Koh Grill & Sushi Bar

In a nutshell
Fudz: Koh Grill & Sushi Bar
Cuisine: Japanese
Location: 435 Orchard Road Wisma Atria Shopping Centre #04-23 Singapore 238877
Note: Opens at 1130hrs and does not accept reservations. You queue if you want to eat.

The story

We crave freedom when we are in the middle of a terrible project. Okay, it was not terrible. It was hellish. We would look at each other, nod empathetically, pat on backs and say things like, "we will eat something good after this."

My inmates and I decided to go for Japanese food after breaking out of prison. Japanese food is usually a safe bet... unless you're one of those queueing up for Sakae Sushi. Nobody can help you.

Ashley raves about the Shiok Maki. Online reviews rave about the Shiok Maki. I think the people eating hokkien mee at Wisma Atria's Food Republic (where Koh Grill & Sushi Bar is) rave about the Shiok Maki too.

It took about 15 minutes just to get the server's attention to take our orders. What are 15 minutes when we had been eating prison food for months?

It took more than 45 minutes for three of the bento sets to arrive. These sets consisted of udon soup and sushi. I wasn't sure why it took so long. We checked on their statuses after the half-an-hour mark and the waitress could not give a reasonable reply. The rest of the team were already more or less done with their meals. All the sushi orders were nowhere near done.

And when they came, they looked like this.

Check the bottom right maki. They look like they had just met with an accident.

I'm not particular about how my food is presented as long as it still looks appetising. BUT this is a Japanese restaurant specialised in sushi. The picture above is a blasphemy to Japanese cuisine that prides itself on presentation as well as taste. Why did it take so long for them to make sushi that look like these? I think I can do a better job on the plating if I were in a sushi buffet, picking sushi for myself to eat.

They need a lot more skilful sushi chefs then. If they can't make the presentation decent, the least they can do is to serve up a lot quicker than 45 minutes.

Taste-wise, it's all good.

Shiok maki come in either ebi or eel

The one with ebi

I suspect that it tasted so good because it was heavily doused with mayo mentai cream. The downside was that the salmon and ebi drowned in the sea of mayonnaise. They could swim when they were alive. Now that they are cooked, they could not beat the cream flood.

Tofu with century egg and roe

Cha soba with quail egg

It was a good meal despite the long wait and bad service.

I wish restaurants will teach their servers NOT to stack patrons' plates on the table in front of them. I wish they do not have to 'transfer' leftovers from one plate to another while stacking them. Hawker cleaners can do that because they need to clear the tables fast for the next customer.

Then again, I found out that Koh Grill & Sushi Bar does not charge customers' for service, only GST.