Kuriya Penthouse is a Japanese restaurant established in December 2009 and has been recognised as one of the best restaurants in Singapore. Located at level 12 of Orchard Central shopping mall, the restaurant includes a rooftop garden that provides a spectacular view of Orchard Road, fondly known as Singapore’s main shopping street.
In this issue, our Trendy Trio of Jeff, Hellven and Jasmine, armed with their IXUS 220 HS, take us on an IXUS Culinary Experience like no other.
The moment you enter Kuriya Penthouse, you find yourself greeted by a line of waiters and waitresses as if you were royalty. The ambience of the restaurant itself is a crowd puller with designs that are really quite sophisticated.
The open area of the restaurant provides a view that overlooks the streets of Orchard, which is enough to occupy your attention while the friendly bartender mixes up a few of their original cocktails.
With scenery like that, do remember to take some shots for keepsake, just like what our Trendy Trio did. The IXUS 220 HS did a good job in capturing the colours of the heavens: made up from a beautiful blue sky with fluffy cloud formations, contrasted by a stunning orange glow.
The restaurant design really catches your attention from the black marble tables to the high black chairs and even the small pond takes you closer to nature during your dining experience.
- Hellven
Now on to the dining experience! The trio had their first drink, a Grapefruit Cocktail that contains grapefruit pulp in it. However, some might find the taste a little bitter. So the rim of glass is coated with sugar to balance out the bitterness of the drink.
Personally, it is a little too bitter for me so I think it is more suitable for the guys.
- Jasmine
This is the Japanese Ginger Cocktail. It has a mixture of grapefruit, ginger and sake. The ginger taste can be rather strong but that’s what makes the drink so unique.
Here’s a drink which Jasmine describes as her favourite. The Rose and Lychee Martini. It’s sweet mix of rose and lychee just right for the ladies.
The food that Kuriya Penthouse serves is seasonal. Also, the ingredients that they use are not just from Japan, but also from countries all over the world like Australia and France.
The following pictures you are about to see will whet your appetite as our Trendy Trio turn to the macro mode of their IXUS 220 HS to get a closer look at the delicious food that Kuriya Penthouse serves.
For starters, our Trendy Trio were served Sesame Tofu with Shrimp and Edamame soaked in Jelly Sauce. It’s a cold dish and the Jelly sauce can be a little sour cos of the vinegar in it.
Up next, the assorted Sashimi provided a few smiles for our Trio as one of the things they highlighted was that it didn’t have a fishy smell or taste. The sashimi was served fresh and the prawn that went with it was is very sweet too.
With most of the dishes so far being more authentic Japanese in culinary style, this one was a mix of east meets west. The Grilled Wrapped Ocean Trout with Wagyu Beef done Teriyaki style. Basically this dish is salmon wrapped with Wagyu Beer. The beef is very tender and the salmon well-cooked.
The salmon is cooked it in a way such that it doesn’t have a raw taste and yet, is still able to retain the freshness of it. Perfect! I would recommend everyone to try this when they drop by the restaurant!
- Jasmine
Have you ever heard of Corn Ball with Japanese Ginko Nuts? Well, the Trio found this to be rather special because the corn ball is prepared in a way that only the outside is fried, leaving the inside uncooked. You’ll find that the corn ball has yam in it, giving it a nice mix of sweet and salty.
To round up the main course, mixed rice with Chicken, Miso Soup and Pickles were served to our Trio as they dug into a hotpot of sticky herbal tasting rice with a blend of soft, well-mixed mushrooms and vegetables.
Naturally by this point, you’re expecting to be wowed by the final dish of the evening – The Desserts. Our very excited trio were served a mixture of fruits like honey dew, apples and grapes. The fruits were specially imported from Japan which still retained that fresh sweet taste and fragrance which was indescribable. You simply have to try it for yourself!
I’ve been to many Japanese, Korean and Thai restaurants but Kuriya Penthouse provides something that’s a cut above the rest. And that would be its standard of service.
- Jeff
For a rooftop dining experience in the heart of Orchard, visit Kuriya Penthouse located at level 12 of Orchard Central Shopping Mall.
Another IXUS Experience brought to you by the Canon IXUS Style Council