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| Inaniwa Udon @ Kiyoshi Japanese Restaurant |
Kiyoshi
means pure, clean and clean in Japanese. True to its name, Kiyoshi Japanese
Restaurant (‘Kiyoshi’) focus to provide light and wholesome meal for customers.
Kiyoshi pride itself on fresh ingredients prepared using an innovative,
contemporary approach.
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| Kiyoshi Japanese Restaurant |
Kiyoshi
specialised in Inaniwa udon, a type of udon made in the Inaniwa area of Inakawa
Machi, Akita prefecture. This cream colour udon is hand-stretched and is
slightly thinner than regular udon, yet thicker than sōmen, or hiyamugi
noodles. Other highlights of Kiyoshi include sashimi, donburi, ramen,
yakitori and affordably priced bento sets. Not forgetting, Kiyoshi is also
known as an Izakaya, a casual place for ‘after-work drinking’
After
trying their bento set from the delivery menu (review
is available here), we attended the Media Tasting for their Dine-In Menu.
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| Nice Tea Cup at Kiyoshi |
We
started with Tofu & Avocado Salada with Sesame Dressing ($11.80). There are
a lot of texture happening in this dish, from the leafy vegetables, crunchy
cucumber and capsicum, juicy cherry tomatoes, creamy avocado and silky tofu.
Bind all the ingredients together is the aromatic sesame dressing. A refreshing
start to the meal.
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| Tofu & Avocado Salada with Sesame Dressing |
Currently
this salad is complimentary
for diners who spend $10 and above.
Next up is the Temaki (hand-rolled sushi). We have Soft Shell Crab Temaki ($7.80), Unagi Temaki ($7.80),
Salmon Ikura Temaki ($9.80) and Tuna Mayo Ebiko Temaki ($4.80). There were four
of us, so each one chooses one type of temaki.
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| Temaki |
I went for the Unagi. This
luxurious hand roll is fillings include unagi (eel), cucumber, unagi sauce. The
fillings are very generous as I can taste the juicy unagi till the last bite of
the maki. LD tried salmon ikura as the salmon roe is just too attractive for
her, based on her description, every bite burst out the freshness of the roe
and salmon.
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| Unagi and Soft Shell Crab Temaki |
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| Tuna Mayo Ebiko Temaki & Salmon Ikura Temaki |
Following the temaki are
Nigiri Sushi consists of Salmon Sushi ($3.80 for 2 pcs), Kanpachi Sushi ($4.80
for 2 pcs) and Maguro Sushi ($6.80 for 2 pcs); and Salmon Mentai Roll ($12.80).
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| Salmon Sushi |
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| Maguro Sushi, Kanpachi Sushi & Salmon Sushi |
The sushi’s are fresh, well
made, however, it is not those that will give you the WOW sensation. Instead, it
was the special maki that made me go WOW. The prawns are firm and crunchy, rolled
with the right portion of rice and topped with super delicious aburi salmon and
homemade mentai sauce. I think if you order anything with mentai sauce here, it
won’t go wrong.
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| Salmon Mentai Roll |
For the Yakitori Range, we were served Chicken Yakitori ($2), Buta Bara ($2.50), Enoki Maki ($3), Gyu
Cheese Maki ($4.50), Cheese Maki (pork - $3.50) and Aspara Maki ($3). We had a
great impression from the beef yakitori for the delivery menu. This time
around, the Gyu Cheese Maki sure get out two thumbs up. It was succulent and
the cheese fillings just enhance the flavour of the beef.
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| Yakitori |
For the pork, the Aspara Maki
got our nod of approval, combing the fatty pork belly with crunchy asparagus.
We find the buta bara is a bit lean, we were hoping for pork belly to be
fattier. To spice up the yakitori, there are three dips served: yakitori sauce,
curry and ume (plum) salt.
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| [From Left to Right] Chicken Yakitori, Buta Bara, Enoki Maki, Gyu Cheese Maki, Cheese Maki (pork) and Aspara Maki. |
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| Aspara Maki |
We finally get to try Kiyoshi
speciality, Inaniwa Udon. We tried their cold udon, Tem Chirashi Udon ($16.80)
and Vegetarian Inaniwa Udon (Hot Soup, $14.80).
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| Tem Chirashi Udon |
The
Tem Chirashi Udon is cold Inaniwa udon with assorted tempura: scallop, cherry
tomato, mushroom, avocado and capsicum. The udon is lightly seasoned and in
each bite, you can taste smooth and bouncy udon. The crispy assorted tempura
compliments the udon perfectly.
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| Tem Chirashi Udon |
Meanwhile, the vegetarian
Inaniwa udon is a simple version of soup udon. The udon is softer, yet the vegetarian
broth is warm and comforting. The toppings include beancurd skin, fried
beancurd, seaweed, shiitake and shimeji mushrooms introduce contrasting flavour
and texture to the dish.
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| Vegetarian Inaniwa Udon |
Other main dishes that we tried
are Pork Katsu Curry Rice ($11.80) and Tempura with Cha Soba ($19.80). The
portion of the pork katsu curry is about medium in size. The pork katsu is on
the lean side, I think it can be better if the meat has more fats. However, the
curry sauce sure hits the spot.
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| Pork Katsu Curry RIce |
The green tea soba is
al-dente and comforting. The tempuras are well executed and the star of this
dish. The batter is light, crispy coating provided the perfect vessel for the
prawns and vegetables. Though the soba is good, I will probably order the tempura
with cold Inaniwa udon for that extra chewiness.
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| Tempura with Cha Soba |
Kiyoshi is designed and
decorated for family comfort in mind. The design is clean, with light walnut wood
colour elements. There are booth seating area, normal dining tables and of
course the coveted chef’s table, where you can see the chef at work. The
seating area is spacious and you won’t feel squeezy. As it is in Amoy street, you
can also have your lunch meeting or after-work gathering here.
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| Part of Dining Area |
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| Part of Dining Area |
Overall, it was a delightful
dining experience. The Inaniwa Udon dishes are a definite must-try here. The
sushi, yakitori, curry and soba are good as well. A wholesome Japanese family
restaurant. Kanpai!! Cheers!!
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| Chef's Table |
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| Cheers!! |
Thank
you very much Jennifer Yeo
Consultancy and Kiyoshi
Team for the delicious meal
Food & Drink: 7.5/10
Value: 7.75/10
Service: N/A (Media Drop)
Ambiance: N/A (Media Drop)
Budget per Person: $11 - $25
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