Salmon is the automatic order. You know it. I know it. The table knows it. Someone opens the menu, spots salmon sashimi, and suddenly half the decision is already made. Easy. Familiar. No debate needed.
But here is where izakaya nights get interesting: the best thing on the table is often the thing nobody planned to order.
That is how kanpachi sneaks up on you.
Salmon Is Safe. That Is Exactly the Problem.
There is nothing wrong with salmon. I still order it. It is soft, rich, familiar, and almost impossible to misunderstand.
But if every sashimi order starts and ends there, you are missing the fun.
An izakaya is not a formal tasting room. You are not sitting silently over one perfect piece of fish. Plates are moving. Someone is pouring sake. Somebody has already stolen the last skewer. This is exactly the kind of table where trying something unfamiliar feels easy.
Order the assorted sashimi.
Seriously. That is the move.
You get your salmon, yes, but you also get a few pieces you might never have chosen on your own. No big commitment. No dramatic leap of faith. Just one bite.
Then You Try the Kanpachi
And suddenly salmon feels very… salmon.
Kanpachi is firmer, cleaner, and less fatty. The flavour is gentler, but the texture has more bite. It does not hit you with richness. It makes you pay attention in a different way.
That contrast is what makes the table wake up.
“Wait, which one is this?”
Now everyone is looking at the platter again.
Someone grabs the maguro. Someone else tries hotate. Maybe there is tai, hamachi, shima aji, or whatever seasonal fish the kitchen has that night. Within five minutes, the safe order has turned into a group discussion.
Much better.
That shift is why I love sashimi in an izakaya: nobody needs expertise, just enough curiosity to reach across the table.
Ask the Question Everyone Forgets
“What is good today?”
That one question can completely change your sashimi order.
We are so used to choosing by name that we forget seafood changes. Seasons change. Deliveries change. What the kitchen is excited about can change too.
And if Osaka is next on your food map, Best Izakaya follows that same order-with-curiosity energy through the city’s seafood counters, yakitori joints, and drinking spots worth building a night around.
So ask.
If you want a starting point, our guide to the best sashimi Singapore izakayas covers places serving familiar favourites alongside assorted and seasonal fish. Use it to find the table. Then let the staff steer you a little.
You Do Not Need to Become a Fish Nerd
Please do not turn dinner into homework.
You do not need to memorise Japanese fish names or suddenly develop a lecture about seasonality. The point is simpler than that.
Try one thing you would normally skip.
Pass the plate around. Compare notes. Order another round if something surprises you.
And yes, keep ordering salmon if you love it.
Just stop assuming it will always be the best thing on the table.
Because sometimes you come in thinking about salmon.
Then kanpachi ruins your routine in the best possible way.
