Soju, Shochu and Sashimi: This Place's Winter Menu is Atypical, But Divine

Japanese cuisine veterans Guppy have a Winter 2018 menu rife with gorgeous, hot cocktails and sushi and sashimi platters that’ll make an epicure nod in approval.

I’m used to associating a winter menu with rich, creamy sauces and steaming soups {not that I’m complaining}. A season I detest is only made bearable by an unfettered license to eat the richest, most decadent things—for warmth, naturally. So, when I started to peruse Guppy’s Winter menu, suffused with sushi and Soju, it made for a change from the quotidian line-up I’ve been looking at all winter.

Kicking things off with an uncomplicated but full-bodied Hearty Chicken Soup—clear with a mince chicken quenelle—a colder {but still distinctly enjoyable} selection of sushi platters followed suit. Of them, the ones that jumped out at me were the Aburi Salmon Sushi {as a strictly anti-fish culinary personality, I can vouch that the flavours in this number will work across palates} and the Spicy Kampachi sushi roll {luckily for chilli-wuss me, the ‘spicy’ in this case translated to flavours a little less horrifying than I’d anticipated}. If you’re vegetarian, the Imo Sweet Potato Tempura Sushi Roll will do you nicely: the crispness of the tempura blends delightfully with the just the subtlest hint of  sweet.

While the Ramen is always a good decision at Guppy, the mains I tried definitely held their own as well. The Oven-Grilled Seabass was fresh, with a light, unobtrusive medley of flavours, served on a bed of healthy veggies, while the Grilled Lamb Leg was reminiscent of a robust rainy-day-in-England kind of dinner {surprising, for a Japanese restaurant}, but made for a happy break if you’re a little weary of spicy/tangy sauces.

Also, a winter meal would be lacking if it wasn’t teamed with liquor; and the cold ones are a better dinner partner {read: lighter} with a warming after-effect. The Tokyo Sunrise {whiskey, ginger, vanilla, angostura and lime} and the Sour Kura {vodka, passionfruit, pineapple, chilli and sour mix} were standout winners amongst the mix. If you’re there for a drink only, the more lush, heavy cocktails inundated with cream and the like are worth trying {I was particularly charmed by the Bite Of Samurai, a whiskey-hot-chocolate-crème-de-menthe extravaganza, and the Mao Ninja, an apple vodka and spiced apple juice blend, laden with cream}. Even better, ask them to whip up a Soju or Shochu laced number; they throw in fresh muddled strawberries and cherries and such; it’s basically a good time in a glass.

Then finally, it was time for dessert. For me, dinner is an almost an afterthought in comparison with dessert, and so the bar is always high; one that the Warm Apple And prune Pie met without doubt. Some {me} would even describe it as winter encased in flaky crust. And while the other dessert we tried, the Warm Carrot Cake with Mascarpone Frosting, appealed more to my plus one, who prefers her desserts lighter and cake-ier, the former really was the apple {pie} of my eye.

Even if Japanese food is not your jam, settle down with a hot cocktail and a dessert. It’s not routine, and lovely.