The most expensive nigiri sushi I have ever ordered. This is Keyaki, Pan Pacific Hotel. Today commemorates educators, and I spent it using the $50 restaurant voucher I picked up from the raffle held during our staff appreciation dinner over a week ago. It was the 30th prize, or something.
Keyaki is on the 4th floor of the Pan Pac. It's located within a gorgeous Japanese themed roof garden. The place is so Zen, I couldn't find the main entrance. Good thing I bumped into the chef who kindly beckoned me to follow him. Along the wall opposite the koi pond, there's a section that looks gold-painted. It's a sliding door that I walked past a couple of times, wondering if I needed a sling ring to open a mystical portal or something.
Once inside, the staff greeted me very calmly and politely, and seated me immediately. I inquired about the T&Cs of my voucher, and that turned out to be a smart thing to do. It only applied to a la carte items on the menu, so thankfully I didn't go whole hog to order the $280 omakase first, only to find out later that the voucher would have been no good.
So that was how I ended up with this selection of 7 pieces of sushi and a dessert. Left to right they are: tuna belly, striped jack, blue fin tuna, salmon, scallop, sweet shrimp, and sea urchin. The setting was so fancy, I couldn't bring myself to dump the wasabi into the shoyu and stir it up into the salty, pungent, pasty condiment that we like to do here. It had to be eaten properly. Take a pinch of wasabi, balance it on the fish side (actually, is this how it's done?), pick up the piece with chopsticks, turn the piece upside down, and carefully dip the fish side into the shoyu before putting the whole thing in your mouth in one bite. Chew a slice of ginger between pieces to reset the mouth, getting it ready for the next flavour.
My big mistake was to start with the tuna belly which I knew I should have saved as the piece de resistance, but I couldn't help myself. As soon as I tasted how good it was with the fatty texture and hint of fish oil, instant regret. It would have been the perfect finishing move, but no, I made it my opening gambit instead. The remaining 6 pieces were still very, very good, regardless. Each piece was fresh and flavourful, the urchin tasted like cream of ocean. Each piece drew a breath of appreciation, and I had to close my eyes to focus on the different textures and flavours that they literally brought to the table.
I hope wait staff, Agnes (I think), interpreted my facial contortions to mean that I was enjoying the food. She was attentive to refilling my green tea, so she must have been watching her tables closely.
Dessert was this mango ume jelly served like a parfait with a topping of mango ice-cream. The strawberries were a surprise, but they added extra colour and a light, tangy twist to what would have been overwhelmingly mango. The portion was bigger than anticipated, and I'm speculating that perhaps 2 mangoes were involved as some of the mango cubes looked a slightly different shade from the others. The ume jelly was oddly fluffy, so that was another interesting texture for the mouth to enjoy.
One thing, though. After finishing dessert, I felt light-headed and became wheezy. My nose started to run. I know these symptoms: allergies. What could I have been allergic to? Running through the ingredient list in my head, I zeroed in on the jelly. Plum wine jelly (umeshu???), to be precise, and I am allergic to alcohol. I underestimated the potency of plum wine and was now experiencing the consequences.
Step one: don't panic, keep absolutely calm. Step two: breathe slow and deep -- get as much oxygen as the thoracic constriction would allow. I sat there for a while like that until I felt ready to pay the bill. $80 balance remaining from the $50 voucher. Not bad, I was prepared to pay more. Decided to walk my condition off, so I hoofed it to the MRT station for a ride home. As expected, by the time I got back, the allergic reaction had worn off. I'm fully functional again, with quite a lunch to remember.
