Singapore-grown Japanese restaurant Sushi Tei is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. For the second edition of its year-long fete, the restaurant is bringing back popular past seasonal items for its commemorative menu. Amid the comings and goings of the multitude of Japanese sushi restaurants here over the years, Sushi Tei has stayed the course with an affordable yet authentic range of dishes and has made a truly remarkable achievement in reaching this three-decade milestone.
Sushi Tei at Paragon. Photo © Fen Chia.
The first dish on our tasting menu is Kanpachi (S$16.80), otherwise known as greater amberjack, from Kagoshima prefecture, now the top producer of this fish. The large sashimi slices are thick and very fresh, which makes biting into each one very satisfying. There is also a sushi option (S$6.80). I also like the Pearl Negitoro Maki (S$12.80), where crabstick and cucumber sushi is topped with a generous mound of negitoro (minced tuna) and salmon roe.
Kanpachi Sashimi. Photo © Fen Chia.
Pearl Negitorok Maki. Photo © Fen Chia.
Up next were crowd pleasers in the form of the Momiji Ebi Roll (S$13.80), which is a sushi roll studded with deep-fried shrimp and a luscious crabmeat topping, drizzled with spicy yuzu mayonnaise. Together with the Kani Mentai Tamagoyaki (S$9.80), japanese omelette topped with crab stick and the ever popular cod roe mayonnaise, these two are wholesome dishes that all palates will appreciate, particularly the kids’ if they come along.
Momiji Ebi Roll. Photo © Sushi Tei.
Kani Mentai Tamagoyaki. Photo © Fen Chia.
The Kaisen Tomato Pasta (S$17.80) that came next had a variety of assorted seafood but would arguably look more at home on a western menu as there were no Japanese elements in it as far as I could tell. The seafood was plentiful but portions are overall a tad small if one intends to have it as a mains. Same goes for the warming Pork Goma Nabe (S$14.80), which I much preferred, with its thick savoury sesame-based soup brimming with mushrooms, pork, carrots and chives.
Kaisen Tomato Pasta. Photo © Sushi Tei.
Pork Goma Nabe. Photo © Sushi Tei.
The star of the evening was undoubtedly the A5 Maruzen Craft Wagyu Steak (S$36.80). The pan-fried A5 maruzen craft wagyu striploin steak was perfectly tender, served with garlic chips and a unnamed ‘special’ sauce somewhat reminiscent of demi-glace. The flavourful beef was polished off quickly and left us wanting more. The wagyu is yet another Kagoshima product, originating from the Maruzen farm where the cattle are fed a special diet of rice-plant fodder, fortified with vitamin-rich grass and a mix of soybean flour, roasted soybeans and corn that results in the meat’s excellent marbling and tender texture.
A5 Maruzen Craft Wagyu Steak. Photo © Sushi Tei.
The meal ended on a pleasantly refreshing high with the unanimously appreciated Momo Sherbet (S$4.80), a delightfully pink peach sherbet, whose fruitiness was a nice counterbalance to the savoury flavours in the dishes leading up to it. I get ice cream more often than sorbet for dessert in Japanese eateries but this sherbet, sitting nicely in between creaminess and tartness, was a surprise that worked well.
This second edition of Sushi Tei’s 30th anniversary menu will be available from now till 10 September 2023, but we do hope it will not be the last we see of these dishes!
More information on Sushi Tei outlets can be found here. All outlets are open from 11.30am to 10pm daily.
