Sushi Jiro @ Siglap

Part 2 of DH's birthday celebrations were held at Sushi Jiro, a quaint little restaurant near our place at Siglap. It's run by a Japanese chef who married a Singaporean lady and decided to relocate to Singapore.


One thing interesting about this little place is that it serves seasonal specials which are typically found in more high end restaurants. This is mentaiko (spicy codfish roe), which is really an acquired taste. DH likes this a lot, and can eat it presented in various ways. I do like this, but would prefer it to be cooked, like mentaiko pasta, mentaiko tofu or grilled mentaiko.


We ordered edamame beans for SGD6 cos Cutie likes them...


But he very sweetly offers them to me first.


This is rather interesting - Ankimo in Ponzu (monkfish liver in vinegary ponzu sauce). Again, not something that one would usually find in ordinary japanese places. The last time I ate this was at Inagiku (we haven't gone there in awile cos our Feed at Raffles card has expired, sigh). It is very smooth, and rich, almost like eating a slab of meaty butter... taste-wise, I would liken it to foie gras, but the ponzu helps to cut the richness, and give it a tangy lift.


Another unique offering - Shirako in Ponzu (codfish milt in vinegary sauce). This white curdy thing is considered a supreme delicacy by Japanese, available only during the winter months. It is actually rather tasteless, and absorbs the taste of the ponzu. Rather, it is the unique texture of the shirako which makes it so sublime. It is soft, creamy, a little custardlike, yet rather delicate. Interesting.


The beef sukiyaki was a large pot, and we asked that they cooked the beef for us... Although I think it would have been nicer to serve us the raw beef slices, we didnt want to have the gas stove cooker on the table with 2 kids around. The sukiyaki was served with 2 raw eggs, which DH used as a dipping sauce. MIL and I both avoided the raw egg... I am a little afraid of eating raw egg, even though I eat raw fish. Is that silly? DH says it makes the beef silkier and smoother.


The grilled hamachi (yellowtail) cheek was truly delicious. It was clearly very fresh as it tasted very sweet, and it was grilled just right, with the fish skin slightly crispy and the flesh soft and yielding. Very very nice.


Our premium omakase sushi set... with all our favourites, uni (sea urchin), toro maki (bluefin tuna belly), anago (sea eel), akagai (ark shell) etc. This plate costs GD80, which really isn't cheap.


DH's birthday mochi, with a candle on top! Cutie sings Happy Birthday so enthusiastically, the waitress pops in to investigate.


Sweetie loves birthday celebrations too! She happily joins in the clapping, but maybe she doesnt really understand the commotion...