Cuisine: Japanese
Address: ION Orchard #B3-23, 2 Orchard Turn, 238801
Nearest MRT: Orchard Station (North-South line)

Niku Kappo is part of the Watami group and specialised in beef. Originally, 「割」means “to use a knife to cut, and 「烹」means “to use fire to cook”, both words combine to become Kappo. It is a word to describe a traditional Japanese style of cooking, that requires meticulous effort and dedication. 

When we passed by Niku Kappo around 5pm, there were not many people and since it was too early, we decided to take a walk first before returning here. When we came back around an hour later, there were already a few groups of diners waiting for seats. The restaurant has an automatic ticket dispensing machine where you will select your size of the group (1-2 / 3-4 / 5 people).

After a wait of 20 minutes outside the restaurant, we were finally seated. We went for the pork indulgence menu because it seemed quite worth it and there were many dishes to try.

The waitress served us the welcome drinks (non-alcoholic). It tasted of mint and some sparkling water.

We ordered additional tamago sushi as my wife was craving for it.

The highlight of the meal is the Mt. Fuji nabe, inclusive of ramen for two. We can choose from pork (2 servings), beef and pork or beef (2 servings). We had a combination of beef and pork. The soup base was rich and delicious, without being too salty or oily. After taking the mandatory photos, we proceeded to disassemble the meat tower, by cooking it in the broth.

One of the appetisers is the butter soy sauce french fries. If you like your fries to have a buttery taste, then you would like it. But I did not enjoy it, as I found the taste too strange for me to accept. If it is seaweed shaker fries or normal salted fries, I can still take it.

Next is the Niku tempura moriawase, which is an assortment of fried tempura. They were mainly vegetables such as pumpkin, long bean, egg and a chicken breast. The sauce used is also different from the usual ebi tempura. The first few bites of the tempura were nice, but when it became cold, then the oil taste of the fried batter was too overpowering. And the piece of chicken was too much for us, especially since we had a full hotpot of meat as well.

Next, this was the foie gras chawanmushi. I liked the generous serving of foie gras, but not everyone appreciates it. The chawanmushi was soft and silky, melting in your mouth. The layer of oil on the chawanmushi was a little too much. This appetiser reminded me of the omakase that I had recently, which also served the same dish, albeit in a smaller portion.

Next, is the Edo miso vegetable dip. This is the healthiest choice among all the appetisers. The miso dip is served on a wooden serving spoon, so you take the carrot, cucumber or radish stick and dip it into the miso. It is a unique way of eating salad indeed.

Yet another dish with the renowned French ingredient, this is the Ajitama foie gras. This is a favourite ramen topping, with the half-boiled egg whites and luscious, custard-like egg yolks. I would prefer eating this eggs over the tempura fried egg.

After finishing the hotpot and the myriad of appetisers, we were almost 80% full, but still able to taste the desserts. As part of the indulgence menu, there was maccha ice cream and maccha tiramisu.

The maccha tiramisu was served in a small wooden box, similar to the style used in Japan. The tiramisu was a tad too sweet and it is different from the tiramisu that we have eaten several times at Italian restaurants. It seems that for the Japanese style tiramisu, they do not use lady fingers so the cream and liquid is not soaked up by the sponge.

Last but not least, nothing can go wrong with maccha ice cream. It is refreshing, with strong hints of green tea and we finished this small scoop of ice cream within seconds.

Overall, we felt that the pork indulgence set for two ($78) is very worth it because it contains several appetisers, a large hotpot, two drinks and two desserts for sharing. While the quality of certain dishes like the tempura, french fries and tiramisu were disappointing for us, but overall I enjoyed the dining experience. Premium ingredients such as foie gras and high-quality beef were used in the dishes. We had a quiet corner all the way at the back, the waitress were quick to respond to us and were friendly. Being part of the Watami group, this restaurant has maintained the standards of the restaurants in the same group. Judging from the crowd on a Friday night, this place is suitable as a gathering for friends, family or couples.