Ashino in Singapore (Feb ’16): “compelling fish, flawed sushi”

Ashino is a Tokyo-style sushi-joint in Singapore specializing in serving aged cuts of fish, which opened in 2015. The chef is an emigre from Japan, and has its fair share of regulars who seek a more off-beat Tokyo-style sushi experience, than the standardized edomae menu that places like nearby Shinji serve.

I found Ashino-san’s handling of the aged fish quite compelling. The standout cut from our February lunch was his 24-day aged grouper, which was fatty and rich in tasty oils, and sublime with squeeze of lemon. Accentuating the impression were crunchy pickle strips which gave the impression of eating a decadent round of fish and chips.

The chef is also an iconoclast more generally, revelling in sushi esoterica. His tsubugai sushi was delicious, his cross-hatching of the common whelk giving it the crunchy texture akin to true hand-dived scallop.

The weakness of the meal revolved around his rice. First, he served a few pieces to the customer by hand. It was a nice touch. But it revealed the inadequate compression of his rice. His shari fell apart easily, and twice when I had reached out to take a piece from his hand, the shari broke into half. I’m not sure why he chose to pack the rice so loosely –  perhaps it was an attempt to pack more air inside the rice, but he had not mastered the technique.

Second, his sushi sometimes felt unbalanced, with pieces that would be better served as sashimi. I think this is because he is an iconoclast when it comes to toppings with his sushi, and therefore there is a higher risk of failure with his pieces. The sushi pieces for lunch were these:

• akami
• botanebi
• tsubugai
• kawahagi
• kinmedai
• ika
• chutoro
• aji
• nodoguro
• whitebait
• uni
• anago

Of this group, tsubugai, kawahagi, nodoguro, are uncommon cuts, while whitebait was completely new for me. I felt the nodoguro overpowered the rice, especially since Ashino-san gave it a peppery and citrusy skin. The whitebait was visually arresting since they were cooked 4-to-a-group on a cherry blossom leaf. But they were rather dry and tasteless as a topping. The kawahagi sushi was topped with ankimo sauce and spring onions but it is hard to generate any gustatory excitement from a tasteless fish that’s basically a human chew toy.

Overall I found the experience an educational one. All things being equal I value an educational meal with flaws, more than a boring but tasty meal executed with perfection, so I would return to Ashino because I don’t see many chefs here championing the esoteric cuts.

Other links:

• Dr Leslie Tay (I eat I shoot I post) wrote a long and well-researched review: http://ieatishootipost.sg/ashino-sushi-singapore/

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• Magurozuke, Aomori, aged 9 days (4.25/5)

• Botanebi (4.5/5)
  • Creamy

• Chawanmushi with botanebi eggs (4.5/5)

• Tsubugai sushi (4.25/5)

• Pacific Saury (grilled) (3.75/5)

• Kawahagi sushi (4/5)

• Ankimo

• Kinmedai, aged 18 days

• Shiroebi with yuzu (3.25/5)
  • Too dry

• Grouper, aged 24 days (4.75/5)

• Ika/Cuttlefish (4/5)

• Chutoro

• Aji

• Nodoguro (4.25/5)
  • Peppery and citrusy skin

• Whitebait (3.75/5)

• Uni

• Anago (salt) (4.25/5)
  • Powdery

• Tamago (4.5/5)

• Green tea ice cream

Taka by Sushi Saito in KL (Apr ’16)

Malaysia is not a country known for its fine-dining scene. Living in Singapore, my first thoughts of Malaysian food are nasi lemak, Sarawak laksa, KL hokkien mee, roti canai and fried carrot cake. So it was a big surprise to hear over lunch at Sushi Saito last year that Takashi Saito, probably the best sushi chef of his generation, had chosen Kuala Lumpur as the site of his first outpost worldwide, which would open in April. “Malaysia??” I wondered if I had misheard. I had just flown in from KL to Tokyo, and that very week the Police Headquarters had conveniently caught fire, the latest episode in the shameful 1MDB scandal to engulf ruling party UMNO. Investor confidence had fallen, and the exchange value of the ringgit was falling rapidly. Malaysia was such a counterintuitive country for Saito to base his first outpost in. Singapore, or Hong Kong, or even Bangkok or China would have been much safer from an economic point of view.

But entering the finished restaurant on the day Saito said it would open, I could discern some strong reasons for being in Malaysia: No expense had been spared in outfitting the restaurant. The counter is large and spacious, the kitchen equipment state-of-the-art, the doors and decor threaded with clouds, the private dining rooms well-equipped. The restaurant has impressive financial backing, and decor-wise is a world away from even Saito’s stylish Roppongi outlet. Second, he would not be competing in the same city as his master Kanesaka. Third, KL has a lot of rich folks, but its dining scene is a lot less saturated than Singapore’s or the other Asian cities – a local Saito would likely dominate the market.

We began the meal with a light beer…

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• Baby shrimp (shiroebi):
  • Soft to the bite, delicate.

• Steamed abalone, boiled octopus
  • Excellent Chiba abalone with very tender texture
  • Saito’s octopus is quite magical, the outer tissue becoming an amorphous sweet and tender jelly that completely defies one’s expectation, especially if one has only encountered the firm octopus that most sushi places serve.

• Skewered firefly squid (hotaru ika)
  • Excellent, creamy grilled squid

• The Season’s First Bonito, Soy Marinated (katsuozuke)
  • Good balance of soy and ginger

• Hairy crab (kegani)
  • I liked the flavor of the innards, but the crab flesh I felt was a bit less sweet than I remember in August or December.

• Grilled rockfish (nodoguro)
  • Great skin, though the flesh was just a tad drier (like 5%) than I would liked it to be

• Flounder (hirame)
  • A bouncy texture that is always a delight, this seemed to be engawa (the side of the flounder).

• Alfonsino (kinmedai)
  • Very tasty and fatty

• Chutoro

• Akami

• Otoro
  • A delicious and unimpeachable tuna sequence, Honmaguro from Wakayama. Essentially perfect.

• Gizzard shad (Kohada)
  • Great balance of vinegar

• Horse mackerel (Aji)
  • Well salted

• Spear squid (Sumi-ika)
  • Maintained its starchiness, which I’ve only rarely encountered outside of Tokyo

• Tiger prawn (Kurumaebi)
  • Good

• Nemuro Uni
  • A pleasing color combination of deep orange, yellow, and deep orange. This uni had a very deep sweet taste, and came from Nemuro in East Hokkaido.

• Seawater eel with salt (Anago shio)
  • Excellent

• Seawater eel with sauce (Anago tsume)
  • Excellent

• Kanpyo maki
  • Sweet and crunchy

• Tamago
  • Custardy, like a flan

• Miso soup

• Katsuyama sake

I found Taka a faithful replica of the 3* Tokyo Saito experience. Our sushi flight, made by head chef Kubota-san, had well-seasoned rice compacted into a solid but airy form in Saito’s style, and possessed the same excellence. The only minor difference I could discern was the food (namely the sushi rice, and shiroebi) was a bit colder and drier than at Tokyo Saito. This is probably due to a stronger air conditioner, exacerbated by my taking 5-10 seconds before eating to snap photos. Overall, an excellent meal.