Friday, January 24, 2014

Sake Bar Kushi [Japanese]

I have been meaning to try Sake Bar Kushi (also known as Kushi Izakaya) since they first opened but never made it due to it's not so ideal location. Last weekend, I was so lucky to be invited to try their new and improved menu and I was more than thrilled to oblige.














As we walk in, we immediately felt in love with all the wooden booths and the long communal table in the middle with the sake bottles as dividers. The booths really gave dinner some privacy and the whole place was pretty quite unlike most izakaya.


Always love izakaya menu, love the square format. Here's the sake list and there's quite a bit of variety with different price point. Quite a few of my faves available.


Spinach Gomaae
~ blanched spinach w/ sesame sauce
Love how this had just the perfect amount of sauce/dressing and it was light a not overly salty. I must have tried so many places where it's drenched in overly salty sauce.This was perfect.


 Ebi Mayo
~ Deep Fried prawn served with mustard mayo sauce
Tasty but wish it was the whole shrimp with the shell still on. It's way more tastier.


 Draft Sake Shiboritate 180ml
Personally not my fave sake, will def choose something else


 Pork Belly & Chicken Leg Skewers 
~ one each w/ sea salt & terriyaki sauce
Have to say that we were both disappointed with these skewers, it was rather dry and bland. The one with the terriyaki sauce was a bit better since it gave them a bit of moisture and flavors.


Kodako Karaage
~ Deep Fried Baby Octopus served w/ chilli mayo
Love this, wish more restaurant would served these. Nothing better than deep fried dishes while drinking (^_^) Perfectly crispy thin batter with perfectly tender baby octopus.


Grilled Squid 
~ charcoal grilled squid with terriyaki sauce
You can definitely taste the difference when it's charcoal grilled and this was also perfectly cooked. So intense, full of that yummy charcoal smokey flavor.


 Cheese Okonomiyaki
Deliciously addictive, topped with huge amount of bonito flakes (Katsuobushi) and the perfectly crispy slightly burnt bottom.


 Bulgogi Ishiyaki Bibimbab
~ steamed rice with marinated beef and vegetable in sizzling stone bowl
Ben made the mistake of pouring all the sauce in at once and it was way too much. Unlike the Korean version, their sauce is less salty and a bit on the sour side.


 Oreo Ice Cream Sandwich
Instead of the usual cookie, they use thin steam boa which was very appropriate and gave it an Asian Japanese flare. But although I like the idea, I find that the bao lack the crunch that's much needed in an ice cream sandwich.


 Love the wooden menu with the big hardware.



 A big room at the back which is perfect for bigger group


Verdict:
Loved it, although we didn't like the skewers everything else was pretty perfect.
Will def come back to try the rest of the dishes and have some of my fave sake.
The service was more than perfect, all the staff was incredibly attentive, friendly & always had a big smile on their faces.

*** This meal was complimentary but opinions are my own ***
Sake Bar Kushi on Urbanspoon

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