Walked in for an impromptu dinner, slightly regret. Wanted to post a detailed review but it'll be too long.
Price: Roughly $700 for 2 pax. Both had non alcoholic drinks worth roughly $10? This was a pricey meal.
Food: Some courses were good (the fish were fresh, the goma tofu was SUBLIME), some were average (donabe and beef sando slightly underseasoned for me). Tbh was pretty standard ingredients, could probably find the same quality at other omakases. Dessert was different from the menu as well. Why? Who knows. I should've asked.
Service: No one at the entrance, observed some difference in service between us and another party who had a more expensive menu. Why again? $$$ I assume??
Overall: A typical omakase tbh. Given the price I would've expected more for what we paid. Maybe I don't have a refined enough palate to appreciate this? But take what you will from this review. Won't be returning anytime soon, think there are better options out there.
Michael Pung
5
This was my first fine dining experience and it didn’t disappoint! Impeccable presentation, attentive service and an interesting interplay between the visual, textures and tastes.
We chose the “special” omakase menu.
All of the savoury dishes had an oceanic theme to them. Highlights were the hand roll, abalone soup and the sashimi.
Highly recommended
Matthew Lee
5
An amazing experience dining in Jinhonten. Was glad I was given a seat at the counter so I could see the chefs in action. The seating is really intimate but I also felt the space between diners was also a little cramped.
I have to say it was an exceptional meal which kept me enjoyable throughout, every dish was so special and delicious and also the use of the seafood was just so fresh.
Really enjoyed every dish, but the most memorable ones had to be the Handroll and the Kegani, super tasty in my opinion.
Also never had a warabi mochi which is so soft and can almost melt in the mouth.
It was definitely one of the most premium dining with the extravagance of the ingredients used and also the effort of chef Issey and his team.
"Shouting" of the waiters was a bit noisy in such a posh setting, but overall they were quite attentive.
Alex Kim
5
Great omakase experience, would recommend it. Expensive but if price isn’t an issue then why not? Loved each dish. Chef cooked with passion and the Beef was the star of the night for me.
Apologies for the brief review, visited a while ago and forgot to write one 😅
Royce Tan
5
I've got to start this review by saying, I booked the restaurant blindly without looking at the reviews. I only saw the reviews right before the dinner and I had second thoughts. But I'm glad I went ahead with dining here tonight. The age of the internet is scary and reviews can easily make or break a business. I'm guessing because of the slew of bad reviews recently, the whole restaurant only consisted of the 2 of us.
That said, we entered the restaurant and was greeted by a kinda disheartened and quiet chef. After awhile we got to talking and I could tell the bad reviews have gotten to him, he is after all known for his showmanship and all we got at first was a very quiet dinner. We are all human afterall.
As the food started to come out I was blown away with the amazing flavours, this omakase isn't like the other "singaporean" styled omakase where they just try to stuff every single expensive item into every single dish with gold flakes and call it a day. All the flavours complimented each other perfectly and I licked clean each and every plate that was put infront of me.
As it was my partner's birthday, at the end we were treated to Chef Araki-san singing happy birthday opera style and we all had a good laugh. Overall, it was a wonderful dinner with amazing food and service.
I have to admit tho, the bill at the end was higher than what I'd like to have paid but being a restaurant under the Les Amis group it's しょうがない~.
Candy Singhakowin
5
Delicious dinner. I liked that the Omakase had a lot of cooked dishes and wasn’t just Sushi. Favorite dish was surprisingly the wagyu sando. Service was really friendly and attentive, felt like we had 3 people serving us.
A N
1
This is as about the most disappointing high end restaurant I have been to. The food is as extremely poor in taste other than just putting in high end ingridients. The chef seemed the most disinterested. The wine menu was large but our first 2 selections didn’t exist. Avoid at all costs. It’s more then 500-600 per person. Many other good choices in the city for that price tag
Veronica Phua
5
(Invited Tasting) Opening to the public today is @jinhonten.sg - the latest dining concept by the team behind Wagyu Jin, Jinjo, Tenjin and Sushi Jin, under the Les Amis Group. This omakase restaurant is led by Head Chef @issey.a0711 (who is quite the entertainer with his showman streak) and features the best of Japan’s seasonal produce and ingredients, prepared with finesse in a style I find more flavourful than most other similar concepts. It is because as Chef Issey had mentioned himself, his career was spent mostly in Izakayas, so the food he creates, leans towards a stronger taste profile. Complements the alcohol better, it seems. Well, I won’t argue with that 😊
The 8-course lunch ($180++ per pax) and 10-course dinner ($450++ per pax) showcase premium seafood sourced from the markets in Toyosu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and even Fukuoka. And at times, even have the exclusive-to-the-Les-Amis-Group, #YonezawaBeef from the Yamagata prefecture, a Wagyu ranked as one of the top in the world. With advance notice, you can also enjoy the dinner menu as a midday meal.
The following is what Chef Issey served that day:
1. The legendary Hadate Uni from Hokkaido (highly regarded for its large tongues of huge, plump roe) made a grand entrance with Botan Ebi in a luscious egg yolk sauce and shiso flower. The combination left us dumbstruck from the get-go.
2. Next, the most gigantic Abalone I had ever seen, presented by Head Chef Issey in his signature style. Whilst he sliced it using a “wiggle” technique (to introduce more texture in the mouth and provide a better grip for chopsticks), we sipped on Dashi that was pure abalone, kombu and sake. Who was I to argue when Rudy said it should be chased with the Aile d’Argent Blanc Bordeaux 2015? Obeyed him, I most happily did. Those thick pieces of abalone were smothered in a rich sauce made from its own liver. The little ball of sushi rice was a clever touch - perfect for mopping up the leftover sauce.
3. Wrapped in two sheets of seaweed, the Nodoguro Handroll had kampyo (pickled radish) hidden out of sight but oh boy, did it bring so much to party to the mouth. And the reason for the double seaweed is to ensure the outer one retained its crispness. A marvelous multi-textural bite.
4. The Ocean Perch was a surprise as it had a surprisingly “crunchy” bite.
5. A yuzu zest-perfumed Kinki Shabu Shabu featuring flash-poached fillets in a stock made from its own bones and ponzu sauce, arrived next. It was accompanied by a twirl of pumpkin somen for delicious contrast.
6. For the deepfried item, it’s Shiro Ebi from Toyama wrapped in springroll skin and fried. Chef spooned on Kristal Caviar from Kaviari as a final touch. Oishii!
7. The magnificent chilled course of Nasu (eggplant) and extremely fresh Junsai (a succulent plant) from Northern Japan was one of the standouts for me.
8. As enjoyable as the buttery-soft binchotan-grilled Hida Sirloin was, it’s the sauce concocted from fruit tomato and yuba (Japanese beancurd skin) that stole the show. How lovely to savour juicy Japanese asparagus with it too.
9. Supreme deliciousness reigned in the closing carb - a special Kani Donabe showcasing Hairy Crab from Hokkaido. Possibly the most complex in taste of all Japanese crab claypot rice I’ve had as Chef Issey added pickled cucumbers to cook with the Hairy Crab in the rice, and served it with housemade Kani “mayo” and spicy pickled mustard leaves. A second helping was a must for many of us. Even the accompanying soup was no straightforward miso but a star in its own right. The stock was brewed from the Ocean Perch, Kinki and Kani served that day, with two types of miso. I wanted a bowl big enough to swim in!
10. Dessert was simple but exactly what I needed - a wedge of sweet Japanese Musk Melon.
Celeste Wong
3
Disappointed. Since restaurant was under Les Amis, I dined in with high expectation, but I guessed I think too much. None of the dishes stood out. But what made me extremely uncomfortable was one of the female service staff from Taiwan was chummier with male and especially the one paying. Even when she was introducing the dishes served, I was practically treated as invisible. I had to ask another guy next to me what she was introducing. And there were only 4 of us, instead of standing in the middle to introduce, she stood between the first and second male diners.
Eye2kay
5
Araki-San is my fave Omakase chef, his dishes creation full of surprises. His last restaurant closed and moved to this new premises, some of his signature dishes is still available. His current menu introduces “Hida Beef”, first time trying it the flavour was different and delicious compared to common Wagyu or A5 beef. Now that he’s a head- chef of the new place price tag will be higher but overall I’m still satisfied with his Omakase, will come back for more