Kenji Sushi

There is no sign worth mentioning. Walk past it twice and you are in good company.

Kenji Sushi is the omakase to make a habit of rather than an occasion: a small counter in a corner unit at City Gate on Beach Road, classic sushi, and prices that don't need a birthday to justify them. Booking is through Facebook or Instagram (there is no website), and you should look carefully for the unit, because the signage won't help. The compromise is that this is a quiet, plain counter; if you want theatre with your tuna, book elsewhere.

Chef-owner Kenji Nakagawa has paid his dues. He came to Singapore in 2013 to join the opening team at Kenjiro Hashida's restaurant at Mandarin Gallery (Hashida was a friend from culinary school in Japan), and moved to Sushi Jiro in 2017. He then struck out alone, with no partners, taking over a ready-to-run former sushi restaurant at Cuppage Plaza before the counter moved to City Gate. His own pricing logic is plain – great quality, nothing too premium priced – and that is still the pitch.

The format is omakase-only and led by the seasons, with a few small cooked dishes, and the chef will tailor the menu to requests. The room is small, with limited counter seating, so book rather than hope.

The meal typically runs to sashimi, chawanmushi, six nigiri and an uni and ikura rice bowl to finish. The detail to watch for is the homemade soy sauce, paired with akami, the leanest cut of bluefin; a chef who makes his own soy is telling you where his attention goes. Expect fish such as chutoro, hamachi and Hokkaido scallop as sashimi, then nigiri running from ebi and barracuda to otoro and anago.

How to do it well: sit at the counter, say what you like and don't like when you book or as you sit down, and ask what each piece is if it isn't announced. The tailoring is part of the format, and it only works if you use it. Lunch is the cheaper way in (prices are in the facts box), and the right first visit for anyone new to omakase who wants the format without the ceremony. Nicoll Highway and Bugis MRT are both a walk; Beach Road at lunchtime is hot, so allow for that.

Good to know Kenji Sushi is at #01-28, City Gate Block 1, 371 Beach Road; Nicoll Highway and Bugis MRT are both a walk. There is no website: book through its Facebook or Instagram pages. Look carefully for the unit.

Kenji Sushi | 371 Beach Road, Block 1, City Gate, #01-28, Singapore 199597 | Nearest MRT: Nicoll Highway, Bugis