If luxury eats are anything to go by, Sushi Kuu would easily be amongst the top few; its prices titillating towards the high end of the spectrum. Don’t get us wrong, that doesn’t mean its prices aren’t value-for-money—they are. Aptly named Sushi Kuu—which means “sushi to eat” in Japanese, the casual chic 70-seater restaurant is furnished in simple, yet elegant hues of black, grey and dark wood that exude class and timelessness.
The menu is kept simple; most items a variation of the primary. A signature of the restaurant, the Japanese black pork shabu-shabu salad ($25) brought us off to a good start: dressed in sunflower seeds, pine nuts and crunchy deep fried slices of garlic, perfectly tossed in sesame dressing and honey mustard for a good balance of sweet and savory; a slight tinge of bitterness adding a new dimension to the appetizer. Our only gripe is that the pork was a tad dry—a fattier version would’ve given it the unctuous boost it needed.
No holds are barred with our next order; assorted sashimi on sushi rice ($65). Generously thick slices of premium sashimi (botan ebi, hamachi, maguro, ototo, salmon, tai, tamago, tobiko) donned the sticky grains of sushi rice from the Niigata prefecture, with a sashimi-to-rice ratio of 3:2 that yielded greatly to our favor. There was nothing in that bowl that we didn’t immediately want to polish off, but we really appreciated how ingratiatingly fatty and oily the otoro (lower tuna belly) is, as well as the sweet creaminess of the uni and delicate plump textures of the botan ebi.
Going on to impress us was the chawanmushi ($25) that’s freshly made to order. 25 bucks may seem a high price to pay for steamed egg custard, but we assure you, it’s worth very penny. Each spoonful of velvety smooth egg custard is laced with an earthy fragrance of black truffle and evident umami flavors of dashi—used in place of the usual chicken stock to steam chawanmushi. Three thick and creamy slices of uni gently grace the top of the custard, its luxurious textures setting off fireworks in our tastebuds—opulence at its peak.
Read the full review on Gourmet Adventures.
DETAILS:
Sushi Kuu, #01-07 Palais Renaissance, 390 Orchard Rd. TEL: 6726-0100 For more information, please visit www.sushikuu.sg. Open Mon-Sun noon-3pm, 6pm-10:30pm.
