The Place Newly opened in Telok Ayer Street, Shinrai (which means ‘trust’) is a contemporary casual Japanese restaurant by Chef Desmond Fong of Japanese omakase restaurant Sushi Yujo. The interior of Shinrai spots a playful vibe with neon lights inspired from the streets of Tokyo, where the table setting is ideal for small groups or couples. The dining concept here is also a fusion of sushi-izakaya dining, which serves up Japanese bites or larger plates along with drinks like sake. 

The Food The menu is an array of appetizers, sushi, rolls, skewers, main courses, and desserts. For CBD folks working in the vicinity, lunch sets start from S$16.80 where there are over 10 different options such as Chicken Teriyaki Don, Salmon Mentaiko Don, Bara Chirashi Don and more. This is available every Monday to Friday from 11.30am to 2.30pm. All lunch sets include miso soup, salad, and tofu cheesecake. 

For Shinrai’s opening promotion, diners can enjoy 1-for-1 house sake (300ml) from 8:30pm until closing, exclusively available from 1 to 30 April 2024. 

My dinner started with the Seafood Chawanmushi with Truffle Caviar (S$9.80) which comes with crab meat, prawns and scallops, topped with truffle caviar. 

Next up was the Salmon Carpaccio (S$16.80) which showcases sliced salmon sashimi drizzled with chef’s housemade aromatic truffle sauce for an earthy take on sashimi and finished off with truffle caviar. 

For sushi, the Hotate with Foie Gras Sushi (S$23.80) is an indulgent treat where the torched scallop is topped with caramelised foie gras and housemade sauce.

I also had the Shinrai Signature Maki (S$21.80) where you get torched salmon, grilled unagi, avocado, cucumber, tobiko and chef’s special touch of chicken floss. The latter is more value for money if you are looking for both taste and quantity. 

In terms of small bites, there are options for skewers like Tsukune (S$6.80) where the grilled chicken and pork is glazed with teriyaki sauce and served with an onsen egg dip. This is my favourite skewer of the trio of skewers I had. The others I tried were the Tebasaki (S$3.80) and Hotate (S$7.80). 

For grilled dish, the Ebi with Mentaiko (S$21.80) is not too bad where the whole Tiger prawns is coated with housemade mentaiko sauce, then grilled, and you get that melted mentaiko sauce texture on the prawns. 

For mains, I enjoyed the signature Wagyu Foie Gras Don (S$48.80), which comes with generous slices of A5 Kagoshima Wagyu beef. The beef is nicely grilled, and it is relatively fatty to my liking. There are also cubes of foie gras, where the rice is topped with onsen egg and truffle sauce. Portion wise, good to share for two persons if you are already planning to get other starters to share. 

For dessert, you can expect the likes of Tofu Cheesecake (S$5.80) which is not too sweet in a good way. 

Rants The tables are relatively close to one another, where there is one table which faces the walkway directly. 

Will I Return Again? If you are looking for a casual Japanese restaurant in Telok Ayer, Shinrai is worth checking out where the dining ambience is relaxed, and it is relatively affordable for its CBD location. The lunch sets are quite good value for a start. 

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

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

Shinrai 
173 Telok Ayer Street 
Singapore 068622 
Tel: +65 88588831 

Opening Hours 
Monday to Thursday: 11.30am to 2.30pm; 6pm to 10.30pm 
Friday to Saturday: 11.30am to 2.30pm; 6pm to 11.45pm 
Closed on Sundays

Ranted by The Ranter