We always eager for good food on Saturday night, and today it was not an exceptional night. We had a few thoughts before we both agreed on giving the Japanese grill place in Cuppage a try. I remember we once walked by and saw a few Sifu’s who are actually Japanese. We thought it would worth a try to figure out how Japanese this place is. And tonight we proved that our expectation was right. This is the most Japanese’s Japanese place I’ve been before.

We went in and were served at a small table for two. Overall the place is not big, just nice to fit in tables for approximately 20+ people, plus counter seats for less than 10. It was a nice little space that makes you feel like you are really in Japan

Right, none of their food list comes with any photos. Anyway we should be pleased since their menu still has English translation.

We spent a few minutes before deciding to talk to their staff, to ask for recommendations. After a while of struggling, we ordered an A-Course, Saba Shioyaki, and Kimuchi Chige Nabe. After ordering, I asked the waitress if what we ordered were enough for us. She went blank for a while, followed by a smile, and told us that the portion should be enough for both of us.

For your information, A-course comes with Vegetable Sticks, Asparamaki, Shisomaki, Okuramaki, Shiitake, Negima, Tsukune, Uzura Tamago, Liver, Ginko Nuts, Gyumiso Yaki, Prawn, Rice, Miso Soup, Pickles, and a Dessert. We later found that it is more than enough for us, and then only understood why the waitress had such reaction.

The reason why I said it’s really Japanese because each and every small details were considered properly. Their appetizers were simply notable. Stuffed red and white carrot were just nice to warm our stomach for oncoming good stuffs. Their ocha served in vintage Baba-Nyonya-like cup, taste like one of the top graded Chinese tea (普洱), fantastic!

Simply love this small little container that they used to keep the chili powder, so cute yet so compact. The face towel prepared (seen at one small corner on the photo, too bad it was cropped off) were served nicely on a wooden container that added onto the ambiance too.

Alright, food started to be served in around 5 minutes time, beginning with some grilled sticks. First served were Asparamaki, Shisomaki, Okuramaki and Shiitake. The idea of having meat encapsulating the vegetables is brilliant. And it tasted brilliant too.

Coming next was the vegetable sticks, accompanied with some sauces. It was so fresh, and so nice to eat it just like that without cooking.

Then there came our Kimuchi Chige Nabe. It was heated with charcoals, unlike some other places where they all used flame gels to heat the soup. Don’t be surprise, the fire was not actually purple, it’s the lousy white balance of my camera phone that got fooled…

Peeked from the hole on the side, the flame plus the wordings on the ceramic pot holder, so cool.

I had to give them thumbs up on the soup base, it was so concentrated that we both like it a lot. Simple serving, yet tasty. Charged at S$11, we felt that it was worth it altogether!

Next on the list was Negima, Tsukune, Uzura Tamago and Liver. Another set of sticks that amazed us on each bites. Especially the liver, it was out of our imaginary that how liver can be grilled this way and yet taste so nice!

Ahh, the Saba Shioyaki was ready by then. I remember there’s a stall that serve Saba at S$4.50 near my company, but that was no where close to this one. Very fresh, very grilled, very nice.

We were almost full at this time when we saw the last set of sticks being served. Ginko Nuts, Gyumiso Yaki and Prawn. Ginko offered a slight bitter taste, which in a way, unexpectedly enhanced the taste of other grilled sticks. The prawn was very fresh, so grilled that the outer was very crunchy with salt, and yet preserving the inner juicy meat. Very well done!

I missed the photograph of their dessert, but it was a small bowl of red beans with mua-chi. This is the part that I finally could complain on. They should have used charcoal to boil the red beans, but I couldn’t taste the charcoal out of it! Hahaha..

We paid S$70 for the meal, and it was a satisfied and finger licking good meal! Overall, I would give our dining experience at Kushigin @ Cuppage a high 9/10 rating! This is the place where I will definitely introduce to my friends, and where I will not be hesitated to revisit it again in near future!

We both felt glad that we gave this place a try. Maybe you should, too.