Shiraishi
Shiraishi is one of those places that towkays and bankers with fat expense accounts love to dine at. Every meal here is unfailingly impressive, with the quintessential Japanese hospitality of their wait staff upping the ante of the dining experience. Shiraishi is, to those in the know, renown for its extremely refined and elegant Japanese cuisine. And, for a fine-dining restaurant, this is a surprisingly "unstuffy" place. The restaurant may be understated and fly below the radar, especially in light of the celebrity restaurant bigwigs that have sprouted up in the IRs, but this old-timer can certainly hold its own. The restaurant consistently serve up the most exquisite flavours by rotating its menu regularly and focusing on the seasonal's best.
We had dinner here one night to celebrate Beeps birthday, she wanted Japanese food and this is one of my favourite places for special occasions. We got a table at the counter, which I love, because you usually get entertained by the chefs. Plus, you invariably get a lesson on Japanese dining from the chefs. Apparently, all of the pretty flowers and greens on your plate are meant to be eaten and not placed on the plate just for decorative purposes. You just need to know how to eat those seemingly inedible stuff.
We got the Sushi Kaiseki Set ($170) which has 8 courses that features the best of what Autumn has to offer.
The Amuse Bouche of the day was a dollop of chilled smooth potato mash with carrots and cucumber, very creamy and refreshing, a great start to a fantastically memorable meal.
The first course was a trio of Appetizers. My favourite was the chilled Sesame Tofu block in the middle, floating in a puddle of shoyu and with a dab of freshly grated wasabi for a piquant heat.
The pickled fried fish was also served chilled, this was savoury but nicely refreshing. The fish was so soft that it could be eaten whole, bones and all.
The Steamed Baby Yam (at the back) and Gingko on a stick (in the foreground) were my favourite starters. The gingko nuts were so soft they practically melted in the mouth, their mild nuttiness enhanced simply with a sprinkling of salt. The yam, meant to be picked up with the fingers and squeezed out from the leafy shell, was creamy, smooth and delicate. Such simple uncomplicated flavours.
The Sashimi was, as expected, exquisite and unbelievably fresh. Thickly sliced, these were generous pieces of fish. I particularly loved the melt-in-the-mouth fatty otoro. The shiso leaf, with its anti-bacterial properties is used to wash down any remnants of bacteria, if there were any, off the raw fish. The stalk of mint flowers, hand-smashed and then dipped into the soy for flavour, lent a fresh accent to the fish. The lime, meant to drizzle over the sweet prawn, white fish and scallops, helped "cure" the seafood.
If I had to choose, the Steamed Dish would be my favourite. Shimeiji mushrooms, luxurious freshly shredded hairy crab, baby lady's fingers were set atop a chunk of radish and then steamed to fragrant perfection. Yuzu zest provided a citrusy zing to the savoury dish.
The Grilled Dish of soy-glazed seabream fillet, with shitake mushroom, was next. We learnt that the white part of the pink pickled ginger stalk can be eaten. Any stingy pungency was removed by the pickling process. There was also a fried dish of tempura moriawase before this but I promptly gobbled it up so there was no picture!
The assorted Sushi was the last substantive course.Soft perfectly formed rectangular rice, a dollop of freshly grated wasabi and a sliver of incredibly fresh sashimi made for a recipe of wonderfully clean flavours.
The Clam Soup, despite its deceptively clear appearance, was amazingly rich in depth and unami flavour.
A slice of Japanese Mush Melon was served for Dessert. This was so sweet we all thought it was artificially sweetened. It's THAT amazingly sweet. This was a very nice way to finish off the wonderful meal. Great company. Great food. This really is the life, isn't it?
Shiraishi
7 Raffles Avenue
#03-01
Ritz Carlton Millenia
Tel: 6338 3788
Open daily from 12noon to 2pm for lunch and 6pm to 10pm for dinner
Website: www.shiraishi.sg
We had dinner here one night to celebrate Beeps birthday, she wanted Japanese food and this is one of my favourite places for special occasions. We got a table at the counter, which I love, because you usually get entertained by the chefs. Plus, you invariably get a lesson on Japanese dining from the chefs. Apparently, all of the pretty flowers and greens on your plate are meant to be eaten and not placed on the plate just for decorative purposes. You just need to know how to eat those seemingly inedible stuff.
We got the Sushi Kaiseki Set ($170) which has 8 courses that features the best of what Autumn has to offer.
The Amuse Bouche of the day was a dollop of chilled smooth potato mash with carrots and cucumber, very creamy and refreshing, a great start to a fantastically memorable meal.
The first course was a trio of Appetizers. My favourite was the chilled Sesame Tofu block in the middle, floating in a puddle of shoyu and with a dab of freshly grated wasabi for a piquant heat.
The pickled fried fish was also served chilled, this was savoury but nicely refreshing. The fish was so soft that it could be eaten whole, bones and all.
The Steamed Baby Yam (at the back) and Gingko on a stick (in the foreground) were my favourite starters. The gingko nuts were so soft they practically melted in the mouth, their mild nuttiness enhanced simply with a sprinkling of salt. The yam, meant to be picked up with the fingers and squeezed out from the leafy shell, was creamy, smooth and delicate. Such simple uncomplicated flavours.
The Sashimi was, as expected, exquisite and unbelievably fresh. Thickly sliced, these were generous pieces of fish. I particularly loved the melt-in-the-mouth fatty otoro. The shiso leaf, with its anti-bacterial properties is used to wash down any remnants of bacteria, if there were any, off the raw fish. The stalk of mint flowers, hand-smashed and then dipped into the soy for flavour, lent a fresh accent to the fish. The lime, meant to drizzle over the sweet prawn, white fish and scallops, helped "cure" the seafood.
If I had to choose, the Steamed Dish would be my favourite. Shimeiji mushrooms, luxurious freshly shredded hairy crab, baby lady's fingers were set atop a chunk of radish and then steamed to fragrant perfection. Yuzu zest provided a citrusy zing to the savoury dish.
The Grilled Dish of soy-glazed seabream fillet, with shitake mushroom, was next. We learnt that the white part of the pink pickled ginger stalk can be eaten. Any stingy pungency was removed by the pickling process. There was also a fried dish of tempura moriawase before this but I promptly gobbled it up so there was no picture!
The assorted Sushi was the last substantive course.Soft perfectly formed rectangular rice, a dollop of freshly grated wasabi and a sliver of incredibly fresh sashimi made for a recipe of wonderfully clean flavours.
The Clam Soup, despite its deceptively clear appearance, was amazingly rich in depth and unami flavour.
A slice of Japanese Mush Melon was served for Dessert. This was so sweet we all thought it was artificially sweetened. It's THAT amazingly sweet. This was a very nice way to finish off the wonderful meal. Great company. Great food. This really is the life, isn't it?
Shiraishi
7 Raffles Avenue
#03-01
Ritz Carlton Millenia
Tel: 6338 3788
Open daily from 12noon to 2pm for lunch and 6pm to 10pm for dinner
Website: www.shiraishi.sg
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