Monzushi
A review of one of Singapore's legendary omakase's.
There's a tier of restaurants that exists in my mind, somewhere between good quality conveyor belt eats (Sushiro) and top class fine-dining (Aoki/Ashino), where you want that omakase experience in a more relaxed, chill and affordable setting.
You don't want to hand over S$350 for the evening, but you also know that 12 color-coded plates off the belt just aren't going to hit the spot.
This isn't necessarily a restaurant where you need to dress up and pop a cork. It's a place to relax with friends, have some highballs and enjoy a great sushi course at the hands of an experienced chef.
We wandered into Monzushi last week hoping this might be the answer to all of life's troubles.
Situated on Neil Road off Chinatown Singapore, Monzushi is a family affair, having been operating in Tokyo for almost 100 years, now located in Yutenji, Meguro.
We arrived at about 7pm and at the time had the place to ourselves. The restaurant is split between a bar area for casual drinking and an eating area for omakases and set lunches. The dining area sits around 12 people.
At most sushi omakase restaurants you will find that dinner courses will be priced at around 1.5-2x more expensive than their lunch courses. I've never truly understood the math behind this so can only surmise its due to supply/demand on seat timings.
Monzushi offer a sushi course at what appears to be exceptional value which is priced the same all the time, whether it be lunch or dinner.
Sushi Course $138++
12 Nigiri Sushi
1 Roll
The course is as advertised. With no foreplay, we jump straight into the depths of the sushi journey.
First piece was an interesting one which was half akami, half chutoro on a single nigiri. This was a first for me in this format but I'm open to it. Taste was great but I feel it could be separated.
Next was kohada (gizzard shad) which was nice but had ever so slightly more fishiness about it than usual. Moving on we had salmon, which Kaneko San marinates over a few days before serving, putting a very unique and new spin on palate.
From there we had hotate, tai, hirame, clam, and ika.
To break up the meal a bit and enjoy our drinks, we chose a dish from the à la carte menu that simply was for lack of a better word, a mistake. The grilled ika was absolutely delicious, but it killed our taste buds for the remainder of the course. The dish belongs in the bar with a frosty beer.
This was our fault and an amateurs mistake if I've ever seen one.
With our tastebuds ruined, we completed our bottle of Hudson Chardonnay 2020 and bought a small bottle of Karacuchi dry sake to accompany the remainder of our meal and share with the chef.
Our last few pieces to come were aji, anago, tamagoyaki, and what we believe to be a sujiko temaki.
With a little bit of space left in our stomach and still half a bottle of sake, we split a negitoro maki at an additional cost of $28. It was well worth it as Kaneko San diced different grades of fresh maguro before our eyes.
The meal ended with a miso soup.
Gaijin’s rating
Food quality ★★★☆☆
Ambience ★★★☆☆
Value ★★★★★
Overall rating 84/100
Monzushi is a bit of a legendary restaurant in Singapore. Although I have only dined there twice, I am constantly told of its domestic fame, particularly by Japanese visitors and residents here.
The sushi is great, and at $138++ for dinner, I would argue it's one of the best spots for a value-based omakase in Singapore. Most other restaurants helmed by an experienced Japanese chef charge almost double that for evening dining.
The chef is a all-round great guy and loves a drink, so remember that sharing is caring.
As an aside, the only other time I went to Monzushi is when they had an 'all you can eat' omakase on a Sunday afternoon. 27 pieces and $150 later, I knew I had to come back.
In concluding, if you are wanting a great omakase with a chill vibe that's not going to blow up your wallet, Monzushi is the place to go.
Monzushi Singapore
A: 13 Neil Rd, Singapore 088810
