‘Kushiyaki’ is a term that many people in Singapore are not familiar with.
Don’t worry, we will explain. Kushiyaki essentially refers to skewered food that is grilled.
Grilling brings out the natural flavours of the food. It caramelises the sugars in vegetables and marinated meat tend to take on a distinctive roast aroma and flavour.
Enter Kimoto Gastro Bar. This hole-in-the-wall restaurant bar located at The Sail@Marina Bay serves up a wide range of skewered meat and vegetables, tempura, rice bowls, and an extensive menu of saké to go with the food.
This quaint bar may be small but their food is big on flavour.
Stick After Stick Of Deliciousness
Now, this is the fun part. The food!
The Buta Bara (Iberico Pork Belly) is a must-try. The iberico pork belly is brushed with a special sauce before being grilled to caramelised perfection. We promise that this will disappear from the table faster than you can say “Buta Bara”.
New on the menu is this Kimoto original, the Unagi Riceball. Generous amounts of grilled fatty unagi is wrapped in a toasted riceball and is served with their special sauce, bonito flakes and a dollop of tobiko mayo.
This delectable creation is crispy and packed with flavour. We love how umami the unagi is when paired with the special sauce. However, it is quite a hassle to try and get rid of the toasted rice from your teeth afterwards.
It is still a really good riceball though, so do give it a try!
Another Kimoto original, the Crispy Fried Squid is an addictive bar bite that is fried to perfection, yet tender and moist on the inside. This is a hot favourite on the menu so order fast or it might just run out!
The Uzura Tamago (Quail Egg) is a mini ramen egg. The yolks are not fully cooked so it’s still a bit runny and the umami is concentrated. Each bite of the quail egg is akin to setting off an umami bomb.
Grilled and simply seasoned with salt is the Zucchini kushiyaki ($4.50). It looks underwhelming but don’t let that fool you. We never knew zucchini could be this good.
When you finish your food, don’t just leave the skewers lying around. Kimoto provides these cups for you to leave your finished skewers. Handy!
For those of you who are craving something a little more familiar, Kimoto has that covered.
The Tempura Moriawase comes with battered prawns, shitake mushroom, brinjal, sweet potato, carrot, and interestingly, chicken breast!
The chicken breast is tenderised before being coated in tempura batter and fried. The result is a flat, tender piece of chicken breast that just melts in your mouth.
Kimoto also has a rather extensive saké menu, because no decent japanese bar serves food without alcohol. Prices for the saké go from $70 to $1688. Yes, $1688. If you’re not sure about the drink pairing, feel free to ask the friendly staff for recommendations!
All in all, Kimoto Gastro Bar is a great spot to unwind with friends, with great food, great saké and reasonable prices for quality food.
Kimoto Gastro Bar
Address: 6 Marina Boulevard #01-15 The Sail@Marina Bay Singapore 018987
Opening Hours: Mon – Fri: 11.30am – 2.30pm, 6pm – 10pm; Sat – Sun: Closed
Contact no.: 6222 7588
Website
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(Header Image Source: Kimoto Gastro Bar)
