Kaiho Sushi Restaurant 海宝寿司

I visited this place a few weeks ago and have since returned there twice. The food is fresh and the service is great. Bernard who is the chef is an ex sushi chef at several fanous Jap restuarants before opening his own. He has learnt his trade for more than 10 years and it shows in his presentation skills.

While the place lacks in ambience - it makes up in food quality and price. The toro and mackerel were generous size and the uni was fresh and generous in servings. Enough for you to savour flavour. The whole meal with beers was about $100 per head which includes premium sushi like toro and uni.

It happens that I was meeting Champagne in town and she mentioned there was a small Japanese restaurant in the area that she would like to recommend to me. Now, it is absolutely sinful to say no to quality Japanese food especially since it has been verified by the taste buds of another Jap food lover, so the next thing you know, we made arrangements to meet there for dinner.

Upon our entrance, Chef Bernard gave us a very warm greeting and I immediately took a liking to this friendly looking chef. Sitting at the Sushi Counter, I took a quick glance around this cosy little restaurant that can accommodate about 20 guests. To my delight I saw a whole lot of self made plum wine in a corner and asked Chef Bernard if he had any to spare, but sadly he said they'll only be ready 1 year later. Well, it is kind of expected but I just had to try my luck :( I fell madly in love with self made plum wine ever since I had my first sip at Akane, sighz~

Okies, on to the food! I love Omakase because of the little surprises in store for you, the chef is probably the person who knows which are the best items for the day and many a times you'll be served something that you've never thought of ordering on your own. Of course, Omakase can turn into a disaster if you meet a chef that cannot "connect" with your taste buds, so it is important to give him an idea of your preference in advance. I must say that so far I haven't had a disappointing experience with an Omakase meal yet, and this meal at Kaiho Sushi left me the deepest impression of them all. Chef Bernard politely checked with us if there's anything we shun away from and then proceed to whip up his creativity in the following dishes.

Our dinner started off with some Tamago, one of those must-try items that you can use to judge a restaurant's standard. Kaiho's tamago is considered decent, with just the right size and thickness for you to put into your mouth. There is a certain degree of sweetness but in my opinion this flavor can go slightly stronger.

Next up is something of a stronger flavor - Spinach with Sesame Sauce. This is the first time I had my spinach cold but I kind of like the feeling, heh. Each bite onto the spinach is accompanied by the salty taste of the sesame sauce and works up your appetite in preparation for the next dish, an interesting appetizer to start up your meal.

A colorful serving of Sashimi Mori and Kanpachi Usuzukuri turned the meal towards a different direction and I can sense more seafod dishes coming up. I took a sip of green tea to reset my taste buds and tucked into the sashimi, pleasantly surprised by the presence of the Otoro and Uni. Though not of premium grade, but considering the budget that we've given Chef Bernard, I would say he had given us some pretty decent items. I was told that Kaiho brings in their fish about 4 times a week, so you're quite insured regarding the freshness factor.

My eyebrows raised with delight when the Ankimo (anglerfish liver) was brought to our table. The very first and only time I've tasted this dish was when I visited Kazu and haven't been able to forget it since. Kaiho's Anikimo carries a slight sour taste that blends well with its foie gras like texture and you'll be able to savour a few pieces without being overwhelmed by the usual richness of liver dishes.

More fishes coming up and this time round it is the Katsuo Tataki! The tataki dishes that I've tried are all mostly done in thinner slices but Kaiho does in a more cube like shape, which gives you more to bit on, heh. Only a very thin layer of the sides were lightly seared though at the first glance the Katsuo looked really cooked. I love the way the skin added a bit of crispiness to the fish, just squeeze some lemon over it and you're in for a treat.

Another dish that made me raised my eyebrows was the Tako-Su, a cold serving of cooked octopus slices garnished with small pieces of cucumber and topped with little black pearls of caviar. I would have thought that Tako-Su were usually served as appetitzers but over here it seems to be more like a half-time break item, hinting me to be mentally prepared for the good stuff that are to be served. The vinegar dressing totally refreshed my tastebuds and made me look forward to the rest of the meal while we were discussing with Chef Bernard about the different colors of caviar :D

The next dish came as a pleasant surprise as well, for I haven't had anything simiar in a Japanese Restaurant before. As the bowl of Asari Butter Yaki was brought to us, I was thinking that seemed more like a Chinese dish to me ^_^" It may be weird to describe the asari in this way but the small clams looked really cute when submerged in a clear broth that gave off a buttery aroma. We had a great time scouping up the broth in the shells and sucking out the flesh along with it.

The Tai Nitsuke was probably the most quiet part of our meal as we were busy enjoying the heavenly dish. You can see from the photo that it is a huge and fleshy fish which not only looks good but possessed a supreme taste as well. Dig your chopsticks onto any part of the Tai Nitsuke and you are likely to pick up a huge piece of flesh soaked in its divine sauce, looking at the rate that we're tearing the fish apart, someone will probably think that we have been starving for days :D

After the wonderful Tai Nitsuke, we became two very satisfied customers who were nearly full to the brim, and our eyes nearly popped out when we were being served 5 pieces of sushi that are extremely generous in size, namely Kisu (Smelt Fish), Salmon & Ikura, Maguro, Kohada (Herring Fish) and Prawn. One of the sushi that I like best from this plate is the Kisu, where it is topped by a transparent piece of Batera Konbu (Vinegar Seaweed) and bits of yuzu skin. The slightly sour taste actually helps to ease off a bit of the full-to-the-brim feeling, just like how some people likes to pop a sour plum after a big meal to aid in digestion. I wouldn't mind haven't another piece of Kisu sushi at that point of time, heh~

All good things come to an end and I'm glad that we had a nice little piece of dessert - Ume Jelly. BIts of yuzu skin were scattered on the soft wobbly jelly and you can enjoy a blissful sweet and sour taste as you slowly savor it. A very light weight dessert that marks a perfect ending to this delightful Omakase meal and I was already looking forward to my next trip to Kaiho Sushi!

Throughout the meal, we were also accompanied by a nice bottle of Sake that Chef Bernard recommended, something not too dry, not too sweet and just right for the meal he created for us. Hmm.. I would say that my only regret to this trip is that I was not able to catch hold of Kaiho's plum wine due to the timing, one of these days, I'll get my hands on them, grrrrrrrrr~~~

Till then, I'll just be satisfied drooling at the rest of the photos on my blog!

Kaiho Sushi is a little sushi shop that can accomodate about 20 people. Apart from tables and chairs for about 10 people, the rest can eat at the sushi bar. We (me and my munching buddies) looked at the menu at first but in the end decided on "Omakase", which means you've entrusted your taste buds to the chef. Just decide on your budget per person and then let the sushi chef be off with his creations.

The cosy setting and the anticipation for a surprise from the chef makes this dinner more fun. As we were curious on the different types of seafood that were served to us, we started to engage the sushi master who turns out to be Bernard, the owner and sushi master of Kaiho Sushi. Although, its our first visit, we find that this man enjoys his work and is very friendly.

Our Omakase dinner menu (S$80++ per person, this is the budget we gave Bernard)
1. a plate of lightly seasoned thinned sliced mackeral sashimi
2. freshest sashimi in the shop which includes scallop and the ottoro (premium fatty tuna)
3. a plate of sushi which has 2 blow torched ones.
4. Oyster soup
5. clamps in garlic sauce
6. grilled mackeral and sardine
7. frozen strawberry ice cream

After we started to get warmed up, Bernard treats us to his other creation that's hidden behind the sushi counter (Look at the jars in the photo with red strawberries floating at the top). This "good stuff" is usually for his regulars and corporate clients. What you see in the photos below is what Bernard calls, the Strawberry Sake-tini. Its a chilled, sweet and really easy fruity sake that goes very well with the meal he has created for us.

If you really would like to try out his Strawberry Sake-tini, call 2 months in advance and he'll start to make it for your party. Bernard's food and hospitality makes it worth while to part with your dough.

For more details and photo visit
http://4-the-love-of-food.blogspot.com/2008/09/kaiho-sushi-omakase-meal-is-definitely.html