Haru Yoshi: A5 Melt-In-Mouth Wagyu + Blue Sea Salt Ice Cream By Ex Shangri-La Chef In Bukit Timah

Haru Yoshi is hidden just behind the busy stretch of shop houses next to Beauty World MRT. The authentic Japanese restaurant is helmed by 70-year-old, Chef Chikara Yoshikawa and demonstrates his 53 years of experience.

Chef Yoshikawa has previously been mentored by famous Iron Chef Koumei Nakamura in Shangri-La Hotel Singapore. He has even cooked for renowned personalities all over the world including the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew.

The warm decor of the restaurant, especially the light wooden furniture, gave the space a welcoming vibe. For those with fine tastes, they even have a wall featuring a wide selection of premium sakes, rare whiskies and fine wines.

The emphasis for the afternoon was the seasonal Golden Eye Snapper, Kimdedai (Seasonal price), done three ways. They presented the snapper with a vibrant red colour and crystal clear eyes to us first, before being sent to Chef Yoshikawa to be intricately sliced for a Kimedai Sashimi.

The sashimi had a delicate sweetness and melted in my mouth despite having a low-fat content. I was quite surprised as I was expecting it to have a fishy smell, but the fish was so fresh that there wasn’t any. I would recommend squeezing some lemon on it to get a zesty kick at the end.

I usually order a fatter cut of fish such as salmon belly for sashimi, as I enjoy the creamy texture. However, I was pleasantly surprised at how sweet and buttery the lean red snapper was.

The next way Chef Yoshikawa decided to prepare the fish was as a Kimedai Nitsuke. This is a simmered piece of the same golden eye snapper with tofu, mushrooms and horenso spinach. These ingredients come in a bowl of sweetened broth made from premium shoyu, mirin, cooking sake and sugar.

As a result of the cooking process, the sweetened broth enhanced the fish’s sweetness and got rid of any fishy taste. Succulent and flaky, the fish had a texture similar to a codfish. I also liked how the silky tofu contrasted the juicy yet crunchy mushrooms.

This was my favourite version out of the three, as I enjoyed the intense sweet flavours of the fish together with the mellow broth and fresh Japanese vegetables.

To ensure that no part of the fish goes to waste, Chef Yoshikawa made a Special Kimedai Miso Soup. This was no ordinary miso soup, as it was gradually simmered with the snapper’s head, cheeks and bones.

The miso soup was bursting with the sweet flavour of the fish and had a slightly thicker consistency due to the collagen in the fish bones.

It was a great way to end the kimedai course as it helped to cleanse my palate in preparation for the rest of the bold flavours.

The next dish we tried at Haru Yoshi was a premium grade A5 Wagyu Beef (S$110++/ 100g) with excellent marbling throughout the entire steak. It was served with garlic chips, a dab of Yuzu Kosho, lotus chips as well as a chunk of Himalayan rock salt shaved tableside.

To preserve the natural flavours of the beef, the meat is simply seasoned with salt and pepper and charred over a grill.

The piece of steak had a caramelised sweetness and melted in my mouth without even having to chew on it. Adding the Himalayan salt helped to lift the sweet and savoury flavours of the buttery beef.

The garlic chips provided a crunchy texture as well as a subtle fragrant aroma to the steak while the yuzu kosho added an initial zestiness followed by a mild spiciness. I would recommend having them all together to get the different layers of flavours and textures all at once.

I thoroughly enjoyed Chef Yoshikawa’s effort in preserving the natural taste of the superior wagyu beef. However, this dish might be a bit too pricey for most. The portion was barely enough for me, so you’d need to order other dishes as well.

Last but not least, we had the Yuzu Tofu Cheese Cake With Sea Salt Ice Cream to end off the meal. The sea salt ice cream had a natural baby blue colour from the Oshima island blue salt.

The ice cream had a sweet and salty flavour with an icy consistency but it was otherwise rather bland. On the other hand, the cheesecake had a rich cream cheese layer sitting on top of a biscuit crust. The yuzu peels on top of the cake gave a refreshing tanginess to the cake.

Despite the muted flavours of the ice cream, I still enjoyed saltiness of the ice cream cutting through the rich cream cheese, making it less jelak.

Haru Yoshi has impressed me with the use of premium ingredients combined with the exceptional skills of Chef Yoshikawa. Located next to Beauty World MRT station with a bus stop nearby, the restaurant is also easily accessible.

However, Haru Yoshi definitely would not be a daily affair due to the extravagant prices. Perhaps it can be a good dining spot to splurge on every now and then.

Expected Damage: S$50 – S$100 per pax