Food Blog | Sushi Shin | Johor Bahru | Taman Sri Terbrau
Today’s blog showcases Sushi Shin JB, a Japanese Omakase style restaurant that prides itself with fresh fish, great service and a cool ambience right from the confines of Johor Bahru! Here’s what I thought of the place.
But before I get into it, I need to put this disclaimer out there: I personally don’t have too much Omakase experience personally, but the context of this meal is that my girlfriend loves Japanese food and I thought it would be nice to bring her there for her birthday meal!
I personally made a reservation via their IG page or alternatively you can call their number (listed below) to make a reservation. The booking process is pretty smooth and they even asked if there was any special occasion, for which they gave a complimentary birthday dessert for my girlfriend.
Is it Halal?
Sushi Shin is a no pork, no lard restaurant with alcohol on the menu. I’m not personally sure about the halal status so do keep this in mind if you’re mindful of it and eat at your own discretion pertaining to this.
The other thing to add is that I appreciate that they take a lot of steps in order to maintain the cleanliness of the restaurant - both for the sake of cleanliness itself and for COVID precautions because they have face shields, everything’s really clean, etc.
Where it Is
My best description of where Sushi Shin is in is that it is in the general KSL Mall - Taman Pelangi area (roughly, but it is in Taman Sri Terbrau instead). Parking is relatively free and easy and was quite readily available on the day that I went.
Address: 55, Jalan Keris 1, Taman Sri Tebrau, 80050 Johor Bahru, Johor
Operating Hours:
(Note these are subject to change, but these are the latest)
Lunch:
Tuesday - Sunday | 12pm - 2:30pm
Dinner:
Tuesday - Sunday | 1st session: 6:30pm 2nd session: 8:30pm
Phone Number: 07-333 9818
What it Costs
What you’ll see on this post is their Miyabi Omakase (RM388+ per pax). What this includes is the Zensai (appetiser), a cold dish, nigiri sushi (7 pcs), chawan mushi, a soup and a dessert.
Do keep in mind that it would depend on what seasonal ingredients they have available, so what is shown in the blog might not necessarily be indicative of what you will have on the day where you eat at Sushi Shin. On a previous menu, there was a Wabi Omakase, which is RM228+ and basically the same as Miyabi Omakase minus 2 pcs nigiri and the chawan mushi but I believe it has been removed from the menu for now.
The current menu is shown below (this is the dinner menu, I believe there is a different lunch menu.)
My total bill for 2 x Miyabi + 2 Green Tea (RM8 x 2) came up to RM918.70 after Service Charge (10%) and SST (6%). I would say that most people would order alcohol because it goes well with sushi, so if you plan on having alcohol, the likelihood is that it will be quite a bit more pricey overall.
How it Tastes
Onto the most important part: the taste! For the Zensai, or the appetiser, there is a biscuit with an assortment of raw fish, caviar and an edible flower on top. It’s a one bite kind of dish that for me almost resembles more Western appetisers (think Tuna Tartare sliders). But it’s a nice combination and a good combination of flavours to start the dinner off.
I might have (well I basically didn’t remember, remove the might have) forgotten what fish is what fish for a few of them, so you’re just going to have to bear with me for this, apologies for not being more specific, but given it’s Omakase, the likelihood is you’ll probably have a different assortment of dishes on your visit!
For the cold dish, we had 3 pieces of sashimi. I would say that both my and my girlfriend enjoyed this a lot! For me, the scallop (the white one you see here) in particular is really good. The texture, consistency and the almost creamy but sweet taste coming from the scallop make it super yummy!
Next up, you have the Nigiri Sushi. I would almost divide it into two sections. 5 pieces of Nigiri Sushi and 2 pieces of these mini-donburi bowls (just because it’s more than one piece and it is a bit bigger than your one piece Nigiri sushi).
But I think the combination of fishes, ranging from Sea Bream to Toro & Kampachi make for a pleasant food adventure!
You have the combination of raw and torched, all whilst enjoying it with the delicious sushi rice which it goes so well with. I would say that this is one of those few times where I would say that the rice is not overpowering (with the vinegary taste) but almost on equal footing with the fish in terms of the strength of the flavour, so I would say that the nigiri is overall really yum.
There’s also a pickled ginger that is sweet and slightly spicy to cleanse the palate in between different pieces of sushi so you can take an unadulterated bite into your next piece of sushi.
Next up, the grated yuzu with ikura “mini-donburi” as I would call it. Love the sweetness of the yuzu and the QQ-ness of the Ikura. Together with the soy sauce coated rice, it’s a really nice bite of sushi when you burst those ikura and combine it with a bit of rice.
For the last of the Nigiri sushi dishes, we had the Unagi + Foie Gras. I think this is quite a classic combination - one that I’ve tried a few times previously. For me, I thought this foie gras is a bit flat - not as strong of that umami flavour that I was expecting, but I still like this dish as a whole.
Nice pieces of Unagi and Foie Gras can’t ever go wrong is basically the way I see it.
The chawan mushi and the miso soup are both textbook versions of the dishes that are good to close of the hot portion of the meal. A healthy dose of ikura and some pieces of meat come in the chawan mushi and you have a very nutritious bowl of miso soup, complete with what I believe to be a few pieces of Kampachi.
And onto the dessert.
For dessert, we had Mochi + this delicious Yuzu Sorbet. Honestly, that yuzu sorbet is such a good palate cleanser - it just tastes so light and clean and is just so yummy is the basic summary of that dessert. The mochi is great as well, but for me the standout for the dessert is that amazing Yuzu Sorbet.
There’s also the complimentary dessert that they gave, with the full birthday experience including birthday song, candle and all. It was basically a chocolate cake, vanilla ice cream and some kind of nut (I can’t put my finger on what nut it is) on the side. For that, I’m not posting it onto the blog just to protect names, etc.
Star Rating
8.5/10. Great and attentive service from both the sushi chef and the servers alike, quality ingredients probably unrivalled in the Johor Bahru area and a delicious menu to boot makes this probably one of the best dining experience you can find in Johor Bahru.
Really cozy place with authentic ingredients and everything being carefully selected (from the tableware to the painting on the wall) to provide a splendid dining experience.