This restaurant itself was dimly but nicely lit. As expected, there was a beautifully lighted sushi bar 'L' shaped in the restaurant. As I said earlier, this Japanese restaurant was serving traditional Japanese food but with a modern twist, and I was excited to try out their food.
Shirley Temple
The Shirley Temple ($10) is a mocktail I always enjoy, and if given the choice I would take it over the rest. A Shirley Temple consists of sprite, lime/lemon juice and grenadine syrup. I absolutely enjoyed this drink as I thought that the proportion of the ingredients in the drink was absolutely spot on. The grenadine syrup gave it the wonderful sweetness and the lime juice gave it a citrus kick. It all blended perfectly in my opinion.
Rating- 4.8/5
Tai Carpaccio
The Tai Carpaccio ($32) is another mix and match of a traditional Japanese dish with a modern twist on it. This Tai Carpaccio is finely sliced fish known as a seabream, a well known Japanese fish used in sashimis and sushis. The modern twist was the way they served it like an Italian carpaccio and not as a sashimi. Carpaccio uses more western flavours compared to a sashimi, which combines Asian flavours, although both include a selection of raw meats/fish. The carpaccio was drizzled with truffle oil, which really elevated the dish, and also chives blended together. But what sealed the deal for me was the inclusion of the soy sauce, which gave it the wonderful saltiness which was much needed in the dish. This dish was fabulous, as it included the mix of modern and traditional, by combining a Japanese fish prepared like a carpaccio, and the blend of Asian and Western flavours with the truffle oil and soy sauce. Overall, a fantastic, light, refreshing appetizer.
Rating- 4.5/5
Spiced Miso Edemame
When I go to a Japanese restaurant, it is customary that I try edamame. The Spiced Miso Edemame ($8) is edemame taken to a whole new level; apart from the plain edemame. Edemame is traditional steamed Japanese soy beans, normally served as an appetizer. This edemame tasted delicious, as the spiced miso and garlic just elevated the dish from a boring edemame, and the spiced part of the dish gave a nice contrast to our previous cold appetizer. However, I felt it lacked some basic seasoning such as salt and pepper, but overall a decent dish.
Rating- 3.8/5
The Hot Dynamite Maki ($20) was a spiced up kick to a traditional Japanese Maki. This maki contained pan-seared salmon (something cooked!), yellowtail roll, scallions and cayenne pepper to give it the heat. This modern maki was delicious in my opinion, as the drizzled sauce, which was some sort of hot sauce, gave the dish the perfect amount of heat. It wasn't too overwhelming, but neither too bland. The scallions in the maki gave the dish a crunchy and crispy element, balanced well with the softness of the salmon. A wonderful blend of textures and flavours made this dish a one I would come back for.
Rating- 4.5/5
Hot Dynamite Maki
Rating- 4.5/5
Pork Belly with Spicy Goma Sauce
This dish was our first entrée in this urbanised Japanese place. The Pork Belly with Spicy Goma Sauce ($38) was another dish I was eager to try. This dish involved a Pan-Seared Kurobuta Pork Belly served with a spicy sesame (goma) sauce. I found the sauce in this dish rather bland, as I found no heat whatsoever in the dish. The pork itself was cooked perfectly, as it was soft and tender, but due to the sauce the whole dish seemed to lack in flavour and spice. The bed of veggies under the belly was wonderfully crispy and had a good texture to it. This dish in my opinion, could be improved on.
Rating- 3.8/5
Crusted Spicy Salmon
The Crusted Spicy Salmon ($28) was the second of our entrées, and this time, a fish dish. Salmon is undoubtedly my favourite fish, and extremely healthy too! (Well, even if it wasn't, it would still be my favourite). This salmon was seaweed crusted and consisted of some roasted asparagus and crispy veggies. The salmon was wonderfully tender, and the seaweed crust gave it the crispy and breaded exterior, matching up with the soft, tender salmon flavours within the fish. The asparagus could have been cooked more, because as you can see in the picture it looks quite bland and boring. Overall, an appetizing dish.
Rating- 4/5
Yuzu Sorbet topped with Toasted Soy Crumbs
Yes, yet another sorbet! The Yuzu Sorbet with Toasted Soy Crumbs ($8) was our first of our two desserts. The toppings of this sorbet can be chosen between toasted soy crumbs and candied red beans. Yuzu is another citrus fruit that was nicely implemented in this sorbet. This citrus flavour was wonderfully dominant in this dish and it gave a nice acidic, light and refreshing taste. However, I felt that the toppings of toasted soy crumbs didn't go well at all with the sorbet. As you ate the soy crumbs, it sticks to the roof of your mouth which was very unpleasant to taste, and I felt it spoiled the wonderful taste of the sorbet itself.
Rating- 3.8/5
Oreo Sesame Ice-Cream
The Oreo Sesame Ice-Cream ($12) was our final dessert, which again, combines the famous Oreo Cookies with a Black Sesame Ice-Cream giving it the Japanese twist. I found the black sesame Ice-Cream delicious, as I was expecting this really strange taste that wouldn't go as an Ice-Cream, but I found it quite wonderful in fact. The Oreo Cookies were evenly blended in with the cookies, and therefore, every mouthful you take, you get this nice, even proportion of Oreo Cookies to the Ice-Cream. The waffles added a crunchy kick to the dish, and therefore this dessert showcased a variety of textures tingling in your mouth. On another note, I found the dessert too heavy, and if you asked me, I would prefer a sorbet, as its lighter yet tasty compared to an Ice-Cream. On behalf of its taste, it was delicious.
Rating- 4/5
Kinki's service in my opinion, was not up to the mark of a fine dining restaurant. I felt that our servers didn't really understand what we were saying, and as a result some wrong dishes were served to us. Apart from that, there were no major problems at Kinki. Overall, I find this Japanese-Western restaurant wonderful, but more work on the execution of some of their dishes would make this restaurant better than ever!
Service- 3.8/5
Fun Fact: While everyone might mix up wasabi with soy sauce, doing so is incorrect according to the Japanese. The wasabi is used to season the sushi/sashimi to taste and the soy sauce is meant to be dipped with only the fish part of the sushi.
Overall Rating- 8/10
Kinki
70 Collyer Quay,
#02-02 Customs House,
Singapore- 049323
Opening Hours
Mondays-Friday: 12-2:30 pm (Lunch) & 6-10:30 pm (Dinner)
Saturday & PHs: 6-10:30 pm (Dinner only!)
Closed on Sundays
T: 6533 3471
F: 6533 3473
Web: www.kinki.com.sg
Nearest MRT- Raffles Place (EW14, NS26)- 500m
