Kaiho Sushi

We were looking for Japanese place for Sat dinner around 8:30pm. Heard before that there are some Japanese restaurants in that building. We tried Kaiho on the 3/​F as other places were packed. We ordered the S$ 60+ per person set to make things easier, as we were very hungry.
It was very disappointing. Most dishes in the set were very small, like one bite. Services were pretty bad. We waited for 10 mins till they clean the table (Yeah, the table was dirty when we sat down) and order the food. The restaurant is very small but seem like they forgot we were there.
Till 10:10pm, we were still waiting for last two dishes of the set dinner. I did not want to wait anymore. I asked for the bill. The waitress said there were still two dishes. I told her we had been waiting and it took too long. I was expecting her to at least apologise. She just took my credit card without saying anything or even a smile. ‘Sign please’…
The whole experience was not good value for $.

There are so many great culinary experiences that this world has to offer. Just take Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations as an example. Kaiho Sushi offers one of those great classic culinary experiences: a sit down dinner at a very small intimate Sushi Bar with one of the most friendly and talkative sushi-​chef around, Mr Bernard Tang! Did I mention he is also the owner by the way.
Kaiho Sushi has a cult-​like following. The patrons seated next to us at the sushi bar had been customers of Mr. Tang’s for Over 20 yrs! Furthermore, the restaurant stores the whiskey and sake of it’s most loyal patrons. Mr. Tang remembers all the customers he serves, but more importantly he remembers and tries to get to know his repeat customers. Enter: my wife! Little did I know she frequented this restaurant when I was a way on business trip or in School. Busted! :D
The great thing about Mr. Tang is he truly loves his job! When he has a break in-​between making his fine sushi/​sashimi creations, he would have a shot of Sake with the patrons next to us. I love this guy and this restaurant! It truly brings me back to those small sushi shops in Japan with a rambunctious chef.
The sushi /​sashimi is just divine, literally one of the BEST, if not one of the Best in Singapore! The quality is over the top and hence why the restaurant charges as a premium: SGD58 for Chirashi. However, it is important to note, that if you are a repeat customer, Mr. Tang will juice up your Sushi and/​Chirashi orders. I’m hesitant to post pictures what he gave us during our last visit, but it was definitely different than the first time we went. More exotic fish, and let’s just a little more Uni, here and there. Hehe. As a new Patron, please expect the standard fare as I don’t want to overload Mr Tang with my rave review: D
Mr Tang is a great one man show! I hope his restaurant remains small and intimate after all the fanfare he is receiving from Unilocal as of late. :D Truly a Hidden Gem!

Quality was excellent. Aji was fresh. Blood crockle was a surprise. Pricing didn’t match the hole in the wall ambience.
Bottom line: Makes me miss LA and Hawaii in terms of excellent sushi.

I will forever complain about the price of sushi on this island. Back in the US, I never spent more than $ 30 for a sushi set, so coming here and seeing my usual order going for $ 60+ here in SG immediately made me homesick! (But no worries, I’ve got chicken rice, roti prata, and char kway teow to distract me now so we’re okay.) However, for the amount they give you and the quality of the sushi, the prices at Kaiho are justified in my book.
This is a small spot on the 3^rd floor of Cuppage Plaza, and although Cuppage overall is pretty sleazy at night*, Kaiho is not! The staff is always welcoming and the sushi chef seems like a cool dude. Although my husband and I come here on weekends for dinner, it’s never full so a reservation isn’t needed.
I always get the Sushi Mori (9 pieces of sushi) and Miguel always gets the Chirashi. Both choices have made us so happy that we have yet to try any other entrees on the menu! Their veggie tempura is pretty good and nicely priced at $ 9, so give it a shot. Another thing that makes this a legit sushi joint is the wasabi root they have on hand. The chef grates it once you put your order in– doesn’t get any fresher than that!
My only criticism is that the sushi rice doesn’t stay together very well, so it sometimes falls apart whenever I dip my sushi in soy sauce. Pretty minor problem though, so I’ll let it slide.
*I made the mistake of using the ladies room after my meal here. There were 3 KTV escorts chillin’ in the bathroom, smoking cigarettes and dreaming out loud about being housewives before the age of 30. Keep dreaming, I guess?

First visit. Have heard about this place through friends.
Disclaimer: having been spoiled by NYC Japanese restaurants and my fav hidden Japanese tried and true gem in HK, I rarely have sashimi/​sushi in SG.
That said, I loved this place!
Yes nondescript corner spot inside a blg, but the food made up for it.
Aburi seared sushi rolls are the winners. Had a spicy salmon and California. The tops of the rolls have a nice sauce that’s seared to smoky perfection. Very nice. The spicy salmon was addictive. No chopped fish bits… I’m talking fresh salmon flesh topped with a drizzle of hot oil. Fusion at its best. V nice. I could see this do very well at a Nobu. In fact this was better than any sushi dish I had at Nobu back home in NY.
I am craving aburi salmon rolls already.
My companion had a sushi set. Fresh and well done.
Sesame ice cream had good flavor.
Attentive and friendly service to boot. Chef Bernard and the server were v hospitable.
I will be back!
S30/​person for lunch

Hmmm.
We came here after reading an article about this place on the local newspapers.
Big fans of nigiri sushi. So I got the chef to do up a selection of their nigiri sushi, including some aburi ones.
Aburi ones — for some reason, he drizzled a sweet sauce (can’t decide if it is teriyaki or a unagi-​like sauce) over the seared sushi. Usually when you sear fish, the oil from the seafood will be released and it will tend to give a smoothness and oiliness to the sushi. I really don’t see why he needs to add more sauce to the sushi. Plus I feel that the sweetness of the sauce will mush the actual sweetness of awesome fresh seafood. That said, the seafood quality is good.
Regular nigiri — it’s ok. I feel that while we all like value for money and thickly sliced seafood, the way the fish is sliced plays a HUGE part in the bite and taste. One of the main reason why sushi chefs undergo training for many years. Again, the seafood whilst fresh, is not good enough.
9 pieces of nigiri brings our bill to about $ 60 each. Reasonable and value for money I guess. But not good enough for a return.
While the location of Cuppage Centre is a tad dodgy with lots of nightclubs, the place itself seems to be filled with lots of regulars sitting at the sushi bar chatting to the chef. Totally wholesome inside.
Ok, totally missing Japan now.

This is really a hole-​in-​the-​wall kinda restaurant. The shopfront doesn’t look appetizing at all– plain boring green banner with a simple font stating the name of the place. No pictures on the menu :(Absolutely no atmosphere of any sorts. A simple bar counter that seats 9 – 10 patrons and another 4 – 5 dining tables.
This is where i fell in love with the Aburi style. I usually have a problem with the searing. When it’s overcooked, it feels like i’m eating a half cooked/​half raw piece of meat. I never knew what perfect Aburi is until Chef Tang and his perfect torching technique came along. The fish seamlessly transits from the cooked to raw texture which simply melts in your mouth. The Japanese Mayonnaise and sweet sauce gave it an additional buttery smoothness that simply glides down the throat. The Hotategai Aburi Sushi ($ 9) was great even without the heat. Couldn’t really tell the difference though and I love it raw anyhow.
Bento sets are pretty good too $ 20++