Aoki Restaurant

Pictures/Full Review

A subsidiary of the Les Amis Group, along with Torisho Taka & Shabu Shabu Gen, Aoki can be considered one of Singapore's Finest Japanese restaurants, offering the ultimate fine dining experience, while specializing in Japanese Haute Cuisine. Ingredients used in the restaurant are mostly flown in from Japan on a daily basis, which showcases the freshest of produce and natural flavors. A meal at Aoki certainly doesnt come cheap, thus for budget conscious non-working adults like me, lunch at Aoki would be a much better option, as prices are rather reasonable with lunch sets starting from ($30++)

Lunchtime at Aoki has been divided into two seatings, primarily from 1200 to 1320 and 1330 to 1445, and most certainly do make reservations if you want counter seats as there aren't exactly many of them, which N and I opted for. Sitting at the sushi bar/counter left both of us rather in awe as we witnessed various chefs preparing the many courses of the lunch Omakase ($100++) and blow-torching premium sushi's like Otoro and Kagoshima Wagyu. 

In all honestly, i do love Japanese food, especially how healthy, fresh the ingredients used are and how meticulously they are prepared, but I was still with the belief than Japanese Food isn't exactly worth pay that much for, which prompted N and I to order the Nigri Sushi Jyo-Sen ($30++) which basically was seven types of sushi with a sushi roll.

A ($3++) cover charge is imposed for each dinner, which probably covers the free flow of Green Tea, Amuse Bouche and the warm towels served at the end of each course. The pickled vegetables which tasted similar to Chinese cabbage garnished with deep fried spring onions were rather tasty in fact. A bowl of Wafu Salad was then served, which totally blew me away. Wafu dressing is essentially a mixture of Japanese soy sauce, rice vinegar and vegetable oil, resulting in the salad being rather refreshing and zingy from the vinegar while possessing a tinge of sweetness at the same time, probably also from the cherry tomatoes which were insanely fresh. Pretty amazing stuff how a simple salad can taste so good.

Nigri Sushi Jyo-Sen ($30++) Comprising of seven types of sushi: Otoro ( Tuna Belly), Maguro ( Tuna), Hamachi (Yellowtail), Ikura ( Salmon Roe ), Cuttlefish, Ebi and Tamago and a sushi roll, all the nine varieties of sushi were extremely delightful, particularly when the sushi would still be intact after taking the first bite. I usually avoid wasabi, which often tends to overpower the overall taste, but the freshly grated wasabi in this case was rather gobsmacking as it enhanced the natural flavors of the sushi to a whole new level. Even the Tamago sushi was surprisingly delicious, while the Ebi sushi came across as the biggest disappointment. No doubt it was fresh, but the quality of it was probably equivalent to the ones found in mainstay Japanese Restaurants. 

Trio of desserts

Warm towels and some cleansing tea ( i cant quite remember what tea is was ) was served before dessert was. The dessert of the day came in three varieties namely the Japanese Mochi, Soy Custard and Osmanthus Jelly. My favorite of the lot had to be to Japanese Mochi which had an extremely smooth consistency and texture with a distinct cherry blossom flavor that was infused in it. The Soy Custard had a delicate melt in your mouth texture, while the flavor of the soy was significantly stronger than the normal soy bean-curd we usually eat, while the Osmanthus Jelly had an extremely fragant scent and taste. 

Verdict: 8.0/10. Service was efficient and non pretentious while the food was exceedingly ambrosial, dining at Aoki has certainly embedded a belief in me that quality Japanese Food is paying for. Many proclaim Aoki is one of, if not the best Japanese Restaurants locally, while I wouldn't bet against it, a trip to Tatsuya would  definitely be next on the cards to see how these two Japanese Supremacy's square off against each other.  

Please drop by my foodblog Twiceasdelicious http://wp.me/p1GkyL-oL for full details and photos.

P & I went back to Aoki for a chirashi fix separately after our pleasant first experience (http://wp.me/p1GkyL-8l)

I won’t review the Mazechirashi lunch set again as the quality and experience were very consistent with the first visit.  However, i got a different dessert trio set this time that is worth mentioning. 

DESSERTS TRIO (From left, clockwise – Mochi, Cherry blossom ice cream & Umeshu jelly) – The Cherry blossom ice cream was an interesting dessert. Besides looking pretty in light pink, it had a unique flowery taste. LOVE IT.

Overall, Aoki is worth a  MANY revisits. We will be back.

I ordered the Nigiri Sushi Tokusen - $50.00++.

it consisted of salad, chawamushi, 9 types of nigiri sushi and one sushi roll, miso soup roasted green tea, and a trio of desserts.

i enjoyed everything in my set and it was the best japanese meal i've tried!

for the detailed review: http://hungryinsingapore.wordpress.com/2011/08/06/aoki-lunch/

A small sign and a door entrance takes you into this cosy place. It's split into two levels and one can't help look down to main sushi bar when entering. It does give a rather spectacular feel to it.

My Japanese girl friend loves this place and says it's one of the best in town for sashimi and sushi. We sat at the counter and the Japanese chef was very courteous. We ordered two sets of sashimi rice bowl and it tasted wonderfully sweet and fresh. The lunch sets offered are not as extensive as that of Tetsuya in Goodwood Park but I do think that the food tasted better and fresher even though it is marginally more expensive. Will definitely return....

Aoki means “Blue Tree” in Japanese. From Aoki’s layout and ambience, you would hardly guess that this is a fine dining establishment. The entrance to the restaurant is inconspicuous and unassuming, If you make reservations which you should (my last attempt as a walk-in customer failed), opt for counter seats. You will get to see the master chefs at work, dexterously and adroitly moulding sushi and cutting sashimi. Once in a while, you even get to see some pyrotechnics! Ok, pyrotechnics is just a euphemism for searing but the use of a blow torch still fascinates most nonetheless.but don’t be fooled. Gastronomic pleasures lie within.

There’s a $3++ charge for Otoshi. Typically, it’s a starter that is served alongside when one orders an alcoholic beverage. For Aoki, this is instilled as a cover charge, probably for the tea and oshibori(hot towels) that are provided before and after the meal, in addition to the dish of Cold Spinach.

For lunch, do order the sets instead of ala-carte because it is definitely of more value. I ordered the Mazechirashi($35++) which also comes with Salad, Miso Soup, Pickles and a trio of Desserts.

The Chirashi served here is really orgasmic. A variety of Sashimi, ranging from Tuna (Maguro), Tuna Belly (Chutoro rather than Ootoro though), Uni (Sea Urchin), Hotate (Scallop), Ikura (Salmon Roe), Ika (Squid), Ebi (Shrimp), Tamago (Sweet Egg), and I think there might have been Aji (Skip Jack) and Tai (Sea Bream) as well. 

The Trio of Desserts comprised of a slab of White Wine Jelly, a Scoop of Milk Ice Cream and a Cup of Custard with Mango Sauce. It’s really hard for me to choose a favourite dessert because they are all just soooooo good. I’m really impressed.

For the Shokado($38++), you get Sashimi, Nimono(Steamed Vegetables), Tempura, Miso Soup, Rice and the same trio of Desserts as in the Mazechirashi.

One special feature about Aoki is that they provide hon-Wasabi, meaning Wasabi that is freshly grated compared to most eateries that provide Wasabi sold in commercial tubes or made from Wasabi powder.

Truly a memorable lunch for me.

Bon Appetit!

For the full review/pics, do visit http://yumyumformytumtum.wordpress.com/2010/11/28/aoki-mazechirashi-heaven/

Date of Dinner: 16th September '10

This would be our second visit to Aoki for dinner! Although there were two menus (One being the seasonal menu), we ordered based on the staff's recommendations. And we had:-

1) Fish Liver - Nice! I liked the texture of the liver. Pretty smooth.

2) White Prawn with Sea Urchin - A must try. I thought the combination of the slightly minced prawn with urchin was a perfect combination.

3) Sliced White Fish with Truffle - My favourite dish since I first had it on my first visit. Another must try! I enjoyed wrapping each slice of the fish with a slice of truffle, dipping it into the sauce before putting everything into my mouth. Absolutely yummy! And there was enough truffle to go with every piece of the white fish!

4) Abalone with Truffle Sauce - Abalone was served cut in smaller pieces. This dish din exactly stand out in taste. Could be that truffle dont go well with abalone...

5) Grilled Kinki Fish - Nice and fresh. But we were a little puzzled as to why our grilled fish was a little damp. Steamed kind of damp.

6) Assorted Sashimi - Fresh.

7) Fruits comprising of Melon, Grapes, Peach and Pear - Yummy as how true Japanese fruits should be.

And for those who might be interested to know what we had on our first visit to Aoki way back in February '10, we also had:-

1) Baby Sea Eel with Vinegar Sauce - This was something new to me. And well... There was no taste to this dish, except for the baby sea eels being very chewy. Haha.

2) Flower Tempura - An interesting dish! And I could be slightly bias with anything that has melted cheese for the flower.. Ah! It was stuffed with melted cheese. A must try!

3) Bamboo Shoot - Normal. Almost tasteless.

My friend and I took the cubicle seat which could be a little tricky to get the attention of the staff since we're blocked by a sliding screen door which was also what provided us the privacy. But thankfully, there's a button located under the table. Overall, I will recommend Aoki for its fresh food, but then again... There're also other slightly cheaper alternatives to getting fresh food.

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Take a look at the menu, and one will find that it is unlike your typical menu seen in most local Japanese restaurants.  It does not have the usually seen Tori Karage, Potato or even Salmon!  Quite a number of the stuff inside consist of set meals (seasonal items are on another menu) without much details, like sushi set meals of different grades, chirashi set meals of different grades and sashimi meals fo different grades.  Sounds kind of omakase????? Meaning that one will not have much choice on what to order when it comes to the raw seafood, the chef decides for you.

It defiitely hurts the wallet to dine here, and for that price, one will get fresh raw seafood, serene ambience due to the minimalist, yet authentic Japanese decor and good service here (the service is not exactly that great since it is a bit cold, but it is still a lot better than the ones at numerous Japanese restaurants out there).  In addition, this place serves a kind of sushi in which the raw seafood had been marinated in special sauce, which is delicious, and not regularly seen in other restaurants.  The best part of the set meals is that the desserts served are not the typical slice of watermelon, but plum jelly, custard and peach blosson ice cream which give a sweet ending to the meal!

A great place for a not-so-typical local Japanese dining experience (and provided one has a fat wallet) and IF there is no craving for salmon!

After putting this restaurant on my "to try" list for a long time, I finally decided to take action and paid the place a visit during lunch.

A fine dining setting, the restaurant can be quite packed during lunch so do make your reservations ahead of time if you would like a booth seat.

I decided to go with the Nigiri Sushi Tokusen set ($50), which starts out with a relatively large bowl  fresh salad. It took me awhile to make this decision as there was a  5 piece sushi set for $30 and a 7 piece option for $50. The answers all became clearer when  I saw two fatty pieces of tuna in my plate. I also had yellow tail, squid, salmon roe sushi and three pieces of a tuna roll and three pieces of a shellfish roll. The fish were fresh, and they sprayed some liquid on it to remove the fish smell and create a lavender after-taste. I liked the fact that they used fresh wasabi which blended well with the sushi.

Dessert was a brown tea with some jelly and a sweet egg white custard. Despite the fact that the meal was not that heavy, I left feeling really full.

Today was my 1st visit to Aoki @ shaw with my gf, and it was a little amusing at first as tis place was pretty exclusive and "camoflaged". It's located along the perimeter of the Shaw Center building and yes, at cluny road. Well, we were lucky as we didn't make any reservation beforehand and we were given a pte room! cool! the room is like the size of a regular hdb bathroom, totally separated from the noise n  buzz of the busy street. The waitresses were nice and service was good. We didn't order much as the food were quite pricey. Thus, i settled for a 7 types of sushi with handroll n miso soup $50, ebi tempura $35, whereas my gf ordered cod fish with teriyaki $25, rice $3 and chawanmushi $10. We top it off with 3 little scoops of ice cream (black sesame, sakura, tofu) $6. I can say the sushi was really fresh, i normally don't like tuna, but hey tis one's different! it's the best i've tasted apart from those I had tried in jpn. Ebi tempura is also crispy n freshness from the succulent prawns in every bite. The cod fish was somehow a little bland but it's fresh and not too oily, i like! though my gf thinks it's too pricey for it's simplicity. And for the chawanmushi... it's e most expensive one we've ever tried. TOo expensive for that standard as compared to elsewhere like Waraku. All in all we've spent bout $177 for the whole dinner tonight. Quite pricey but the experience was good. Since we only had so few dishes, i'll definitely return to savour more!

lunch - sushi tokusen

the sushi rice is abit too sticky i find.. also abit heavy handed on the vinegar..

white fishes are passable, but not impressive

chutoro - normal

anago - good, no bones and saucing is just right, they torch the anago for a while before saucing

ikura - not bad, firm and not too salty.

ika - not bad

botan ebi - not bad.. firm and juicy

makimono - normal

ankimo - 6/10 , i've had better.. too much ponzu/soy here..

karasumi - normal?? i've had way better than this. didnt like daikon paring with karasumi.

for me its still shiraishi for sushi in singapore.