Grazing along the Singapore River

It’s no coincidence that my first “Grazing” review for Singapore is about a Japanese restaurant. All things Japonesque have fascinated me for some time and I had been meaning to try Restaurant Kei since coming to Singapore. It has received high ratings in the local press and food guides. Another reason is that the Milanese meal which I had in Singapore was not as good; I will only present the best first on this forum. St Valentine’s weekend gave me an opportunity to explore the riverside of my current hometown. We had won a prize of a free weekend at one of Singapore’s riverside hotels so what better way to explore. No car...no alcohol restrictions...no need to drive home after each evening’s revelry. Romance by the River...sigh. Restaurant Kei has an upstairs dining room and a downstairs counter area. We tried the dining room but in retrospect, perhaps the counter area would have been more suitable for a food review, with the chef being up close and personal...hmm...next time. So, will there be a next time? Read on... The art and table decoration next to us. The decor was generally “woody” with balanced dark and light wood textures and stone for relief. The only thing missing was the water feature for added aural delight. I do not count the water tanks as water features as I suspect they were more utilitarian. This was a prix fixe, 7-course dinner with complicated variation of choice allowed. The Starter, Appetizer and Sashimi courses were fixed. Then, you had to choose whether to drop the Steamed or Fried course. Next, there were 3 to 5 options for each of the Grilled, Steamed, Fried, Filler and Dessert courses. Now, you see why sitting at the counter could have solved a lot of issues; I could have asked the chef for his recommendations. A couple of Tiger Beers helped the hilarious process of ordering food to suit my dining partner’s aversion to anything “squiggy, icky or alive” (technical terms). Our starting sake: Kiku-sui no kara kuchi (Chrysanthemum Water, Dry). I always like the Kiku-sui range of sake, but this was the first time to try the dry version (kara=empty, kuchi=mouth; kara kuchi=dry). This was middle grade sake with a short tailed finish. Starter: Ankimo (Monk-fish/Angler-fish liver) and Japanese Oyster with Ponzu (soy vinegar) This is a tough one to start with, as ankimo can be ‘gamey’ if not fresh. This was up to standard and boded well for the evening. The ponzu was not too sour which can be is usually a problem with “imported” commercial stock. Appetizer platter: Puffer fish skin in jelly, White Shell, Roast Duck, Japanese mini-yam, Minced tofu, vegetable & sesame paste terrine and the Chef’s specialty: Grilled foie gras sushi. As usual, the puffer fish skin is tasteless and is eaten for it’s “interesting” texture. The duck was succulently pink and delicious with the teriyaki sauce. How to describe the foie gras sushi? Let’s put it this way: if the starter, main courses and dessert were just this sushi, I would have been in heaven. Sashimi: maguro (tuna), tai (sea bream), ama-ebi (sweet prawn), shima-aji (horse mackerel) and uni (sea anemone roe). The freshest of produce especially the uni which was sweetly so. Time to change the sake. This is Kittakura from unknown prefecture. I asked for clear tasting sake and by this time, could not remember the provenance. The taste was much clearer than my memory and so we had three flasks! Note the hollow for ice cubes to keep your sake cool...now, that is cool Diner #1 Grilled Course: Sazae (top shell) accompanied by lotus root slice, tatami mat of fish fry, grilled chestnut and jellied broth. Another brave choice and cooked wonderfully in sake, soy sauce and mirin. Over cooked sazae can be rubbery but here it was perfect. Diner #2 Grilled Course: Kamasu (barracuda) accompanied by soy sauce infused grated daikon radish, lotus root slice, tatami mat of fish fry, grilled chestnut and jellied broth. Diner #1 Fried Course: Tempura Shirako (soft fish roe). The roe was indulgently creamy and fresh but the tempura was a bit thick and not up to the expected standard. Pretty but what is it? Diner #2 Steamed Course: Braised kouya tofu and unagi (river eel). This style of tofu is earthy and should have a resilient texture. It is difficult to reproduce, so far from home. Diner #1 Filler Course: Grilled O-negiri (rice ball) with mentaiko (cod roe) and broth. A classic dish which was almost faultless, but for the miniscule portion of mentaiko. Diner #2 Filler Course: Braised Miso Udon noodles with egg. This was the business; slurpy udon noodles in high quality miso soup and stirred-in egg yolk gave a satisfying rich filler dish. Dessert: Ma-cha (green tea) mousse, red beans and ice cream. A delicate combination of contrasts: astringent tea vs. indulgent red bean and not too sweet as to be cloying. This really made the sake taste completely different and brought unexpected properties to the fore. The final cup of tea to finish a Japanese meal in Singapore. On balance, the cooking was very good. The ingredients were fresh and prepared well. There were weak points with the tempura batter and lack of knowledge from the young wait-staff. Kei means celebration or felicitation in Japanese and deserves a try. I would choose the counter area next time when the chefs are not so busy i.e. not Saturday night over St Valentine’s weekend. As per PuristS tradition, I left the issue of cost til last. The quality matches other Japanese restaurants in Singapore costing multiples more. So I can afford to give it another try soon... MTF ThePuristS.com Wine and Food Discussion Forum  |  ThePuristS.com Home Page We welcome comments, suggestions, and corrections. 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