Aqua Kyoto trying to do sophisticated Japanese

It was about a fortnight ago when I tried out Aqua Nueva which was at one end of this entertainment complex: last night I went to the Japanese end Aqua Kyoto. Unlike that Saturday lunch time when it was a haven of tranquility, Aqua Kyoto on a Tuesday night was a happening place (with the aid of the Elle promotional event in the booked-out Aqua Nueva).

My friend and I sat down and ordered a variety of dishes so to sample the breadth and depth of the staff's culinary skills. Their aqua kyoto tataki sushi mori awase (pictured below) was a concoction of chopped fatty tuna, foie gras, salmon, crab and other luxury ingredients wrapped in cucumber - they were delightful in texture and taste.

Other notable dishes were the seared beef tataki with chili ponzu which was flavourful, tempura of okra and prawns were crunchy and cooked to perfection, eel teriyaki was rich though it should have been served on a bed of Japanese short grain rice.

So Aqua Kyoto has a lot going for it - location, location, location, swanky decor, and a glitzy crowd for now. But there is room for improvement. The menu, though varied and interesting, was hard work and it would have been so much easier if they offered an omakase so the guests could spend less time reading and more time enjoying. The sushi counter, though well laid out, had some unfortunate plastic click-click food containers which were frankly an eyesore - get rid of them please!

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