Kai Sushi and Robatayaki

Address: 68 Orchard Road, #04-68 Plaza Singapura, 238839

Nearest MRT: Dhoby Gaut

Cuisine: Japanese

Kai Sushi and Robatayaki is a Japanese restaurant located on the new wing of Plaza Singapura, just in front of Mojito Redemption Centre. Arriving on Saturday noon, there was no queue at the Japanese restaurant but a long queue outside Mojito Redemption with various people queuing up to redeem their free gifts. Nowadays, credit card companies and telcos have outsourced their gift redemption to third-party companies, so they do not have to deal with customers. Customers would make their way down to the centralised place to pick up their gifts, such as mine which was a 3 piece abalone gift set as part of HSBC programme.

Back to Kai Sushi, I liked the live bar concept where you can see the sushi chef take fresh sashimi from the fridge and slice the fish right in front of you.

We had the Chirashi don and the Beef teriyaki set. When I ordered the beef, I had a chance to top up $5.80 for four slices of salmon sashimi. Surprisingly, the waitress did not recommend me the add-on for $5 Asahi beer, which she offered to a Caucasian couple.

The Bara Zuke Chirashi don ($15.80) was served with a generous portion of chopped raw fish, such as tuna, salmon and mackerel, with a slight dash of soya sauce on the rice.

The Gyu (beef) teriyaki set ($18.80) was done medium, with the inner part of the meat slightly red but still easy to chew off. The outside of the meat was slightly charred and soaked up the teriyaki sauce perfectly. Horseradish and mustard sauce was served on the side, as well as a portion of salad. The beef slices were juicy and not overcooked, and the portion was just nice to go with the steamed rice.

For the add-on sashimi slices ($5.80), they were served fresh on a bowl of ice and some sliced ginger with wasabi on the side. The presentation of the dish was appealing and the chilled ice ensured that the salmon sashimi was kept fresh while the diner enjoyed the food.

Both of our set meals came with chawanmushi and miso soup on the side. I liked the chawanmushi which had a soft texture and a piece of chicken inside.

For those of you who like the sea urchin and prawns, do try the Chirashi Zushi ($23.80). It offers more value than the sushi bar. You’ll only get those in the premium chirashi there which is charged at seasonal price. Other cuts of fish, like yellow tail, tuna, salmon and scallop, they give slightly lesser slices which is fine because you get more variety of sashimi in your rice bowl.

Overall, the prices at Kai Sushi are affordable and the quality of the food is up to standard. I would come back here again and maybe get the beer promo next time to pair with my meal. The staff were friendly and attentive, probably because there were not many tables filled. There were also two Japanese schoolgirls who came to the restaurant for lunch, so I suppose the standard is good enough for the Japanese too.