Chi Kinjo: Serving Up The Best Of Modern Sushi Fare And Refreshing Highballs
Chi Kinjo is the latest brainchild of Coterie Concepts that brought you Sum Yi Tai, Mona Lounge, and Eliza. This modern sushi and izakaya restaurant’s kitchen is helmed by Chef Lamley Chua, who brings a plethora experience to the table from working in International and Michelin Star restaurants such as LP+Tetsu.
We dropped by one evening to try out the Izakaya inspired menu.
We started off with the Hamachi Carpaccio in Truffle Oil $16.
The Hamachi was fresh and thinly sliced. Although we all know that truffle oil is not 100% truffle, it has hints of synthetic elements of truffle flavour that mitigates the acidity and balances the sashimi flavour.
Next up was the Sashimi Ceviche $18. Latin American influenced Ceviche on the crispy crackers was an absolute burst of umami in the mouth. Brilliantly executed by Chef Lamley, we must say.
We ordered the Chicken Karaage in Kaffir Lime $15 next. Served with pickled pearl onions, red pepper dip and deep fried in a juicy thin batter, this dish ticks all the right boxes. One bite of this Karaage and we knew instantly this is not frozen chicken like in most other establishments. It is absolutely fresh and this was confirmed by Chef Lamley.
We had to try the 80s Spicy Tuna Roll $16 next, served with spicy sauce and bonito flakes.
Next up was a Crouching Tiger Roll $20 , which was essentially a Prawn Tempura (3 different types of prawns) with Mentai Mayonnaise. Crunchy prawn tempura is wrapped with sushi rice, while the roll is wrapped with steamed tiger prawns on the outside, and finished with a sprinkling of sakura ebi for an added crunch. We are not fans of carbs really, but this dish had the right balance of infused flavours.
Finally we get to the mains. As part of the “Big Plates” selection, we were recommended the Smoked Striploin Steak $28 with black garlic onion cream, umami soy reduction, pickled mushrooms and sunchoke chips. The marbling was done just right and the texture simply exploded and melted in our mouths. Oishi!
We finished off our wonderful meal with the Aburi Nigiri, flamed torched to perfection. Ika Miso (Squid) $6 per piece.
Yellow Tail with Buri Cheese $6 per piece.
finally, for the last ensemble, a Salmon and Foie Gras $6 per piece. Flame seared foie gras on top of the salmon that is crispy on the outside and melts inside.
We were highly impressed with the decor and curation of each dish!
Chi Kinjo is at 29 Stanley Street 6910-2742. Open Mon to Fri 5pm-1am; Sat 6pm-1am; closed Sundays MRT: Telok Ayer