IKO
IKO, which means “Let’s Go!” in Japanese, is a modern-Japanese restaurant along Neil Road that first opened its door at the height of the pandemic last year. It has recently undergone a transformation with a completely new kitchen team and a revamped menu. The new menu is inspired by traditional Japanese cuisine but reinterpreted in a modern and creative style. The main emphasis is on the quality of excellent raw ingredients and culinary innovation.
I am unable to compare this make-over iKO menu and the entire new kitchen team with the previous. IKO’s first opening was badly timed with the tightened COVID safety measures last year and I have not stepped into the restaurant until now. Not perfect but I am generally impressed with what I have experienced solely based on this visit. The ingredients were quality and fresh. The chef’s works were creative and yet you can tell tradition was well respected.
Snack
We kicked off our meal with reishu sake and snacks of charred edamame ($12) and tempura jalapeño ($9). The charred edamame pods were dusted with wasabi powder and served with wasabi roe and oyster leaf. The hot jalapeño chili fritter was stuffed with kombu cream cheese and dusted with sour cream powder.
Raw
Freshly shucked oysters ($6/pc) served with ume, pickled ginger, champagne vinegar and a shot of sake ($5) put us in a jazzy mood along with more sashimi inspired dishes.
Sliced Hotate Sashimi ($18) was plated on gin-infused watermelon and served with shoyu, chili oil and lemon grass.
Fresh salmon slices ($19) were served with its smoked version and chive creme fraiche to give the Japanese sashimi a French twist. The kiwi ravigote and dill oil provided a refreshing note and colour.
Starter
Crispy and tasty whole tempura Soft Shell Crab ($14) was served with mozzarella and avocado purée with a soy cured egg yolk. Mix everything together to create a messy yet tasty dip for the tempura crab.
A5 Wagyu slices ($26) were served “Sukiyaki” style, not quite though. The prized beef was plated together with shiitake mushroom, leek, scallion, perilla tempura and a raw eye yolk in the middle. Hot sukiyaki broth was then poured over to cook the beef slightly. The beef was amazingly buttery and tender. One of my favourite dishes.
The iKO Roll ($24) is a luxurious sushi roll with foie gras, winter black truffle, maitake mushroom and fig. The gourmet ingredients would speak for themselves.
Not Your Ordinary Rice Bowl (NYORB)
It was a long IKO NYORB list - Classic ($15), Simple ($21), Fun ($30), Sexy ($35) and Luxury ($42). We opted for the lux version. The seaweed rice bowl was topped with generous amount of uni, otoro, maguro, salmon, ikura, tobiko and snow crab. Get your fix of quality sashimi and rice in this super lux Chirashi don. One bowl is enough!
Sumibiyaki
Next on the table was called Smoked Tuna ($26). But it was actually a buttery-lemony cream base pasta dish served with firefly squid, ikura, tobiko and bottarga. I would prefer bucatini instead of the spaghetti used.
Kurobuta Bone In Pork Loin ($32) was sous-vide cooked, grilled and served with kale, mizuna, spring onion, chive, garlic shoot, black garlic, 5 spice demi-glace. Although flavourful, I find it slightly salty for me when eaten on its own.
Dessert
Dessert was Matchamisu ($13) - a Japanese take on the Italian Tiramisu dessert, deconstructed. Lady fingers were soaked in Baileys Irish cream and topped with matcha ice cream and yogurt coconut cream, sprinkled with roasted sesame seeds.
