Syun

Was looking for early dinner at Sentosa over the weekend and decided on Syun, a contemporary Japanese restaurant helmed by celebrity chef Hal Yamashita. With 9 restaurants in Japan, this is his first overseas foray which opened last December. As he hails from Kobe, the menu here is rooted in Kobe cuisine using premium ingredients freshly imported from the likes of Awaji Island and the Tanba area in Japan. According to Resorts World™ Sentosa's website, Syun will renew our perception of Japanese cuisine with its nouvelle interpretation of Japanese fine dining. Located along Festive Walk, it is a participant of RWS invites that gives up to 50% rebate for two diners. Not outright discount but better than nothing, I guess. There are two entrances, one of which allows customers to walk on stone tiles amidst pebbles and climb two steps up to a raised wooden platform with a wooden table and four wooden stools (saw an out-of-place Dyson bladeless fan too).

Without prior reservations but earlier than the crowd, we were seated immediately but had to finish our meal and leave in about an hour. Instead of rushing through its omakase, my dining companions and I ordered for sharing a sashimi platter and kurobuta pork shabu shabu as well as a charcoal grilled chicken with yuzu kosho and asparagus. The raw sliced fishes were thick and fresh while the chicken was tender with a crispy skin. Loved the professional yet personable Japanese service (though we were mostly served by a Korean lady) and staff helped us cook the mushrooms followed by vegetables and meat. Our first bowls consisted of soup with the greens and shoulder cuts, which was overcooked and hence a tad tough, while the second contained succulent mushroom and pork belly with a right amount of fats. I thought the accompanying ponzu sauce – add sliced chilli if you like spicy food, accentuated the taste of pork and preferred that to the sesame sauce.