Sho-U, Central

This place at Central (The Central, #03-85 /102/108/109, 6 Eu Tong Sen Street, S059817, tel:65348066) seems to sell itself as a place of contemporary Japanese fine dining. I would definitely agree with the contemporary assessment, but it's really nothing about fine dining unless fine refers to the minute portions that is served. The minimalist decor of the interior from the plush red entrance leads into two separate dining areas which are done in black and white. The visual style element makes a noticeable impact and a positive side to this place is the attentive service from the friendly waiting staff. I didn't think quite so well of the food, especially when these guys are pretty expensive.


I must admit that a number of the items from the menu do sound appealing on the side of contemporary creativity with Japanese food, which was what prompted me to walk in. The actual delivery however, didn't leave a similar impression.

Mame soup ($8)

I decided on this mame soup because it was described to be a creamy soup made from edamame and I thought that it might be something akin to chilled green pea soups that has been done elsewhere. The actual soup as you can see isn't quite like what I had in mind and apart from being cloudy green, I wouldn't attribute the word cream to the taste. At all. It tasted more like a shio broth with only a slight hint of edamame and this is something that you can actually finish in 2-3 big mouthfuls. The photo probably doesn't show that, but the bowl is actually thick and quite shallow.

Uni avocado tempura ($20)

As intriguing as it appeared on the menu, the uni avocado tempura didn't quite do it for me. Granted, it was sea urchin and avocado encased in a very light batter and lightly fried as well, the dish arrived lukewarm and the both the uni and avocado actually turned up pretty dry. The green powder on the side as informed by the server was green tea salt. I couldn't really taste any of it. The tempura came in 3 bite size pieces and there's probably enough uni to make one good uni sushi in there.

Ika onsen tempura ($12)

This squid tempura filled with egg was probably the best thing that was served. The server had said that they eggs are half boiled so I was thinking that they would be still somewhat runny, but the yokes as can be seen are actually almost solid. Despite that, these are actually quite tasty, if pricey.

Foie gras brown rice in stone pot ($22)

tossed

The foie gras brown rice is actually pretty tasty, but for $22, I would pick on the foie gras being thin and in small pieces. And what's more, they're overcooked so it didn't come like the usual ones with creamy insides that dissolve in your mouth. The brown rice is actually pretty fragrant and the a bowl of brown sauce which I couldn't identify was poured into the stone bowl of rice before it is tossed and ready to eat. The portion is enough to fill up two small bowls which makes it ideal for a single hungry person.

There's no doubt that effort has been put into the dishes in Sho-U and that the quality of the dishes are far from mediocre, but for the prices and pathetic portions, I rather positive that I will not be returning. I didn't even feel like dessert after the insubstantial food.