Sen-ryo serves up premium Japanese in a stylish setting at ION Orchard

The concept of affordable-luxury isn’t one that many can pull off easily, but newly opened Japanese restaurant sen-ryo exudes casual-yet-upscale vibes on the third floor of ION Orchard – from its location and interior, right down to its dishes.

Established in Japan in 1999, the restaurant has never strayed from its promise to deliver authentic Japanese cuisine, which is masterfully crafted by a team of shokunin (artisan chefs) from ingredients that are imported regularly from Tokyo ‘s Toyosu Fish Market.

From their clean setting and stone-grey walls, it’s clear that that sen-ryo is a place suitable to enjoy Japanese regardless of occasion. Its menu items follow the same philosophy. We started with the sen-ryo Tamagoyaki with Mentaiko Sauce ($2.80).

Soft and pillowy to the bite, the addition of spicy mentaiko sauce balances the usual sweetness that comes with this classic Japanese egg roll.

The Soft Shell Crab and Mango Nama Haru Maki ($16.80) sees lightly-battered soft shell crab and ripe mango slices stuffed into paper-thin rice rolls, coming across like a Japanese twist on a Vietnamese spring roll.

Known for their tuna, sen-ryo doesn’t disappoint with their Otoro ($24) sashimi – nicely cut fatty slices of tuna belly that absolutely melts in our mouths. There’s really no way to go wrong with the finest cut of tuna.

If you have a taste for tuna, sen-ryo’s Shokunin Sushi platter showcases their sen-ryo sushi ($8.80) and Maguro (Akami) with Shio Koji Negitoro ($6.80), slices of tuna lain on top Miyagi Prefecture rice.

One dish that stands out among the rest is their DIY Hokkaido Uni ($58). Unlike traditional platters of sushi, we’re greeted with sheets of nori, tongues of uni, and a small bowl of sushi rice.

The build-your-own-sushi style lets us put as little – or in our case, as much – as we want. As expected, the uni is delectably creamy, and we continue to play with the balance of flavours roll by roll.

Aside from its cold dishes, sen-ryo also offers a spread of hot dishes. The Kaisen Dobin Mushi ($6.80) soup is served to us in a small ceremonial teapot. The seafood broth is warm and flavourful as we sip from teacups.

Next, sizzling plates of Grilled Chicken Thigh in Charcoal Style Sauce ($7.80) and Grilled US Beef Tenderloin and Foie Gras ($28) are presented to us.

Both are marinated flavourfully, and the beef tenderloin is mixed with caramelised onions that allows a slight sweetness in each bite.

By now, our stomachs are almost filled to the brim, and the Kaisen Soy Nabe ($32) is a perfectly light dish to end the meal.

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Served in a large boiling pot filled with seafood and chewy glass noodles, it sounds like a main meal in itself, but the soybean soup is much lighter than meat or fish based broth – we had no problem slurping up our noodles.

For dessert, sen-ryo diverges slightly from its Japanese cuisine with the Cream Catalana with Mixed Berries ($9.80), essentially a rich Spanish version of crème brûlée.

If you’re looking for a Japanese-style dessert, one of the most popular (not to mention, aesthetically pleasing) desserts is their Mizu Warabi Mochi ($5.80), a transparent mochi, mimicking a raindrop, dusted with fine peanut powder and drizzled with syrup.

Like much of Japanese cooking, the mochi tastes clean, with a just a hint of flavour from the peanut powder and syrup to end sweet.

sen-ryo is located at ION Orchard, 2 Orchard Turn, #03-14, Singapore 238801, p. +65 6974 6782. Open 11am – 10pm, daily.

This article was first published in City Nomads.