千両 sen-ryo (Suntec City)

I was craving a good Japanese meal when this new Japanese restaurant in Suntec popped up in my feed

Originating from Tochigi in Kanto, Japan in 1999, Sen Ryo is a popular Japanese Chain restaurant well-known for authentic Japanese cuisine with premium but pocket-friendly food. Beyond Japan, they are highly raved in Hong Kong with over 15 outlets. They opened their first outlet in ION Orchard in 2021 and their 2nd outlet in Suntec City in 2023

With the tagline of affordable luxury, the Suntec branch eludes the same premium luxury atmosphere with the use of dark wood colour combined with warm lighting highlights. With a slightly more open and spacious layout, the Suntec outlet feels more like a modern chic bar-restaurant than a private premium Japanese dining like the ION outlet. It is highly difficult to get a table here at Sen Ryo Suntec, just like the ION outlet even when there is no live fish auctioning in this outlet

The first thing we will always order is the sashimi and we ordered the supreme sashimi platter which is good for sharing for 4 persons. There is a total of 8 types of fish and seafood with enough for 4 people per type. Some of the common items are the botan ebi, salmon, tuna, scallops and hamachi. There were 3 other kinds of fish which I did not recognise but all the sashimi was cut in thick slices and extremely fresh

We wanted to order some of their sushi platters, but they were out of uni that night, so we ordered the individual sushi instead. We had the hotate sushi, Foie Gras sushi and snow crab maki. The sushi rice was perfectly mixed with a light sushi vinegar flavour which enhanced the flavour of the raw scallop. The warm rice for the Foie Gras sushi paired well with the perfectly grilled Foie Gras which had a crispy crust and a creamy melt-in-your-mouth texture. The crab maki was nice but general

One of the interesting items to eat at Sen Ryo was their sen-ryo tamagoyaki which came in the original flavour and one with mentaiko sauce. These cute egg squares come in 2 per serving and have the restaurant’s name imprinted into the skin. The tamagoyaki was creamy sweet and springy and was very delicious and while the mentaiko sauce added a savoury umami flavour to it, I do like the original flavour better

We ordered grilled chicken thigh in charcoal sauce, snow crab with Ikura and egg foam, ika teriyaki and braised hamachi kama in shoyu for hot dishes. The teriyaki squid was tender and not rubbery while braised Hamachi head was really surprisingly flavourful and delicious. We could have finished a bowl of rice just with this dish as the meat was tender and springy with a balanced flavour of the shoyu. The grilled chicken thigh was slightly dry although the charcoal sauce was smokey and pretty unique in terms of flavour. Lastly, the snow crab with Ikura and egg foam was quite a disappointment as we failed to taste any strong flavours or the sweetness of the crab. The foam was pretty tasteless and the crab taste did not come through at all while the crisp at the bottom of the dish was somewhat greasy

Overall, the dishes at Sen Ryo Suntec were good although the price was somewhat on the pricier side compared to other Japanese restaurants. While the ingredients used in the sashimi and sushi were really premium, the price is also not as affordable as imagined from their tagline. The atmosphere for dining was casual and relaxing and we were generally disappointed that all of their uni ran out even though our dinner booking was at 8pm and many of their dishes had uni in them which had to be replaced

Address: 3 Temasek Boulevard #01-434 (Tower, #5, 038983

Operating hours: 11 am to 10 pm