Kappou Japanese Sushi Tapas Bar
Fortune Centre near Bugis MRT
We didn’t have any expectations at all when H and I decided to give Kappou -that is helmed by a female chef, a visit; as regrettably, we have it imbued in us that the best Japanese restaurants are usually helmed by males. Utterly wrong but pleasantly so as we walked through the $68 menu just to be surprised by the finesse displayed by each dish and the witty balancing and pairing of flavours that the chef was able to come up with. What really took us by surprise, is the arduous journey that she has taken at the young age of 14 when most would still be pretty ignorant about the world as they live comfortably in their sheltered homes, not adding on that she is a post-90 lady. I would say its the passion for food and her thirst for survival that made her the fine chef she is today, as evidenced by the beautifully aged sushi that she presents, and the atrociously impressive knifing skills that she displays. Such tenacity is only possible from a humble lady who counts her blessings everyday throughout that 9 difficult years.
Knowing that this is a small restaurant, yet still desires to make the best edomae sushi, I was very curious at the sources the fishes were from. Admittedly, she couldn’t out compete the big boys like Shinji, Sushi Ichi or the like, and thus could only turn to smaller prefectures that might have rarer treasures waiting to be uncovered.
Sushi served, and the beautifully aged fish there just melts in your mouth as the protein has already broken down to its sweet amino acid. Though that is something expected from an upmarket restaurant, executing it perfectly shouldn’t be taken for granted. And what also stood out for us was the clever pairing of condiments – sea salt, soy sauce, different kinds of vinegar so that it doesn’t mask your palate from tasting the seafood, and interestingly 3 different types of rice were used for a more wholesome consistency. Such details, may not even be found in most sushi restaurants!
The cutesy chirashi over here that is packed with umami, we loved it!
Ending the savouries off is this comforting bowl of delicious oden. And we kept shouting in exclamation at that lovely egg, as it easily could be the epitome of a beautifully flavoured Ajitsuke tamago.
Pumpkin ice cream to round the meal off.
Most of our foodie friends lamented that it’s difficult to get a reservation here as seats are limited but we were lucky enough to get one the day before. Looking empty over here as H, being the kiasu self, decided we should have it at 6pm – who would book dinner at 6?! Then again, it is only when the restaurant is quiet that we could understand the very humbling story behind Kappou. We hope and know she would succeed and yes, the food here is good!
Verdict: A good restaurant. 4.4/5.
Heard much about The Disgruntled Chef, both positive and negative reviews and have little interest to visit it as it is in the faraway Dempsey and also because most of the negativity came from the anorexic portions that they serve; I am a big eater. Then came The Disgruntled Brasserie right smacked in city centre which I think deserves a shout out as the mains over here felt cheerful, hearty and well thought through. Modern, sleek decoration, that comes across as professional and not in any way opulent, together with that strong air conditioning in the background, it is indeed a comfortable restaurant to be in for an intimate gathering or even if you just want to have some quiet me time. I guess the widely spaced tables also made the whole restaurant quieter as you do not need to holler at the top of your voice to make yourself heard. The moment the menu was explained, you know that service is enthusiastic and the crew does have a good knowledge on what they sell.
We started off with the cheese souffle, flavoured with caramelised onions and Chardonnay fondue. Looking like a very special and exciting invention, what actually made this starter so strong is the eggy, fluffy core that doesn’t have an overdose of cheese in it. The balance is there. $16.
Truffle fries with fried egg and parmigiano reggiano cheese. Predictable strong truffle fragrant emanating from the fries, however felt a little dry and therefore the Dutch duo is summoned – both the ketchup and mayonnaise that made it an extra comforting snack. $18.
I guess by the time we got to the mains, we realised we made a mistake in pairing our starters and mains as they are all heavier tasting with a stronger cream / cheese base. Having said that, they still taste delicious individually; refined yet most importantly not morsel-like in their portions. This carbonara taglierini was made special with the sauce that somehow has a bit of sourness in it to cut through the thick creamy base. Unique flavour indeed and exquisitely executed. $24.
Well the heart throb was the seafood bouillabaise and I was glad we moved away from the ‘cheese’ theme. Super thick broth filled with that distinct crustacean umami, the broth just tasted decadent. This is the kind of food that I will never fail to order when I am at any Italian restaurant. The meticulous thoughts could clearly be seen in almost all their dishes, especially when the toasties by the side came lightly buttered. Impressive. $38.
Cosy, homey open kitchen Morsels has and I was half hearted coming here for dinner as somehow the pictures from reviews didn’t grab my attention. Still made it here after all as the foodie H wanted to try it badly. I guess I am starting to love my bigger portions more and if they were to shrink, the taste better be sharp, piquant and complex yet not clashing.
Let me start off by saying, this cafe-bar isn’t cheap, especially so if you were to get there intriguing cocktails. And given the higher price point, yet cluttered interior as the tables are really spaced closely to one another, one may find it not so worthy after all. What Xiao Ya Tou could offer though, as its name has suggested, is a retro, hipster experience that would whisk you back to the 60s with its nostalgic furniture and background music that seemed to be played out from a cassette. Just by peering through that old window frame that you could find only at the older flats or landed properties, you would notice that quaint little kitchen that is more open than most modern ones as it doesn’t have a higher table top or chic glass facade.
And as we look around, you would realise that almost everywhere is worth a picture as the owner boasts that huge collection of retro stuff that he has or has bought in, yet not forgetting to add a little bit of modern elements to make it awkwardly attractive. Service was fun, bubbly though it is evident that they are short staffed; the waitress has tried her best I say and that any unintended tardiness should be forgiven.
Seated at the table initially, I requested to move to the counter table that gives you a much bigger private space, actually the entire area as most preferred the tables. 2 cocktails for the brunch and that thick delicious milo dinosaur was my favourite as it had alcohol. Being the more refreshing option, I loved the suntory highball initially but the dilution factor was a little large as the ice melts. $15 for each glass.
Crispy Otak Otak roll – Otak paste hidden within those crispy rolls that are given a delicious nutty body by the sauce! $12.
Unagi Benedict – one of the highlights you can find in every review, the poached egg underneath was perfectly runny and that hollandaise sauce was given a Japanese slant that managed to amalgamate the teriyaki unagi with the buttery brioche. $23.
Xiao Ya Tou breakfast with Kimchi scrambled eggs and chicken cheese sausage. $23.
The spread.
And all the sweets for you when you get the bill.
Very Chinese looking, especially so with those lanterns hanging there that actually form the entire menu, Nanjing Impressions does feel like an old quaint restaurant by a random Chinese river. Ambiance worked and the food did leave a pretty good impression on us. Always going for the more familiar and fragrant Cantonese style (or at least it is in my opinion); that has also formed the benchmark when it comes to oriental cuisine even though I know that there’s many different types of cooking all across massive China. And I say, this is a Chinese restaurant that I actually appreciate. The fragrance is there and the food doesn’t feel coarse (an attribute I always associate with Chinese food) which made everything more palatable, but just slightly heavy handed on the grease there.
Sesame scented beancurd Julienne. $11.80.
Jinling noodles in light soy sauce broth. $6.80.
Jinling roast duck – $32. That crispy skin was on point and the sauce it was drenched in was marvellous.
Palace Chicken with pickled chilli. $13.80. Prepared in a very beautiful bowl indeed and that crispy chicken skin together with the tender meat underneath was flavoured up greatly by the light spicy kick.
Shrimp Roe Custard with scallions. This was however a little mediocre for us. $10.80.
Loving those Celestial Roast duck dumplings over there as they were huge, packed solidly with duck meat fillings soaked in an intense duck broth. $6.80.
The savoury for the night!
Osmanthus steamed sponge. Very chewy, dense, solid, perfumed with that Osmanthus fragrance throughout; this has become the favourite dessert dish over there. $4.80.
Red Bean glutinous rice balls in Sweet Wine. $4.80. Wine in my dessert? Bring it on and yes indeed you could taste that alcohol in it!
Simply foodolicious! おいしい! 好吃! 맛있는! délicieux! delicioso! 好食! 