Product Name: Gindara Misozuke Yaki Teishoku
Product Category: Japanese Restaurant
Restaurant: Suju Masayuki
★★★★☆ - Definitely consider buying again
Date tried: Nov 6, 2020
Address: Mandarin Gallery 333A Orchard Rd #04-05 SINGAPORE 238897
Price: 42 SGD
Quick summary: Top notch Gindara, fantastic material and taste. Pricey for a Gindara lunch but worth it if budget allows.
So this was for a business lunch with some of my business partners. First time here for me. And make no mistake - I was thoroughly impressed.
Suju Masayuki is a restaurant located in Mandarin Gallery, very close to Somerset MRT. I view this restaurant as a very "Japanese" Japanese restaurant - if you know what I mean. It serves really common Japanese menus. They're all basic menus and dishes you would expect in a Japanese restaurant in Japan. Nothing new. Nothing original.
They take these common dishes and - in a sense challenge themselves to strive for the best quality without changing the dish's essential form. No manipulations. No loading of tastes and seasonings. Here you can enjoy the Japanese dishes at their purest.
A prime example is their plain white rice.
I actually had some sashimi before I went on to my Gindara. So I took a Hamachi cut and consumed it - fantastic item - thick, fresh, fatty, tasty, perfect - and followed with some rice to my mouth.
The rice actually surprised me... even more than that perfect piece of Hamachi.
The white rice was Japanese white rice in its perfect form. The steamy rice smell opened my nostrils. The hardness and juiciness of the rice were controlled with precision and delighted my teeth and tongue as they touched it. The great rich natural sweetness you get in each of the individual rice kernels just made me want more.
It's just plain white rice. But it's the exceptional ingredients they choose. And the precision in how they cook.
This is how it's a very "Japanese" Japanese restaurant I felt Suju Masayuki is.
Now, a little about the dish.
I ordered the Gindara Misozuke Yaki Teishoku.
The Japanese word "teishoku" (定食) means that it is a set. Usually a teishoku will come with a bowl of white rice, miso soup, and some pickles on the side. It did just that.
Gindara is a type of fish, a "black cod", also called sablefish or butterfish. As the name suggests, it has his very oily, buttery texture and taste. I think it's a fantastic fish for grill or steam.
In this case it is a "Misozuke Yaki" so it is marinated in Miso and then grilled.
This was one of the more expensive lunches on the menu. However, I still went for this as I really really wanted to eat Gindara. I just love it that much. It's a dish I would regularly eat when I was as Japan, and I have missed it for quite a while now.
When the grilled fish dish arrived, I was impressed straightaway. The piece of fish is huge. It is round and has volume. It's not common you can find a gindara of this size in Japan. (Although I must also argue that the gindara in Japan wouldn't be as expensive either)
The taste does not betray either. It's the perfect balance of miso marinate with good quality Miso. It blends in great balance with the meat of the fish. It compliments the savory, buttery taste of the gindara perfectly.
Although it was a big piece of fish, I finished quickly and enjoyed it thoroughly.
It was a really really great meal.
The only reason it's a 4-star (Definitely consider again) as opposed to a 5-star rating (new go-to dish) is the price. Yes the quality is super high, but there's a part of me that tells me that this is only a lunch and I'm just having a Gindara.
42 dollars is something I would hesitate - and perhaps try a different dish.
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