Kobe Jones, South Wharf

Luckily our second visit to Kobe Jones was a reasonable success... Our first visit years ago flopped flat on its face even though a reservation was made in advance. It left us angry and hungry, vowing never to return. 

Fast forward years later, lured by a limited time half priced dining promotion, we returned. This time, they did not forget our reservation but I have to deduct some points for the seating arrangement. The seating was arranged in such a way that we were seated at right angles instead of seated opposite each other at the table. My seat faced the wall. How romantic for a dinner date!!

We ordered the Kobe's 10 Set Menu ($79 per person) which consists of Endamame beans, Seafood Poke, Hot Mushroom Salad, Volcano Roll, Prawn and Vegetable Tempura, Chicken Yakitori, Crab Slider, Beef Tenderloin Amiyaki, Miso soup and Green Tea Icecream. 

Mushrooms with pine nuts

The Hot Mushroom Salad was our favourite. It was filled with umami goodness, buttery smooth, and packs an extra crunch from the pine nuts scattered across the top of the dish. We wished we had some kind of rice, or carb to sop up the leftover sauce, it was so good!

California roll with scallops

Poke

The Hawaiian Poke of salmon cubes was also delicious. It was light, had a good mouthfeel aided by crispy fried noodle bits, and salmon caviar. 

The same cannot be said for the Volcano Roll... although it was described as oven baked scallops layered on a crab salad avocado roll, with special cream sauce, we struggled to find the scallops! What scallops we could find were in little pieces. In contrast, there was a plentiful amount of rich cream sauce. It was cloying, and we had a difficult time digesting the rest of the meal because of it.

Soft shell crab slider

Chicken teriyaki skewers

Vege and prawn tempura

The chicken teriyaki skewers were well cooked and had a wonderful aroma of perfectly grilled meat. Intersected between baby leeks, the chicken was very tasty and juicy.

But... the tempura was a big letdown. The batter was neither crispy nor light. It was gluggy and soaked with oil. This dish was... not good to say the least.

Nothing notable about the soft shell crab sliders except that the soft shell crabs were beautifully fried - crispy, not a hint of frozen or fishy smell.

Tenderloin Amiyaki

Green tea ice cream

After the consumption of multiple high cholestorol, cloying dairy products and oil during the meal, we were quite full by this time. So when the Tenderloin Amiyaki arrived, we were already looking incredulously at each other wondering how we would fare.

But the juicy and well cooked tenderloin cooed to us to finish it up, and finish with a gusto we did!

The restaurant staff gave us a long break before serving us the final course of the Set Menu, during which time we willed the food to go down and stay down. When the two scoops of green tea ice cream came, it was a welcome refreshment.

The Green Tea Icecream tasted surprisingly different, perhaps it was made from soy milk rather than cow's milk because it was not as creamy or rich as what normal ice cream would taste. It was a little icy, but we did not mind it.

If you expect a light Japanese meal, Kobe Jones is not the place for you. It is a fusion Japanese restaurant and their style is in the strong and heavy flavours mixed with Japanese food. It can be overwhelming but good different when eaten in moderation.

Beware of the 15% weekend surcharge though... it added $23 to our bill which is quite a hefty charge. That said, the house was full on the day we were there so obviously people did not mind the charge at all!