Aoki @ Shaw Centre

One of Les Amis group's earliest foray into Asian cuisine was the Aoki restaurant, which is a fine-dining Japanese restaurant. Orchard Road has quite a number of Japanese restaurant, but only a handful of them can be categorised as fine-dining along Orchard Road.



Although the word Aoki means "blue tree" in Japanese, but from the Chinese point of view, the Japanese Kanji characters reads as Green Tree.



Our Amuse Bouche for the night was the typical Japanese seaweed dish.



Next was the Sashimi Moriawase Tokusen (S$65). The assorted sashimi was very very fresh, and just to be safe the service staff told us that none of the sashimi here comes from the contaminated regions.



Beef Seiro Mushi (S$85) - "Steamed" Top grade Japanese beef over a pile of fresh cabbage and onions in a wooden box steamer. We were advised to keep the lid closed for about 5 to 10 minutes for the beef to be fully cooked, but could not resist taking a photo before it is cooked. After eating the beef, do eat the sweet cabbage which has been "steamed" with the juices from the beef slices.



Mushimono (S$26 per person) - This is Chawanmushi with a twist as the top is generously scattered on the Japanese steam egg. Very intense black truffle taste with chunks of chicken inside the egg, and one of the best dishes of the night.



Sakura Ebi Kakiage (S$25) - We didn't really like this as the prawns did not have much taste when fried like a kakiage.



Asari Miso Soup (S$7), which is Miso Soup with clams. The clams here really adds sweetness to the miso soup. No stale smell and taste here, only the sweet taste of clams plus miso.



Dobinmushi (S$18) which is also known as tea pot soup. As the name suggests, the soup is cooked and served in a traditional tea pot. Diners first pour the stock out and drink it from the "tea cup". After which, the ingredients in the tea pot is eaten.



We ordered 2 sets of Gohan (cooked rice set).



Ended our dinner with the Kuzukiri (S$6) and fruits (S$16). The Kuzukiri is a refreshing change from the usual creamy dessert, and has a nice citrus taste to it. And at this price, the fruit, which is an orange, must have taken the airplane all the way from Japan.


Aoki
1 Scotts Road,
#02-17
Shaw Centre