Kinsa Sushi – Good Japanese food in the Heartland [CLOSING Final Day 09 May 2015]

I heard about this place from a friend in F&B business telling us how good was his Omasake dining experience in a Japanese restaurant. When he told us, it was in Jubilee, Ang Mo Kio, it was to my disbelief. So when the opportunity arises, I decided to give this place a try.

Located on the 2^nd floor of Jubilee Square, we thought the place will be packed on a Friday night, to our surprise, it was the opposite. It seems the closure of the cinema on the upper floor, depleted the human traffic going to the building except to the Popular book store.

We arrived at the restaurant on time for our reservations and was seated immediately. This time around we (group of 4) decided to order from the menu instead of Omasake.

Appetizer of Grilled Stingray Fin ($8.8), Tatami Iwashi (Tatami Style Slices of White Bait) and Ika Mentaiko Ae (Squid with spicy cod roe – $4.80). The squid is fresh and combined nicely with the spicy cod roe. The white bait is crispy and appetizing, can be considered as white bait crackers. While the grill stingray fin has a slightly chewy texture which was nice to bite on but not fishy. Similar taste to dried sotong, but without the fishy smell. It is actually a good dish to have when you are drinking sake or beer.

Grilled Stingray Fin

Ika Mentaiko Ae (Squid with spicy cod roe) 

Tatami Iwashi (Tatami Style Slices of White Bait)

Our sashimi adventure begin with half of Aji (House mackerel), 3 kinds of sashimi (salmon, swordfish and sweet prawns – $15.80), and Sake to Shiromi no Karupatcho (Salmon and white Fish carpaccio – 13.80). This is our first experience with Aji. As it come from a smaller fish, the cuts are smaller and it has a clean, firm and resilient texture. Unlike swordfish, where it is more firm and taste buttery. The salmon sashimi and swordfish cuts are thick and generous. The carpaccio combines the soft texture of the sashimi, with the crispiness of the vegetables and well balance sauce. Yummy.

Aji (House mackerel)

3 kinds of sashimi (salmon, swordfish and sweet prawns 

Sake to Shiromi no Karupatcho
(Salmon and white Fish carpaccio) 

Moving to the maki, we had Sanshoku Dragon Roll (Fried King Prawn Rolled topped with Avocado, Mango and flying fish roe - $12.80) and Soft Shell Crab Roll (fried soft shell crab roll topped with flying fish roe – $7.80). The prawns and soft shell crab are well fried. However it was let down with the sushi rice which was slightly loose, a little under cooked and not well season with the rice vinegar.

Sanshoku Dragon Roll

Soft Shell Crab Roll

From the debacle of the maki, we proceed to the perfectly executed tepanyaki dishes. Kinoko Sarada (Assorted Mushroom salad – $5.80), Wakadori Teriyaki (Grilled chicken with teriyaki sauce), Gyu Tataki (Thinly sliced surfaced grilled beef – $12.80), Saba Shio Yaki (Grilled mackerel with salt) and Ebi Mentai Mayo Yaki (Grilled Prawn with cod roe mayonnaise). The mushroom salad are crunchy and refreshing. The chicken teriyaki has a slight crispiness texture on the outside, with well marinated, juicy, tender and succulent.

Kinoko Sarada (Assorted Mushroom salad)

Wakadori Teriyaki (Grilled chicken with teriyaki sauce)

The beef tataki is done medium rare, where you can see the pinkish side of the beef in the centre. Combine well with the tangy dipping sauce. The saba fish has firm but juicy meat on it. While the grilled prawn is immaculate with a well balance cod roe mayonnaise. It was flawless.

Gyu Tataki (Thinly sliced surfaced grilled beef )

Saba Shio Yaki (Grilled mackerel with salt)

Ebi Mentai Mayo Yaki (Grilled Prawn with cod roe mayonnaise)

To end the meal we had zaru soba and su udon (plain udon). The texture of both are al dente.

Zaru Soba

Su Udon (Plain Udon)

The service here is very attentive and caring. However, the food come out from the kitchen is in an irregular order. Such as maki – grill – sashimi – appetizer – grill, so it kind of become slightly confusing for the palate. For the décor, it is very Zen like, but more towards modern Japanese restaurant. Can't really comment much on the inside, as we are seated on the facing the escalator and can't see the activity in the sushi counter.

Overall, it is not very common you can find a good quality Japanese food in the heartland other than the bigger Japanese Restaurant operator. The best part of the restaurant is that they have different range of pricing in their menu to accommodate different range of customers. We hope they continue to thrive and we should be back for more. Cheers!!

Food & Drink: 7.5/10

Value: 7.5/10

Service: 7.5/10

Ambiance: 7.5/10.

Kinsa Sushi

61 Ang Mo Kio Ave 8
#02-03/3A Jubilee Square
Singapore 569814


Tel: 6452 1798
Website: http://www.kinsasushi.com/
Op Hours: Daily 11.30 – 22.00
For Menu, click here: http://bit.ly/13K0I2l


Note: Apologies for some missing price, as we lost the actual bill and we can only rely on our photos.