Yoshi | A Taste of Kyoto in Orchard

21st March 2021

It is quite rare to find Kaiseki meals in Singapore. 

More often than not, it would be a Sushi Omakase where the multi-course meal features sushi rather than a Kaiseki stype of meal and if you do find one, be prepare to fork out more than 180-200 SGD for it, some examples are Keyaki, Nami and Ichigo Ichie. Yoshi, previously Kaiseki Yoshiyuki is one such place that offers Kyo-kaiseki.

Restaurant Week featured a sort-of kaiseki menu at Yoshi for less than 100 SGD before tax and I decided to give it go to celebrate a special occasion in March with a friend. The interiors is done up like ryotei : counter seats around the chef. The interiors was designed by Asylum Creative, a local design firm which is known for projects like the Warehouse Hotel and Po Restaurant.

The atmosphere does bring back some of the vibes from the ryotei in Kyoto such 

as Muromachi Wakuden (bottom)

The first course was a Sakizuke : Yuba with dashi stock topped with uni and fresh wasabi. The simple pairing of beancurd skin, uni and fresh wasabi really made me miss the yudofu cuisine of Kyoto.

It was followed by a Suimono, a comforting soup dish : 

Kyoto Style Mullet Roe in Clear Soup (からすみ はしあらい)

Next is a sashimi course known as Tsukuri :

Seasonal Sashimi 3 Types of Sashimi from Japan’s Toyosu Market. The tuna was awesome.

Next up is the Agemono : 

Yuba to Takenoko (揚げ湯葉と筍天ぷら) or Tempura Deep Fried Beancurd & Bamboo Shoot. This dish served in a delicate but flavourful broth has greens, crunchy bamboo shoot and snow crab meat.

A hot pot dish, Shiizakana was next, it was a Kamo Nabe, or Duck Hot Pot, a specialty dish of Yoshi. Duck is sometimes associated with Kyoto. One of the main rivers running through Kyoto is the Kamo River (鴨川). This dish has nice tender slices of duck with a herbal, peppery soup.

In most of my experiences eating Kaiseki in Japan, this second last course, described as a Shokuji is often just plain rice with pickles and a bowl of miso soup which my friends often find it too be too plain. I think Yoshi tries to cater to the local expectations here by offering an Ikura Chirashi here, sushi rice topped with salmon roe and negitoro. The ikura was awesome again. The pickles were topped with bonito flakes to give it a more unami punch.

Lastly, it was the mizumono or dessert :a Monaka Ice-Cream, which has fresh strawberries, a scoop of matcha ice cream and red bean paste sandwiched between two delicate traditional Japanese wafers.

While the usual Omakase menus at Yoshi would cost above 200 SGD, they have lunch donburi which comes with appetizer, sashimi and dessert for less than 80 SGD as well. If you want a taste of the Kyoto-style kaiseki, Yoshi is a dependable place to go and the atmosphere is not too serious or uptight as well, which made the dining experience very enjoyable.

That said, when I showed a friend the photos of the meal, a fan of Fat Cow or unlimited Wagyu buffet, his reaction is "no sushi?" or expecting big slabs of 200g Wagyu steak, a fellow diner was questioning if this was Japanese food when she saw there was no sushi when my friend and I were dining there as well. Thus, if you are expecting a Fat Cow omakase or sushi omakase rather than an experience of a kaiseki, Yoshi might not be the best choice to splurge on.

Yoshi

583 Orchard Road, #B1-39

Forum The Shopping Mall

Singapore 238884