Kaunta
C'était la journée la plus extraordinaire: je suis allé faire du jogging pour la première fois depuis longtemps et au premier passage piéton, j'ai rencontré un chien le plus beau et le plus doux, un husky gris aux yeux les plus bleus, s'appelle Wasabi. Cette rencontre seule a rendu ma journée parfaite, mais plus tard le même jour, j'ai rencontré encore un autre husky gris, mais aux yeux marrons, en allant au supermarché.
Devinez comment s'appelle ce husky? Il s'appelle aussi Wasabi! Quelles étaient les chances! Si j'étais du genre à jouer, j'aurais acheté 4D mdrrr
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It's been aeons since we last had Japanese omakase. As restaurant capacities have been curtailed due to the implementation of social distancing measures, dinner reservations have been hard to come by (some restaurants are purportedly booked out till March 2021 yowza). And for last-minute folks like us who habitually decide upon our dinner plans only when we're in the car and on the way to the restaurant itself, it's been impossible to dine at many of our favourite restaurants where the fancy takes.
Hence, we rely upon hyper-organized Type-A girlfriends like Sly, who makes reservations months in advance, and then avails these dates to us Type-Z(zz) folks to latch on.
Kaunta is a somewhat new-ish Japanese restaurant in a somewhat obscure locale. Tucked away in a hidden corner on the ground floor of a mixed-use development behind the Tanjong Pagar Hawker Centre, the warm intimate restaurant is a stark contrast to the cold slate concrete of the almost-empty ghost town of what was likely meant to be a bustling commercial space.
I was apprehensive, seeing as the restaurant hadn't passed its first birthday (which I generally use as litmus to gauge the quality of a restaurant). But beggars (without reservations anywhere) can't be choosers, so we took the opportunity to live out our baller aspirations: splurge whatever money we'd saved from not traveling and order the Omakase Miyabi ($260). #trialsandtribulationsofthelowSES
Kaunta's specialty is in aged fish, so I was initially tentative. I mean, I've only ever had aged beef...heck, I don't even like old lamb (i.e. mutton).
Turned out my skepticism was unfounded, (and notwithstanding that this glowing review may be the product of copious bottles of sake imbibed 😅...which also explains how my drunken self completely missed snapping photos of a good number of sushi during dinner 😵) because I found dinner exceptional. The chef's mastery was evident in every exquisite course: the fish were aged perfectly and every morsel was a delight. As The Husband later pointed out, "no need to apologise to no turbot here". #ifyouknowyouknow
Service was outstanding too, our servers were attentive so our sake/water glasses remained brimming all night long, and accommodating to the extent that our waiter very diligently made the effort to write down, in detail, the entirety of our dinner courses.
Dinner kicked off with a fat Hokkaido Oyster, given a lift with piquant ponzu jelly and umibudo sea grapes.
I tend to stay away from horse mackerel, finding it a little too...forward for my taste, but the aging of the Aji Maki (Horse Mackerel), and the generous pairing with spring onions and chives had softened its edges and made this incredibly easy on the palate.
Next up was a beautifully gilded dish of sweet Shiro Ebi (tiny shrimp) crowned with uni, caviar, katsuo dashi jelly and nama yuba.
The first of a whopping 10 nigiri: the Shima Aji (striped jack) which had been aged for 7 days.
The Sawara Sushi (Spanish Mackerel), aged for 9 days, was smoked and then topped with peppery basil.
The sushi courses were punctuated by a couple of hot dishes, like this Tempura of Uni Nori & Japanese Snow Crab.
The Smoked Salmon Sushi (done in-house) followed a Hokkaido Scallop Sushi which had been soaked in sake for 15 minutes (alas no photo of the latter because I'd quaffed a bottle of sake entirely on my own at this point).
The Mikan Tai (Orange Sea Bream), aged for 10 days, preceded a Chutoro Sushi that had been aged 10 days and a Kintoki Dai (big eyed red snapper) Sushi that was aged 12 days (both were also wolfed down before I remembered that I'd forgotten to snap photos thereof).
The Summi Ika Sushi (spineless squid) dotted with nori miso was next.
Wonderfully melt-in-your-mouth, I could have had another 20 of these babies, Foie Gras & Scallop with shaved Autumn black truffles.
The penultimate of the sushi courses: Akami Sushi (lean tuna belly), that'd been aged for 10 days, and finished with yuzu zest.
The A5 Miyazaki Wagyu, grilled over binchotan, was sided by a cherry tomato and pickles, and a drizzle of miso sauce.
Kaunta saved the most decadent for the last with respect to its sushi offerings: (and I thank the chef and Spells for being the most obliging hand models here) a loose Handroll of Aburi Otoro, Botan Ebi, & Bafun Uni topped with caviar.
The Tamago cube, kitschily hot-stamped with Kaunta's insignia, was fragrant with the essence of white truffle.
I liked the balance between the juicy Asari Clams, the umami Miso and the clean crunch of the kelp.
Dessert was a refreshing duo of fruits: an intensely sweet Japanese Musk Melon and juicy Kyoho grape.
Kaunta
11 Kee Seng Street
#01-12 Onze @ Tanjong Pagar
Tel: 8788 3535
Open for lunch Tuesday to Saturday from 11.45am to 3pm;
dinners Monday to Saturday from 5.30pm to 10pm;
Closed on Sundays
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