828 2280 

Opening Hours 
Monday to Sunday: 11:30am to 2:30pm 6pm to 10pm 

Ranted by The Ranter