Kiyoshi Japanese Restaurant

It was during one of my failed visits to Um Yong Baek that I chanced upon this quaint Japanese restaurant located along Amoy street

The restaurant opened doors in May 2020 and is one of the few Japanese restaurants in Singapore specialising in Inaniwa udon. Unlike most udon noodles found across Japan, Inaniwa udon noodles are very thin as it is made using the hand-stretching method. The noodles are smooth and slippery, with a springy texture

As I walked into the restaurant, there was a photography session going on and I was quickly reminded of a vlog of a Japanese blogger who lives in Singapore. He visited this restaurant and commented that the udon was as good as the ones in Japan. With that in mind, I was determined to order the Inaniwa udon. The restaurant reminded me of Japan with its loud and colourful wall paintings painted in Japanese art style

My nephew ordered the chilled snow crab claw Tsukemen set which came with a side salad, miso soup, sashimi, fruits and pickles. The main udon was chilled and served on top of a bamboo mat while the Tsukemen sauce is served in a big bowl with peeled crab claw and onsen egg. The sashimi slices were thick and fresh while the texture of the noodles was really quite different from the usual soba or udon. They were soft and silky with a slight al dente bite so it was nice to dip it into the Tsukemen sauce. The sauce on the other hand is also very different from the ones I have tried before which is either shoyu or miso based. This sauce has a slight starchy consistency and grips onto the noodles well with a light refreshing savoury taste

I had the cold Inaniwa udon set which came with 2 different kinds of udon with sashimi, salad, fruits and miso soup. As I was not extremely hungry, the bite-sized portions were just nice as you get to taste the noodles with 2 different types of toppings. The noodles were both served in a cold dipping sauce and topped with uni and Ikura while the other bowl was topped with a tempura crab claw. The noodles had the same al dente bite and was perfect with the cold dipping sauce. The Ikura and Uni were fresh and bursting with flavours while the crab claw was fried perfectly

When we finished our mains, I could not help but order some of these Hana Mochi which is a culinary dessert made of rice cake and shaped into flowers, hence the name Hana Mochi. As we were not sure if we will like them, we ordered a set of 3 with a scoop of ice cream. We had 2 shaped like flowers and 1 shaped like an apple and they were extremely pretty and delicious. The mochi skin was soft and chewy with either red bean or sweet potato fillings which were well-balanced and not too sweet. It was perfect to have them with a cup of hot green tea

Overall, I really enjoyed the Inaniwa udon noodles as they were nicer than other udon I have tried so far and the sashimi slices were also thick and generous. The environment was also peaceful and cosy for a quiet private meal with no noisy neighbours. The pretty desserts were also a great way to end the meal

Address: 75 Amoy St, Singapore 069894

Operating hours: 11.30 am to 3 pm and 5.30 pm to 10 pm