Kappo Shunsui is a Japanese restaurant situated in Hongkong Street, Singapore. The restaurant focuses on kappo-style delicacies, which is a standard Japanese eating type that emphasizes the usage of contemporary, seasonal substances and easy preparation strategies.
Getting right here requires a eager eye for element. Just like a number of the different institutions situated within the Hongkong Street stretch, the doorway to Kappo Shunsui is through an unassuming door, with only a delicate flower hung at eye stage to tell apart it. Once inside, diners should journey via a darkened hall to succeed in the 12-seat eating chamber.
Compared to different omakase locations, Kappo Shunsui intentionally needs diners to see the preparation course of intimately. The chef’s preparation space is akin to a efficiency stage, the place his each slice and chop is projected on two screens for diners to see.
The menu at Kappo Shunsui options a wide range of dishes, together with sashimi, sushi, grilled meats, and seafood. The restaurant additionally gives a number of sake to enrich the meals. The dinner omakase expertise ranges from the S$280 Minamo Course to the S$380 Kacho Seasonal Omakase to the S$480 Premium Omakase Shunsui. For this explicit event, I attempted the S$480 menu which got here with sake pairing.
The dinner begins with a Kanpai as every diner will get a welcome drink within the type of glowing sake. This drink is adopted by Shiroebi or white shrimp and caviar encased in a crunchy ice cream cone.
The subsequent course – the Sakizuke or appetizer, consists of a trio of beguiling dishes which might be emblematic of the season. During my go to in May, we had been delighted with the fragile but chewy texture of hamaguri (onerous clam) smoked with hojicha earlier than being lifted by the earthy flavors of matcha miso and accomplished by a shot of hojicha to cleanse the palate. I had by no means considered matcha or hojicha as a sauce earlier than. The style was acquainted to me as I do devour matcha commonly however novel similtaneously I by no means imagined it in a savory dish.
This was adopted by the vividly coloured half lemon became a bowl. Within it had been the distinct flavors of akagai (ark shell) expertly paired with the subtly candy ise ebi (spiny lobster), the splendidly bitter notes of dashi vinegar jelly with the citrusy and tart lemon and mango.
Completing the trio is the fatty and flavorful kinki (thornyhead fish) lifted by the nutty notes of contemporary usuiendo mame (inexperienced peas) sauce.
The Otsukiri or sashimi course comprised of extremely tender tachiuo (belt fish) alongside the fragile kinmedai (golden eye snapper) and honmaguro toro (bluefin tuna fatty stomach) – the latter with a soften in your mouth texture. Before considering that it’s the top of the sashimi course, the server politely requested me to raise up the konbu marinate paper beneath the shiso leaf to unveil slices of lean and mildly candy isaki (rooster grunt). The sashimi choices modifications commonly, relying on what the group is ready to fly in from Japan.
The chilly dishes had been glorious however Chef Shim’s versatility really shines via with the new dishes, beginning with the Shabu (scorching dish) that includes kegani (bushy crab) the place succulent and candy items of crab meat is served in an extremely wealthy and savory broth crammed with velvety kani miso (crab liver).
For the Yakimono (grilled dish), we had contemporary amadai (tilefish) sitting atop contemporary sea urchin with the precise flesh of the ocean urchin nonetheless sticking to the prickly floor. I liked the grated radish vinegar sauce sitting atop the tilefish – it was refreshing and served to organize us for the subsequent course.
The seafood delights proceed with the Agemono (deep fried dish) the place delicate Anago (conger eel) is meticulously deep-fried and topped with a beneficiant serving of wealthy and creamy Murasaki uni (sea urchin) earlier than being introduced atop a sheet of crunchy and briny seaweed, the candy Anago melts in a single’s mouth alongside the briny taste of the ocean urchin. This is supposed to be eaten like a roll, with the the crunchy seaweed enveloping the eel and sea urchin. It was such a pleasant course to devour with the creamy sea urchin splattering out of the seaweed because it entered my mouth.
The theatricality of the omakase course was maybe most evident through the Shiizakana (most important dish), with the A5 Miyazaki wagyu tenderloin briefly seared in a fiery blaze earlier than being served with stalks of grilled child corn topped with shavings of fragrant black truffle and a savory onion sauce. The meat got here tender and was straightforward on the mouthfeel regardless of having no knife to slice the slightly cumbersome chunks.
Lastly, Oshokuji (rice dish) featured the remaining meat from the bushy crab earlier, calmly fried with rice and cooked in a donabe (earthenware pot). This allowed the richness of the candy bushy crab meat to permeate the fluffy rice earlier than being served with a starchy sauce.
We ended the meal with a sequence of Mizugashi (dessert). Chef whisks plenty of bowls of matcha with scorching water to create an intense, full-bodied tea. This is served alongside candy and chewy Ichigo-daifuku (strawberry mochi), my favourite type of Japanese dessert.
The second dessert was the creamy white sesame ice cream with black sesame senbei (rice cracker), and Kiyomi orange. I used to be past stuffed by this stage and couldn’t end the second dessert.
Verdict
Overall, Kappo Shunsui is the type of place that mixes theatricality with glorious meals. The strategies used had been completely stellar and my eyes had been fed simply as a lot as my tummy. I liked the equal emphasis on sushi and cooked dishes, as how kappo delicacies is meant to be. During the course of the three hour or so dinner, I felt like I used to be out of Singapore for some time. It was not simply because of the interiors nevertheless it was additionally because of the sheer element of the culinary group whose work I might see from the projector. At the very finish of the meal, Chef even made a small ritual by hanging a stone to generate sparks behind me to want me good luck.
Kappo Shunsui
17 Hongkong Street
#01-01
Singapore 059660
+65 91715592
Opening Hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 11:30AM to 2PM & 6:45PM to 11PM
