Based on his gentle demeanour, you can hardly imagine Manabu Saitoh bursting out in song and playing the ukulele for his diners. “If I drink enough sake, the diners enjoy a performance,” he quips cheekily.
Hailing from Hokkaido, the chef first moved to Singapore in Oct 2022 to start Sushi Sei. It’s an intimate 16-seater restaurant specialising in sushi and kaiseki cuisine. Saitoh, who has over 30 years of culinary experience and a master of Japanese cuisine title, wants to showcase the best produce from his hometown.
To celebrate the restaurant’s first anniversary, Saitoh created an exquisite omakase menu available from now until Jan 2024. As a gesture of friendship to his diners, an exclusive one-for-one promotion will be available in November, from Sunday to Thursday.
The elaborate menu starts off on a decadent note with the zensai course. It features a platter of signature appetisers like Hokkaido gold rush cold corn soup, monkfish liver with ponzu jelly, miso-grilled cheese, amaebi nigirizushi, and more. Brewed with no additional sugar, the silky-smooth corn soup brims with the natural sweetness of Hokkaido corn.
Next, the comforting bonito clear soup warms bellies and cleanses palates. A generous slice of the fatty yet sweet kinki, a highly sought after fish found on the coastline of Hokkaido, swims within.
Wisps of dry ice reveal our next course: thick cuts of sashimi garnished beautifully with autumn leaves. Saitoh cuts the fresh bluefin tuna in front of you to present the smooth chutoro sashimi.
The next course is Saitoh’s favourite. It’s a simple simmered item rich in taste. With steamed amadai and cod milt creating a light yet creamy base, the seafood toppings of steamed uni, tiger prawn, and scallop were allowed to shine.
By then, I was satiated but couldn’t resist the sushi course, skilfully prepared by the chef. The unagi, lightly torched to perfection and paired with a mould of warm rice, sealed the deal for me.
The grand finale? Matcha tea whisked to a frothy consistency and a trio of delicate warabi mochi handcrafted by the chef himself. Grinning in satisfaction from behind the blond hinoki counter, the chef tells us he hopes to see us back at Sushi Sei again.
