Ms Skinnyfat

More Japanese restaurant reviews! What can i say, Japanese cuisine is my favorite. This time, we checked out Kaunta, a modern 20-seater Japanese restaurant by the same team behind The Sushi Bar. Kaunta is the slightly more upmarket sister which uses fresh ingredients from Japan. While they used to serve donburi, they have moved on to serve an omakase concept now, with lunch starting from only $50. 

We went with the Aoi sushi set ($60), which consists of an appetizer (sakura ebi salad), hot dish (chawanmushi), 8 pcs of sushi, complimentary toro maki, miso soup and dessert.

The appetizer was a salad with fried sakura ebi. Love the fragrance in this but the wasabi citrus soy was a tad strong. This was followed by the unagi chawanmushi with a silky mushroom dashi broth. I loved how the eel was fluffy and not at all rubbery. 

The fish are mostly aged at Kaunta to give it that umami boost. We were also surprised by the house-smoked salmon here. At first i tolerated the generous smear of wasabi in my first 2 pieces of sushi, but when it came to the spineless squid, i teared. That was when i had it and requested that Chef Peter tone down the wasabi and everything tasted much better after. 

Chutoro and Akami, both were good but i preferred the marbled piece better. 

Shima Aji. 

Scallop soaked in sake.

I didn't quite like the sweet truffle tamago which was served way too cold. Somehow cold tamago just reminds me too much of the generic supermarket types. 

The complimentary toro roll was a tad vinegary but delicious nevertheless. 

A Salmon belly miso soup marked the end of the savory course. The fish had been fried lightly and provided a toasty flavor to the soup. 

Ice cream was served to end the meal and there was the choice of yuzu or sesame ice cream and they are served with a homemade umeshu jelly. The jelly goes better with the bright yuzu but i really liked the rich roasty sesame. 

The sushi at Kaunta are fresh and decent. There was also an effort to share with diners what produce are used. Sans the not too pleasant spicy start, the meal was quite pleasant and makes for a good casual sushi meal. Wouldn't mind dropping back in for a quick lunch. 

11 Kee Seng Street

#01-12 Onze

Singapore 089218

Tel: +65 8788 3535