Good Things Come In Small Packages

Physician and foodie Caroline Low-Heah reviews Nijuuichi, the newest omakase restaurant in town serving original Tokyo -style sushi in an ultra-cozy, near-private ambience.

- Caroline Low-Heah

Sitting pretty on a slope among heritage shophouses at 21 Duxton Hill is an unassuming door that leads into Nijuuichi, a Japanese omakase restaurant serving Edomae sushi. This style of sushi-making refers to the traditional preparation methods pioneered in the capital city in the Edo era, when there was no refrigeration, and hence seafood from the Tokyo Bay area was preserved through various methods to maintain freshness.

Featuring an L-shaped bar counter seating only 10 patrons and a private room for seven, this new kid on the block is helmed by chef Martin Yan, who has over 30 years of experience and is a disciple of the renowned shokunin Yosho Nogawa. Among the many luminaries who have graced his table include Sultan of Johor Ibrahim Iskandar and the late Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.

Adorning the shelves high up against the walls are jars of homemade Wakayama plum umeshu – the youngest only a couple of months old, while the oldest, a good few years. Start with some liquid gold on the rocks while pondering your omakase choice. The menu is short and self-explanatory. For lunch, Nijuuichi offers a $128++ sushi set, and two menus with varied courses priced at $158++ and $208++. For dinner, there are two nine-course menus, Umi and Yama, priced at $288++ and $368++ respectively. I choose the Yama set.

A quick conversation with the maestro reveals a menu that changes with the seasons. Fresh fish is regularly flown in four times a week from Osaka and Toyosu Market (formerly known as Tsukiji Market) in Tokyo.