Syun: Japanese fine dining at Sentosa

We had a little difficulty locating Syun, but thank god it wasn't too secluded or hard to spot. It's one of the restaurants on the steps opposite the lake of dreams in Sentosa. It has a pretty store front which is pretty photogenic. 

Lake of Dreams

I picked this place because of chef Hal Yamashita's floral version of the chirashi and his signature dish: Sea urchin rolled by wagyu beef

The wagyu beef roll was basically foodporn, and it was orgasmic chewing the perfect combination of uni and wagyu sashimi, drenched in a light and refreshing sauce. The wagyu beef was chewy, and the uni was heavenly. Everything seemed to melt in my mouth with a burst of flavour. I wish I could eat this all the time.

Sea Urchin Rolled by Wagyu Beef ($15)

The chirashi was kind of underwhelming. It was not as photogenic as those posted by food bloggers who were probably sponsored for their review. The lighting was pretty dim as well. Although there was enough sashimi to cover the rice, I was unimpressed by the portion. I would happily return to Hanare for $18 sashimi-piled chirashi with free flow of sides, The only redeeming factor about this chirashi is that their salmon was very fresh, and had a slightly better taste than the average salmon sashimi out there. Nevertheless, it's not that discernible for someone who just wants to have a chirashi fix. Oh but this was still pretty interesting because there are flower petals sprinkled all over it which gives it a floral taste that reminds you of spring (resonates with the restaurant name).

Chirashi Jyu Box ($32)

It was nice that the $32 chirashi lunch set came with salad, miso soup and chawanmushi. However, I didn't enjoy the chawanmushi even though it was really smooth because the ginger taste was so strong, and it was very watery as well. 

Oh but I was totally unaware that they charged $6 for green tea. I wouldn't have asked for green tea if I knew I was to pay $12 for 2 pax. Thankfully there was a 10% discount for Mastercard payments which helped to offset the price of the green tea. Their service was poor as well because the restaurant was so dimly lit and the staff were nowhere to be seen half the time.

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Sushi Gen: best Japanese lunch deal

My first visit here was actually for dinner. This was also the first Japanese restaurant that I've been to in LA, and I was impressed by their chirashi until I visited Sushi Go 55. I could get a much better deal at the same price there.

The fresh oysters were tiny and did not impress. I would prefer to go to EMC Seafood for their $1 oyster happy hour.

Fresh Oysters ($15)

Their chirashi bowl did not really impress me. The portion wasn't big either. It's not worth it's price for dinner, but this is only USD$17 for lunch.

Chirashi Deluxe ($24)

I came back again for their lunch deals. It was a lot more worth the money. Their sashimi set lunch came with a large plate of a variety of sashimi, a side (Japanese tofu), miso soup and rice. There was too much sashimi compared the rice, which is pretty uncommon. However, I wouldn't recommend this for picky eaters who only want specific types of sashimi. One of the things I really enjoyed was the shredded chicken that was so flavourful. It managed to help cleanse my palate from the rawness of the sashimi.

Sashimi Combination ($17)

My friend ordered the uni set lunch, which came with a box of sea urchin, assorted sashimi, miso soup, a side (Japanese tofu), nori sheets and rice.  Anyway, because the uni is so soft and creamy, sheets of seaweed were provided for us to wrap the uni with rice. I think this is super worth it. I don't think we will ever find this much good quality uni with sashimi for SGD$60 in Singapore.

Uni with Sashimi ($42)

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Sushi Go 55: Most value-for-money Chirashi

My guilty pleasure. I keep coming back for their Chirashi Jyu Sushi Box Matsu whenever I crave for sushi and sashimi. Food in LA isn't cheap, and so I grew to look beyond the numbers and this is what I think is most value-for-money. It's a bang for the buck for a chirashi of such quality and quantity. It's not the best place for sashimi (and yes I know Victoria Beckham said Nobu is her favourite), but it's one of the better at an affordable price in Little Tokyo. After tax and tip, I paid about USD$34.

It came as a double stacked chirashi box, as you can see. The fact that thick slices of sashimi were spilling out of the box excited us so much, even though it was because of the bed of radish below. 

The assorted sashimi on the top box includes:

- Uni (sea urchin)

- Hotate (scallop sashimi)

- Sake (salmon sashimi)

- Maguro (tuna sashimi)

- Tai (sea bream sashimi)

- Saba (mackerel sashimi)

- Kanpachi (yellowtail sashimi)

- Amaebi (shrimp)

- Tamago yaki

- Shiitake mushroom

- Fresh green seaweed

- Fish cake

- Yamagobo (pickled burdock root)

The bottom box consisted of the following on top of a bed of sushi rice:

- Ikura (salmon roe)

- Masago (capelin roe)

- Toasted nori seaweed

- Shredded egg omelette

Nevertheless, I should think that the selection of sashimi may be dependent on season and what the restaurant was able to import as well. There is also a less expensive version of the chirashi without uni, hotate and ikura at about USD$20, not including tax and tip. (It is the round version shown at the top of the picture below.) 

Chirashi Jyu Sushi Box Matsu

For those who are willing to spend and are looking for the best sashimi, I would recommend trying to sit at the bar at Sushi Go 55 and Sushi Gen. (The best sashimi is usually only served at the bar.) These are probably 2 of the best places for decent sashimi in the downtown area of Los Angeles. Other popular places include sugarfish and octopus, although I was so satisfied with Sushi Go 55 and Sushi Gen that I never tried other alternatives.

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