The soft shell crab was served with some vegetable tempura. We like the light batter, which was crispy and not oily. Vegetable tempura were enjoyable but soft shell crab was a little salty and too browned. Overall, not too bad but I recommend that you order the grilled foods instead.

We like the teriyaki flavour of the Foie gras and chicken don and the generous amount of foie gras and chicken. Unfortunately, the texture of the foie gras left much to be desired; there wasn't a crusty exterior and the interior was too soft and not creamy enough. Chicken pieces were passable but strictly speaking, a little dry. Overall, this is worth ordering only if you can't take seafood and aren't too particular about textures. Hmmm.. has Ginza Kuroson lost its touch?

I thought so until I tasted the unagi, which was served like an appetizer atop cold cucumber salad. Although this grilled eel does not spot a crispy exterior like Uya or Man Man's eels, the eel texture is excellent; totally boneless, soft and moist (Uya and Man Man's eels are drier). The unagi marinate used was also tasty without being overly sweet or salty. Apparently, charcoal grilled seafood is Ginza Kuroson's forte, fried food and non-seafood items are not. On the next visit, I will just go for the grilled seafood!

First Visit (25 June 2016)
Ginza Kuroson started out in Ginza (Tokyo's high-end shopping, dining and entertainment district) where it strove to serve fresh and high quality seafood at affordable prices in-spite of the upmarket location. So it is no surprise that one of their Singapore branches is located within our very own upscale district, Orchard Road. In Singapore, prices seemed dearer though.

Occupying quite a large area on Level 3 of Takashimaya Shopping Centre, the restaurant houses a big open kitchen behind a long sushi counter where fresh fishes and seafood are on display, resembling a fish market.

Within the kitchen, I could also spot a sashimi station and couple of charcoal grills. Seeing the set up here, it is clear what I should be ordering- seafood, sashimi & robatayaki!

Since I am not a Sashimi fan, I ordered the fire-wood grilled Kyushu Mackerel (Grilled Saba) marinated in Mirin. And it turned out to be the best Saba I've tasted! Deliciously sweet and juicy, it had an awesome smokey flavor that you can only get from a charcoal grill. In fact, after trying this, I don't want to eat the food court's Korean Saba anymore!

P/S For the best value, visit Ginza Kuroson during lunch hours to get this Saba Fish Lunch Set for only S$29++. Appetizer, pickles, salad, rice, miso soup, chawanmushi (small portion but super smooth and filled with ingredients), dessert and green tea are also included in the lunch set.

TIP!!
The best seats are the counter seats where you can watch the chefs prepare your food right in front of you!

However, these are hot seats, literally and figuratively! Wear light comfy clothing (else prepare to sweat) and call in advance to reserve!

The next best seats are within the private rooms at the back of this restaurant but minimum spending (S$300++/4 pax) applies.