The Travel Bug & Food Bytes: One Time Only. Sadly... (Sushi Kyubei, Shinjuku)

I've put off blogging about this place for a while now, because I couldn't really decide what to say about it. The sushi and sashimi here are fantastic. Truly truly good. Perhaps the best I have ever tasted? I probably won't have to describe the food much, because the pictures below will speak a million words about how good it is. At the same time however, its not a place I would a) recommend or b) bring someone to, unless they had a bottomless expense account to charge it to. This makes blogging about it very difficult because thinking about how good it was but not being able to go back to it again is very very sad.

By way of introduction, Sushi Kyubei is part of a chain, the main branch being the very very famous Ginza one. As we were staying across town at Shinjuku however, we decided to try out their new branch there at the Keio Plaza Hotel.

We tried going there for lunch thinking that the basic sushi set would be affordable. However when we sat down, we couldn't help but succumb and ordered the sashimi set instead. The restaurant is divided into parts, the small enclosed area we sat at, comprised entirely of the counter.

See that black ledge there? I had almost placed my camera there to take photos, and very very luckily I didn't, because that's where they serve the sashimi directly!

First up was the starters, little bowls of Ikura (salmon roe) and Ika. I love savouring the little balls of Ikura which burst with an explosion of flavour when pressed down slightly with your tongue. If I have the time, usually I like to eat them one by one, and roll it around a little in my mouth before bursting them.

Next came a series of 4 other sashimi. First was the lightly poached Buri (Yellowtwail) which was in season. Don't think we get it done this way often in Singapore, and I quite enjoyed trying it.

No prizes for guessing what the next one is. The photograph unfortunately doesn't do justice to the swirly layers of fat which melt in your mouth. I tried saving the Toro for last, but couldn't resist it in the end.

This was some kind of clam ark shell. We dipped it lightly in the salt to enhance the flavour. It's slightly chewy, but not too bad.

The last one below, was something so complicated that I've forgotten what it is already. The chef sliced the thick piece of raw Buri halfway through so that it formed a kind of pouch. He then stuffed it with chopped spring onions and ginger and seasoned with ponzu sauce. It was really yummy!

Next on the menu was 7 types of nigiri sushi. We started with fresh Ika (squid) which was very nice and fresh, slightly firm and not too fishy/sticky/chewy.

Then came the sweet Ebi (prawn). Luckily ours didn't come with the raw prawns unlike some other customers. For theirs, the poor beheaded prawn was still twitching away even as the chef placed it on the small wad of rice.

More yummy Ikura with fresh crispy seaweed. The chef grated some orange peel and dusted it lightly over the Ikura before serving it to us.

Next was Hirame (fluke) glazed with sauce.

The Aji (mackerel) came with a bit of grated ginger, which I was thought was unnecessary.

More Toro!!!!!!

Eel was done in 2 ways, one with the usual sauce and the other lightly dusted with orange peel and sea salt. Very very soft and melt-in-your-mouth.

In between the sashimi and sushi, they had also served us with Chawanmushi (steamed egg) and Clam Miso soup.


I didn't really understand why they felt the need to serve us cooked salmon, but since it was good, we didn't really bother to complain.

Just when we thought we were done, they presented 8 little pieces of Maki sushi with us, filled with a mix of types of fillings including fish and pickles.

The pickled radish was really really good! Totally unlike the supermarket preserved types, this was crunchy, juicy, and thankfully not coloured artificially with the bright yellow food dye.

They also made this little "sandwich" which although pretty, was unfortunately not to my taste because of the Shiso leaf inside. I know its supposed to be very costly and delicious, but for some reason I'm just not a fan of it.

To end off the meal, homemade coffee ice-cream!

The interesting thing about eating sashimi/sushi in Japan, is that you're not really supposed to mix/dissolve the wasabi in the shoyu, which is how Singaporeans usually do it. Instead for sashimi, you place some wasabi on the fish directly, and dip it in the sauce if and only if necessary. For sushi, most of the time the chef will directly glaze it with some sauce or shoyu.

We left the place feeling totally stuffed, and spent the next few hours both reminiscing about the wonderful meal, but at the back of our minds, worrying about how much damage had been done to our credit cards.