Japanese food for Singaporean tastebuds at Jiin Omakase

NEW RESTAURANT

Jiin Omakase #01-11 Shaw Centre 1 Scotts Road Singapore 228208 Tel: 9666-6131 Open daily for lunch and dinner: 12 pm to 3 pm; 6:30 pm to 10pm

[SINGAPORE] Visiting the Les Amis Group restaurants in Shaw Centre is like opening a box of chocolates – you never know what you’re going to get. 

If you can’t keep track of its ever-changing concepts, imagine the existential crisis its eateries face:

“Hey, I thought I was a tempura place.” Nope, you’re sukiyaki now.

“But I’ve been selling congee here for years!” Sorry, we need the space for live unagi. You’re moving upstairs.

“What about my tarts?” We think selling wine is better.

If there’s no shame in change, the group is unabashedly adaptable. Pivot or die is the clarion call these days, but it doesn’t just pivot – it pirouettes. Just look at the new Jiin Omakase, which sits in a space that has seen more glow-ups than a K-beauty addict.

It has, at various points, been an ambitious chef-driven kappo, a sushi joint and high-end kaiseki brand. Now it’s come full circle, serving curated menus aimed at the Singaporean palate and disposition.

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That means no zen-like minimalism, no hushed reverence. Think heartier flavours, less formality and more fun. 

Even the decor veers from conventional to quirky toy store whimsy. Besides a trophy collection of shells that once housed clams, abalones and crabs in every size, an entire section of the dining counter has been colonised by tiny Decole cat figurines.

They look like they’ve come to town on a package tour – sitting in pools, lounging under umbrellas and eating sweet potatoes. The whole set-up would be weird if they weren’t so cute.

But that sums up the informal charm of Jiin Omakase, helmed by Saito Makoto and Sakamoto Mitsutaka. They’re well-schooled in their cuisine but aren’t precious about it.  

They also know how to start a show with a bang – or rather a bonfire. The lights are dimmed, a match is lit and the washi paper stretched tightly over a huge wooden basin disappears in a ring of fire – revealing the ingredients that will form your dinner.

There are two menus: S$288 and S$388. Lunch is priced at S$138 and S$188 – showtime not included. But you can still play with the cats.

Dinner pricing is par for the course at this level, but the ingredient quality justifies it. This used to house Zeniya, so Jiin’s sourcing remains at a similar level.

You know they aim to impress when you’re served not some dainty appetiser but a proper-sized mound of watarigani or swimming crab meat from Miyagi prefecture. Steamed, tossed in mild ponzu vinegar and topped with roe, it appears in its own shell, prettied up with flowers and green shoots in faux ikebana style. 

Four or five kinds of sashimi follow, depending on the menu you choose – shima aji, akami, otoro, sea bream and akagai. A homemade sweet-spicy aged onion ponzu sauce is a zingy companion to the clean white fish.  

We can make a case for splurging on the S$388 menu – the buttery, sauteed abalone from Chiba that has spent hours in a steam bath, self-tenderising for our benefit. Scallop and sweet hokkigai squeeze into the same abalone shell.

Even if you stick to the S$288 set, there’s still Saito’s signature snack to savour. A long monaka wafer trough is filled with a thin layer of creamy monkfish liver, topped with caviar, botan ebi, uni, firefly squid and truffle shavings. The chef lovingly arranges them into a mini Japanese garden of red beans and cat figurines for an overload of “aww shucks” adorableness.

The show continues with mega-fleshy king crab legs (for the S$388 menu) – lightly char-broiled for subtle smokiness. Worth the splurge, but the sizzling ise ebi hotpot that both menus get is no slouch either. Slipper lobster in an intense bisque is lighter than it looks, paired with a grilled rice ball for a soupy risotto. Ask for some Kochi green chilli soy sauce for a good kick.

Obligatory grilled A5 wagyu (S$388 menu) and a so-so helmet crab “donburi” complete the meal. The final touch is Sakamoto’s chewy-tender homemade mochi wrapped around a fresh strawberry, and kukicha ice cream.

Saito and Sakamoto are a genial pair, friendly but not obtrusive. Don’t expect lively chatter, but warm hospitality, and chefs who know how to read the room. Les Amis Group’s eateries may change or relocate, but we hope this one sticks around.

Rating: 7