aoki 青木, shaw centre.
finally managed to go for lunch at aoki with L! ever since reading all the "best chirashi" lists that always include aoki's mazechirashi, i've wanted to eat there.they have two timings for lunch, 12 and 1.30. i booked the second seating, requesting for counter seats, and preordered the mazechirashi when i called. (i usually have a hard time deciding what to eat when faced with a menu, so preordering food is something new.)
i had a hard time trying to find the restaurant- i thought it was somewhere inside the mall, but turns out that it was located along the road, with its entrance facing the road. entering the restaurant was like entering a different world. it was all wood and muted lighting. i liked it, especially the layout, with the sushi counter as centerstage.
we were seated at the corner, right in front of the tempting wooden boxes of sashimi. L was especially enraptured by the juicy looking amaebi.
this was their lunch menu! their lunch sets are actually pretty good value.
the moment we sat down, we were served the pre-appetizer ($4). the pre-appetizer of the day was hijiki seaweed. nice, but hardly worth the $4. feels like kind of a rip-off. i initially wanted to tell them that i didn't want it, but it was served the moment i sat down. oh well. i wish they wouldn't do that though.
my mazechirashi also came with a salad.
the mazechirashi ($40)! it tasted just as good as it looked in pictures. easily one of the best chirashis that i've eaten (and i've eaten quite a number). each bite had the right ratio of sashimi bits, rice and egg.
the set also came with miso soup, pickles and ginger.
L got the nigiri sushi token ($55), and i got to sample bites of it. surprisingly enough we liked the minced tuna maki, even though we both share the same general dislike of tuna. in all, really good sushi.
the lunch set also came with dessert. vanilla pudding, momo ice cream and jelly. dessert is hardly their strong point, but it provided a good sweet finish. didn't like the vanilla pudding though and donated mine to L. i was hoping to get something more japanese, like mochi or something.
service was attentive though slightly rushed towards the end (i think because they were closing).
it wasn't cheap, but i think it was actually good value for money. maybe because we ate so slowly, savouring every delicious morsel, i was very full at the end of the meal.
i'm interested to try their lunch omakase ($115). perhaps will drag L back for it one day. so many other high end sushi places that i want to try still, though!
aoki
shaw centre #01-17
