one of the best japanese restaurants in town with the whole package of wonderful ambience and great food.

for pictures and a detailed review: http://hungryinsingapore.wordpress.com/2012/02/18/shiraishi-lunch/

For the detailed review with pictures, please check out http://thehungrybunnie.blogspot.com/2011/11/shiraishi.html

Shiraishi is one of those places that towkays and bankers with fat expense accounts love to dine at. The restaurant consistently serve up the most exquisite flavours by rotating its menu regularly and focusing on the seasonal's best.

Try to get a table at the counter because you usually get entertained by the chefs. Plus, you invariably get a lesson on Japanese dining from the chefs. Apparently, all of the pretty flowers and greens on your plate are meant to be eaten and not placed on the plate just for decorative purposes. You just need to know how to eat those seemingly inedible stuff.

We got the Sushi Kaiseki Set ($170) which has 8 courses that features the best of what Autumn has to offer.

We had:

1) Amuse Bouche of the day was a dollop of chilled smooth potato mash with carrots and cucumber, very creamy and refreshing, a great start to a fantastically memorable meal

2) Appetizers. My favourite was the chilled Sesame Tofu block in the middle, floating in a puddle of shoyu and with a dab of freshly grated wasabi for a piquant heat

3) Pickled fried fish was also served chilled as part of the trio of appetizers, this was savoury but nicely refreshing. The fish was so soft that it could be eaten whole, bones and all

3) Steamed Baby Yam and Gingko on a stick, also part of the starters. The gingko nuts were so soft they practically melted in the mouth, their mild nuttiness enhanced simply with a sprinkling of salt. The yam, meant to be picked up with the fingers and squeezed out from the leafy shell, was creamy, smooth and delicate. Such simple uncomplicated flavours

4) Sashimi was, as expected, exquisite and unbelievably fresh. Thickly sliced, these were generous pieces of fish

5) The Steamed Dish consisted shimeiji mushrooms, luxurious freshly shredded hairy crab, baby lady's fingers set atop a chunk of radish and then steamed to fragrant perfection. Yuzu zest provided a citrusy zing to the savoury dish

6) Grilled Dish of soy-glazed seabream fillet, with shitake mushroom. Soy glaze imparted just enough flavour to the mild flaky fish.

7) Sushi - soft perfectly formed rectangular rice, a dollop of freshly grated wasabi and a sliver of incredibly fresh sashimi made for a recipe of wonderfully clean flavours

8) Clam Soup, despite its deceptively clear appearance, was amazingly rich in depth and unami flavour

Yoshio Nogawa should be placed on an altar of sushi and be worshipped with lavish sashimi daily (or tues & fris haha) by all grateful devotees IMHO... The godfather of sushi in Singapore had done well passing on his superb art of sushi-making while those trained under him had done well by spreading the love thru their various restaurants...

Lunching at Shiraishi is an indulgence... A joyful indulgence if i may add... Perhaps not to your bank account but definitely to your taste palatte...For mere mortals like me who find that spending more than $150/pax for a meal is an extravagance would smile at the affordable lunch sets which is a steal...

Authentic edomae sushi is the signature here and hence one would do well ordering the Edomae Special with 8 kinds of sushsi n rolls @ $40... Each sushi is beautifully crafted in small sushi sizes topped with luxuriously rich n fresh seafood selection of tuna, fish roe, halibut, scallop, prawn, tamago, sea eel, bonito.. Simple yet delicious...

The yakizakana gozen ($30) of grilled black cod is executed wonderfully... soft tender flakes of cod in a lovely sauce absolutely melts anyone's heart... The tasty accompany side dish of a fishcake kinda dish is very attention-grabbing as well...

The shokadoh ($40) is an excellent choice for anyone who prefers variety & quality in a box.... A little assortment of sashimi, a miniature portion of grilled black cod, a field of simmered summer vegetables, a dash of salad, a pinch of mini tofu, a little of a fried item and a little collection of jellyfish makes this an attractive bento..

The slightly more premium chouchin bentou ($60) is presented gorgeously in a lantern box... the top box has an array of grilled black cod n eggplants n mushroom, little fried tofu, side of fresh garden greens and a mini bowl of simmered fish liver which is well erm...interesting..

The bottom box holds the treasures of what i came here for.. melt-in-your mouth sashimi on a bed of glistering pearly white rice! This little bowl of rainbow consisted of a small piece of well-marbled otoro (goodness me!) , fish roe bursting with flavours, superb sashimi (towards edomae selection of seafood), cooked firm prawns, crabsticks, soft fluffy tamago & cute pink fish floss.. but i do find the rice a bit lacking in flavours..

Interestingly i was told that my initial choice of bara-chirashi ($35) has only one selection of sashimi on rice and that selection would be salmon... I've no idea bara-chirashi means that and just salmon on rice is hardly my cup of tea... To satisfy my cravings for an assortment of sashimi on rice.. i took e more expensive chouchin bentou as recommended which is delectable but what i was really looking for was premium sashimi on a bed of alluring japanese vinegared rice like what i had at Nogawa's ($38)... i would have gladly exchanged the top box for more premium sashimi in the bottom box..

Overall, I was a little disappointed as i was hoping to be sweep off my feet like what Nogawa's chirashi...Don't get me wrong for the food here is fabulously put together with top-notch quality but i was just feeling a little down missing my good old chirashi ... I still remember the magical feeling when my eyes widen as i tucked into Nogawa's chirashi with the melt in your mouth sashimi delights and extremely addictive rice and i couldn't wipe that big smile that's plastered on my face for days..Didn't find the same magic here but Shiraishi is still a magical experience and we all had an absolutely wondrous lunch and so would you...

Psst... Go for the clear soup..it's a light well-brewed broth with adorable little mushrooms..