Sushi Iwa

Sushi Iwa

Near Ginza Station

Yeah, in order to make this trip more wholesome, I got the hotel to help us make a reservation at Sushi Iwa for lunch way before we came to Tokyo. Yes, I didn’t get Sushi Jiro considering that it is quite expensive. Sushi Iwa has one Michelin star and has also opened a branch in Hong Kong last September.

Finding this restaurant was painstakingly hard, we took 20min to slowly look for this restaurant when it was just 50m away from us. The way they number their roads and streets is quite peculiar and it takes a while to get used to its naming. We got to 8 chome 5-25 which is the address of sushi iwa and we still couldn’t find it. I asked one Japanese guy and he said yeah we are at the right spot but couldn’t find the restaurant too. And then he referred me to the chef from the restaurant opposite and finally, he pointed out to me where is sushi iwa. It was literally one step away from where we were standing! So inconspicuous the sign is as seen from above.

This is the sign, don’t miss it!

This is Iwa chef!

And this is our chef who hosted us in English! He’s a very friendly guy and we chatted a little after the meal! Hopefully like what he says, we will get to see more sakura before weleave. It is starting to bloom now according to the Japan guide.

Really great skill there when preparing the sushi for us.

So one hand to prepare the shari (Sushi rice) while the other holding on to the slab of really fresh and tantalising meat. This is how skilled sushi chefs make their sushi. They would then have to press the sushi to make it compact. Really fun to watch how they prepare the sushi. And so we got the 10 piece sushi meal for 4725 yen. And lets see how did it fare.

Sea perch. Really fresh slice of fish with slightly warm rice beneath it. Fish has a good texture, doesn’t melt immediately but has a very fresh and slightly springy texture. Really delicious piece of sushi.

Marinated tuna. Oo, I love how the shari looks over here. So rotund and inviting, isn’t it. Marinated tuna is really smooth and this melts in the mouth. Oishii.

Ooh, I missed the name of this fish but anyway it’s good again. Super fresh and meat texture is slightly springy too. There’s also a bit of citrus taste in it, I guess a little bit of lime juice was drizzled onto it.

This huge scallop sushi was really delicious. One of my favourites in this set meal. The scallop is naturally sweet while the rice again has a slight citrus taste in it. K and G loved this too.

Horse mackerel looks elegant doesn’t it. Really nice piece of meat here with some mashed sring onions (negitoro) on top. Meat was substantial and needless to say, fresh.

This seasonal clam sushi is something that I have never had before. Clam is so smooth, of the right thickness and slightly springy only. Definitely not chewy till the extent of being rubbery. It somehow makes this sushi very refreshing due to it’s slightly crisp texture. Really fresh piece of clam sushi.

This Spanish makerel was quite special too, the way it is being prepared. It was slightly boiled and this makes the whole fish even creamier. I guess this is the theme for this particular sushi as fish tastes slightly milky and meat is definitely creamy. Delectable piece of sushi! It’s very smart of them to cook it slightly to bring out the creamy taste.

This piece of ika sushi was on the other hand, above average I felt. It was still slightly slimy on the underneath and a felt a little tough. This was also served in Shinji Singapore but tasted much much better. I am quite fussy over squid sushi as raw squid isn’t really my type of food.

And the last sushi of the day is Anago sushi with yuzu bits underneath the piece of eel. Very fragrant and refreshing while the eel tastes really delectable.

The complementary maki and miso soup which didn’t taste too salty. I finished the whole bowl actually.

So did Sushi Iwa meet my expectation? Yes, it definitely did though the squid was a small miss for me. I enjoyed having the scallop and clam ones most as they are the more special ones that I have not had in Singapore. Of course, I compared it to Shinji Singapore and I still think that Shinji is actually slightly better. Then again, Shinji has always been in a league of its own and even though I preferred it over Iwa, Iwa is still in its own right a very exciting sushi place to look out for. From the entrance, to talking to the waitress and being served by the chef, everything just felt so traditional. The chef is really friendly and personal and while chatting, I mentioned to him about Shinji and he immediately said that there’s one in Singapore. Shinji must be really famous I guess. Service was so good and he followed us to the doorstep and bowed to us when we left. So Japan hour, isn’t it! Really love this sushi place as it makes me feel so welcomed and you could really immerse yourself in the Japanese culture even if you are a foreigner. Really wholesome experience indeed! Argh, I only remembered that I should have taken a photo with the chef after walking a few steps away from the restaurant!