Saturday, December 08, 2007

Another Kazu visit chronicled...

Kazu Sumiyaki, Cuppage
Guess what? I'm back here again. This must be the fourth time that I'm writing about Kazu and I bet that some of you whom have been following this must be pretty damn tired of hearing me talk about their fantastic charcoal grill. If you're here and reading this, deal with it. This time round, I'll be easing on the incessant chatter on the food since I there are previous mentions done already (1st, 2nd and 3rd previous visit) . I'll be letting the pictures do some their own talking since most of them have been mentioned and the standards here have so far been very consistently good.

Kazu Sumiyaki, crab pudding ikurahome made crab pudding topped with ikura

This cold starter definitely deserves special mention. At the base of the cup was minced crab tofu and it's topped with ikura and some ponzu. Excellent chilled amuse bouche, if you will. Flavour was slightly salty and tangy. Something that awakens the taste buds. This comes highly recommended.

Kazu Sumiyaki, ankimoanglerfish liver with vinegar jelly

The anglerfish is back in season for the year. This time round, there was a jelly of ponzu which I thought was awesome. Almost a surrealistic rendition of foie gras in balsamic vinegar glaze. The parallels drew themselves to me. Silently, I had applauded Kazu for wowing me again.

Kazu Sumiyaki, shimeiji wagyushimeji mushroom wrapped in wagyu

Kazu Sumiyaki, kushiyakiox tongue (left) and kurobuta with eggplant (right)

Kazu Sumiyaki, kushiyakiasparagus in pork belly (back) and foie gras (front)

Kazu Sumiyaki, scallops prawns baconscallop and prawn in pork belly strip

Kazu Sumiyaki, chestnutssalt baked chestnuts

Sadly, this visit would be the first time when I have something negative to say about the food. These chestnuts baked in salt tasted half cooked. The meat in the chestnuts were difficult to extract and had little taste beyond salt. The texture came out very dry and crunchy and I didn't enjoy it one bit.

Kazu Sumiyaki, kushiyakichicken hearts (back) and apple with fatty pork (front)

Kazu Sumiyaki, lamb chopslamb chops

Kazu Sumiyaki, oysters pork bellyoyster in pork belly

Kazu Sumiyaki, miso maguromiso grilled maguro

Kazu Sumiyaki, squid tentaclesgrilled squid tentacles

Kazu Sumiyaki, yaki tiramisuyaki tiramisu

One of the things that changes but doesn't really change is Kazu's tiramisu. Their rendition doesn't taste quite like the Italian version. It's their own. This time round, there were blueberries in them and I recall from the past occasions, the sorbet in the centre was changed once from mango to musk melon.

8 comments:

  1. i prefer the raw stuff.. more than the grilled stuff.. ;) but the crab pudding topped with ikura looks really good.. :)

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  2. i've eaten there twice, but more or less tried the same stuff. The meatballs are great, as are the mini hamburger steaks.

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  3. after reading your posts on kazu, i tried about 20 items from their menu last friday.

    it was a major disappointment. most of the stuff i ordered were below my expectation - primarily due to the oil they used that was giving a rancid note; and the burnt note in grills was way too intense. it was so overwhelming that it very much covered the taste of meat/seafood.

    something positive about kazu was that despite the rancid and burnt note, quality of seafood there was great as i could still 'taste' the sea!

    also not to forget, their grilled aus beef was pretty good.

    i wondered if last friday was their bad restaurant day. perhaps i need to go and try again someday.

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  4. @ sadid: that's weird, kazu's one of my fav restaurants in singapore. and they're really consistent. they serve pretty much some of the best tasting food u can get in sg for the price i think.

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  5. @p.: ok, i'll try kazu again another time, i cant be unlucky twice right? i agree you with about their price. was shocked to see the bill, it was inexpensive for all the beef, oyster, hotate and foie gras i ordered.

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  6. Dude.. i wanna go try out Kazu.. but i'll need a budget guide! lol Whats the prices like?

    Selva

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  7. @ sadid
    Hey, I would ask you to consider the place again. I've been there a few times myself and I've known a few people personally that have gone there. So far, no one I've known didn't like the place and their experience had been pretty good. I'd say that you shouldn't be unlucky twice.

    @ selva
    The budget is really dependent on what you order. It ranges from a little over a dollar (if I remember correctly) for the cheaper items like chicken skins, to well over ten bucks for a stick for stuff like the various wagyu beef. So it's really difficult for me to provide a guide. The first time I visited, it cost me about $65 per pax. The second last time was a little over $200 for 2. You could just place a figure of at least about $50-60 if you do not intend to order sashimi or too much of the seasonal items.

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  8. after reading your rave of the place, I decided to try it out. The grill squid was most disappointing - doesn't even look like it was grilled, but microwaved. The rest of the stuff was okay but not great. Think i will stick to nanbantei

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