Jinjo Restaurant - a new sumiyaki restaurant at Shaw Centre

The new Jinjo Restaurant recently opened in the second level of Shaw Centre. It takes over the space which used to house the whisky and wine retail area of Caveau / Vinum Wines. The latter has moved to Pacific Tech Centre, somewhere in Bukit Merah. They are both part of the Les Amis Group, as are quite a few restaurants in Shaw Centre, including the flagship Les Amis restaurant. Jinjo is described as “A modern sumiyaki restaurant … where traditional Japanese fare is presented with a contemporary spirit”.

“Sumiyaki” means charcoal grilled. The charcoal grill takes centre stage at the Jinjo restaurant. It is one of the first things one sees upon entering the restaurant. The place looks like an izakaya type of Japanese restaurant. The dimly lit interior has a simple decor with wooden furniture. A large chiller proudly displays a wide selection of sake.

Jinjo Restaurant Menu

Here are pictures of the Jinjo Restaurant menu. The range of items available was quite limited but adequate for diners like us on a first visit. We made a few selections from the menu.

The ramen in chicken broth ($10) was the first dish served. It was a small portion of plain ramen. The only toppings were some chopped spring onions and seaweed. The ramen was smooth and the broth was tasty but not exceptional.

We have a thing for Japanese sweet potatoes and so this was the item we selected from the vegetables section of the menu. The Chiba sweet potatoes ($20) were nice and sweet. It was also the most substantial dish of the day.

We had two items from the Charcoal Grill section of the menu – the Gindara (cod and miso $24) and the Kama (tuna belly $28). The quality of the fish was high and they tasted great. The only problem was their size. They were served in tiny portions. They were roughly the size of dishes served as part of a multi-course kaiseki menu. Prepare to order more dishes than what you are used to when visiting the new Jinjo Restaurant.