[Review] Ami Ami by Kuriya Dining: Where Traditional Sushi Is Redefined
Tucked away from the busy Orchard Road is Great World City, a mall that is relatively quieter yet boosts an interestingly diverse range of shops.
Head to the basement and you will find a Japanese food street which includes Ami Ami by Kuriya Dining, a casual restaurant helmed by award-winning Master Chef Naoki Tsuzuki with over two decades of culinary experience in Japan and Singapore.
Head to the basement and you will find a Japanese food street which includes Ami Ami by Kuriya Dining, a casual restaurant helmed by award-winning Master Chef Naoki Tsuzuki with over two decades of culinary experience in Japan and Singapore.
Ami Ami takes pride in its offerings of fresh seafood airflown from Japan thrice weekly. From this month onwards, Ami Ami ups its game with a new menu - where traditional sushi is redefined with bold new flavours.
We tried out a few of their latest avant-garde sushi dishes, and here's our take on them:
1) Zuwaigani Shell Sushi ($9.80++)
The Zuwaigani Crab, or the Snow Crab, is known for its succulent and delicate meat.
Served in a crab shell, the Zuwaigani Shell Sushi is stacked with a generous portion of juicy snow crab meat, wasabi-flavoured shrimp roe and omelette over some sushi rice and served in a crab shell. The crab meat was fresh, flavourful and sweet, and I'd say it's the dish to order if you like a nice photo for Instagram.
2) Fruit & Ebi Tempura Vegetable Sheet Roll ($9.80++)
This dish features tempura and mixed fruits with mango mayonnaise and wasabi-flavoured shrimp roe wrapped with paper-thin carrot vegetable sheet.
This is the first time I had a fruit-based sushi and I've to say that Chef Tsuzuki had ingeniously combined sushi with fruits and vegetables to give the dish a multi-dimensional taste profile that is suitable for all ages. The food exudes quality, and freshness is not compromised. Overall, the mango and strawberry made the dish very refreshing and livened up the entire meal experience.
This is the first time I had a fruit-based sushi and I've to say that Chef Tsuzuki had ingeniously combined sushi with fruits and vegetables to give the dish a multi-dimensional taste profile that is suitable for all ages. The food exudes quality, and freshness is not compromised. Overall, the mango and strawberry made the dish very refreshing and livened up the entire meal experience.
3) Mixed Sashimi Carpaccio ($16.80++)
The mixed sashimi carpaccio, which consisted of a seasoned assortment of sashimi with salmon roe and blanched sea urchin, was one of my favourite dishes.
One thing though was I'm not sure why it was named a carpaccio, as we thought that carpaccio refers to a thinly sliced piece of meat and the sashimi was diced instead. Nonetheless, the crispy toast went really well with the guacamole, wasabi, truffle purée, tomatoes, fresh sashimi, salmon roe and sea urchin. We liked the combination!
One thing though was I'm not sure why it was named a carpaccio, as we thought that carpaccio refers to a thinly sliced piece of meat and the sashimi was diced instead. Nonetheless, the crispy toast went really well with the guacamole, wasabi, truffle purée, tomatoes, fresh sashimi, salmon roe and sea urchin. We liked the combination!
4) Ebi Tempura Cheese Pie Roll ($15.80++)
This tempura cheese pie roll was another variation of sushi, but oven baked with prawn tempura and cheese wrapped in crispy pie crust. You can either dip the pie roll into the teriyaki sauce or enjoy it on its own. Another special dish that is perfect on Instagram too!
5) Sushi Pizza ($17.80++)
Another innovative sushi-based dish is this oven-baked pizza sushi. The sushi rice is spread on a thin spring roll skin and topped with melted mozzarella and Gouda cheese together with a generous portion of mixed sashimi, flying fish roe, omelette and avocado with spicy mayonnaise.
Overall, I like how Ami Ami takes a bold approach to serving otherwise traditional sushi. Do drop by if you would like to have a quiet meal of Japanese food - away from the bustling Orchard Road crowd!
Overall
Overall, I like how Ami Ami takes a bold approach to serving otherwise traditional sushi. Do drop by if you would like to have a quiet meal of Japanese food - away from the bustling Orchard Road crowd!
