Sushi Jin @ Connexion at Farrer Park, Singapore

Six star experience at four star prices – this was the description given to their restaurant by Sushi Jin’s website.  Ordinarily we would not pay much attention to this kind of publicity. You know what they say about a deal that is too good to be true right?  But this claim is not made by just any person, for Sushi Jin is part of the mighty Les Amis group which operates quite a number of restaurants in Singapore. As fans of some of their other outlets, we thought that if anyone can do it, they are probably the ones that can pull off such a deal. So we made our way to the newly opened integrated medical facility known as Connexion at Farrer Park.  This is apparently a project spearheaded by a group of doctors.  Within this complex is a medical centre, a hospital, a hotel and spa plus a small retail section which includes some restaurants of which Sushi Jin is one.

Sushi Jin @ Connexion is quite a small restaurant and is made up of two sections – the sushi bar and a regular seating area at the back. The sushi counter area looks quite attractive, but because it runs parallel to the narrow passageway, you feel like you are in the middle of a busy thoroughfare.  We decided to be seated at the regular tables. The quality of the decor at the back room seems to be taken down a couple of notches as compared to the counter area, but at least you get some privacy. For lunch, there are quite a few options. At the top end are two types of omakase lunches, the Jin omakase at $130 and the ordinary omakase lunch at $80. Then there are quite a few set lunch options ranging from $15 for the tofu and mushrooms on rice to $39 for the foie gras and wagyu beef on rice.

We were eager to try their 6-star raw fish and ordered an assorted sashimi platter for 2 persons ($80) and two set lunches, the tempura don ($22) and wagyu don ($35).

The sashimi platter arrived looking fine but without much in terms of aesthetics. How about the taste then, which is what really matters. It is hard to describe the feeling of disappointment when we had gone there expecting 6-star sashimi. The fish was not firm and did not have much of a natural taste. Perhaps closer to supermarket standard rather than six star. To top off our dismay, we discovered towards the end that one of the tuna slices had black specks. The lady restaurant manager inspected it and felt it was normal. At our insistence, she brought it back to the chef who replaced it. No word of explanation let alone any expression of regret.

The regular set lunch items that followed in fact looked much better than the sashimi. The tempura was actually quite beautifully presented although the prawns used were quite small. The taste was ok but not exceptional. By now, our expectations were lowered so much that we were happy to accept ok. Likewise the wagyu don was presented well and was quite good. I suppose one lesson learnt here is to stick with the cooked food options and you will be safe. The other lesson is of course to remember what the wise man says, when a deal sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Don’t argue with it, no matter who is making the promise!

Ratings: 

Food: 2

Service: 3

Value: 1

Atmosphere: 3

Overall Rating: 2 TOPs

    

Sushi Jin

#01-11/12 One Farrer Hotel & Spa

1 Farrer Park Station Road

Singapore 217562