The branch at The Central, headed by Chef Nakada Makoto, is by far the largest of its outlets with a seating capacity of about 100 diners.We arrived early, slightly before 7.00pm. It was already dinner time yet only a handful of tables were occupied. Hence we were able to secure a window seat with a stunning view of Clarke Quay and the Singapore River. It was good to see that when we left the restaurant at about 9.30pm, it was almost fully occupied.
Darling wife ordered a dinner set comprising tempura prawns and vegetables, salmon sashimi, grilled unagi, chawan munshi and a salad. The set had its usual accompaniments - miso soup, pickles, fruits and ice cream.
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| The full dinner set |
The portion of the grilled unagi was generous for a dinner set. Although the skin was pretty well-charred, the eel remained moist and soft on the inside which was a definite plus point. The Chef did well to use the kabayaki marinade very sparingly, thus playing down the sweetness of the sauce which in turn heightens the natural sweetness of the eel. Overall, the unagi was very well executed and in our opinion, met the mark.
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| Grilled unagi done to perfection |
The Chef was equally generous with the tempura which came with 2 pieces of fried prawn fritters and vegetables. Unlike my grilled prawn, darling wife's tempura version was tender and tasty.
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| Tempura Moriawase |
Another dish from darling wife's dinner set that deserves mention is the sashimi. Three slabs of salmon sat in a tiny porcelain bowl, visually enhanced by a lone chrysanthemum. While the texture and freshness of the sashimi are nothing out of the ordinary, its dainty presentation stole our hearts.
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| Sashimi salmon |
The Spider Roll sushi was filled with crispy soft shell crab, avocado, cucumber, sweet fish floss, crab roe and black sesame. At $8.50 for a serving of 4 delectable pieces, one couldn't possibly complain, although my only complaint was not having enough of it.
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| Spider Roll |
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| Spider Roll |
The Kushiyaki Moriwase was a steal. The dish came complete with 6 skewers of grilled items including lady's fingers, shiitake mushrooms, salmon, prawn and scallops. The grilled vegetables were excellent as were the scallops and salmon which were both slightly under-charred. The prawn, regrettably, was over cooked rendering the meat dry and almost tasteless.
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| Grilled salmon |
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| Grilled vegetables - lady's fingers and shitake mushroom |
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| Grilled seafood - scallops and prawn |
Kyomomoyama's dessert menu has offerings of 6 different kinds of traditional Kyoto sweets, including ice cream and home-made almond tofu. However, it is the home-made plum wine jelly which we highly recommend.
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| Plum wine jelly |
Kyomomoyama @ The Central
6 Eu Tong Sen Street
#03-87 The Central @ Clarke Quay
Pricing: $$
