Sushi satisfaction at Keijo
SUSHI restaurants are like cockroaches – you can kill them, but another one will spring up to take its place. For the past couple of years, we've been predicting the demise of Japanese restaurants in Singapore, as local diners follow their yen to the motherland of raw fish and rice.
They may be down, but they're certainly not out. Good ones still trundle along, even if they don't have waitlists to show off anymore. They are banking on reputation and regulars who still need their sushi fix when they're not queuing at Haneda immigration, so it looks like reports of their death have been grossly exaggerated.
One thing we do see is that prices have moderated to somewhat saner levels, with more options under S$200, and in some cases, even below S$100. That Keijo manages to limbo itself just under that three-digit threshold is one way that the new sushi-ya hopes to endear itself to customers.
The Carlton Hotel eatery has big shoes to fill. It used to be the one-Michelin-starred Shinji by Kanesaka, which has now consolidated its operations in its remaining outlet at St Regis. Former head chef Ishizawa now goes by his own name at Raffles Hotel. Helming Keijo is a new face, Naoya Nakamura, and a familiar one, Andrew Lim – the latter helming one corner of the long sushi corner, entertaining a coterie of regulars.
You might remember Nakamura from Aoki – a quiet presence at the sushi counter in both the old and new Millenia Walk location for some eight years. Now he's front and centre at Keijo, and from the looks of it, well deserving of his own spotlight.
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We can't help thinking that the cheapest lunch set, at S$98, is really a ploy to tempt you to upsize to the next level menu at S$168. It's quite a big jump, but the server plays on your greed by saying 'you don't get uni' with the cheaper set – comprising one starter and nine pieces of sushi. The S$168 menu gets you two starters and 12 pieces of sushi. Both have maki and dessert included.
Fresh bamboo and kinome paste; tuna in tofu sauce. PHOTO: JAIME EE, BT
We confess we took the bait and went with the pricier option. The two otsumami seem skimpy, though: a little dish of fresh bamboo topped with a perky paste of kinome leaves; and an equally small dish of mountain vegetables and tuna cubes in a tofu sauce.
Aji, or horse mackerel sushi. PHOTO: JAIME EE, BT
The sushi starts immediately, and the first thing we notice is the shari (rice). Warm, with a good chew from the individual grains which are not sticky or soft, and just enough seasoning. The second is how there's a bit more rice in relation to the fish, almost dominating it. But we enjoy the rice enough not to quibble, especially when it distracts from occasionally not-stellar seafood.
In fact, we like it enough that we do the unthinkable – upset a Japanese chef's carefully organised work flow by asking to upgrade to the S$268 menu after four pieces of sushi. Seeing the chef's obliging facade while his eyes betray the cartwheels his brain is performing makes us feel bad, but we want to see how high the quality can go.
Starter of botan ebi, bafun uni and ikura. PHOTO: JAIME EE, BT
It may not be a good idea if you're sushi-focused, because this set gives you only seven pieces of nigiri, but six otsumami. But we're rewarded with a very good combination of botan ebi, bafun uni and ikura daintily piled onto a lacquer dish. It's followed by passable bonito in a sharp onion sauce, and a grilled slab of tilefish. The winning dish is vegetarian – melting-soft grilled eggplant smeared with sweet, dark miso and topped with a crispy burdock chip.
Bonito in onion sauce. PHOTO: JAIME EE, BT
Overall, it's the sushi that makes the bigger impression, with more-than-acceptable quality tai, kinmedai, shima aji, chutoro and uni, done gunkan style, albeit with more rice than necessary. In fact, the best mouthful is when he gives you a piece of sushi with less rice because he's run out of it and needs to fetch a new batch.
Chutoro or tuna belly sushi. PHOTO: JAIME EE, BT
While the ratio of fish and rice could be improved, it's not that big an issue because of the strong harmony between the two. Nakamura is even-handed with the vinegar, knowing when to keep things subtle, and when to ramp it up a bit. Your best bet is to go with sushi all the way, and pay according to your appetite.
Dessert-wise, there's ice cream with rice puffs, and a monaka wafer stuffed with mochi and red beans. The pricey menu includes a wedge of musk melon.
Keijo may be starting from scratch, but with good sushi, cosy surroundings and a friendly vibe, everything's in place for it to be a new, reliable standby.
Rating: 7
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