★ Waku Ghin

Missed out on visiting Tatsuya’s in Sydney when I was there in 2010. Was very happy to know that Chef opened Waku Ghin in Singapore when I was back but realised that the pricing here was a different league from the Sydney one… A degustation meal starts from S$400++ while the one in Sydney starts at A$220 (inclusive of GST).

When Waku Ghin started to join the ranks of World’s Top Restaurant and Asia’s Top Restaurant, my interest in visiting them was renewed again. I narrowly missed out on visiting them last year when we heard of the F1 lunch special too late. So my visit this year was something that was on the cards for 1 year~ We finally managed to make a reservation for their 6-course F1 lunch special at S$250++.

Upon entering the restaurant, we were ushered to one of the teppanyaki rooms. We shared ours with another couple, so in total there were 4 diners in our room – felt very exclusive. The room has a modern yet zen feeling. My attention was first drawn to the sleek and beaming stainless steel teppanyaki, but the industrial feel was counter-balanced with the use of wooden panels on the wall. Finally, I noted the grand marble slab counter top when we were guided to take our seats on the high chair. All the different elements somehow blended perfectly to create an elegant and comfortable dining space.

Ordered cocktails that had Japanese elements, one using Sake another using Ume-shu. Utamaro Sake, Cointreau, Lime Juice and Ume-Komachi Ume-shu, Shio Leaf, Lime Juice, Syrup, Lemonade.

Appetizer served was Soft Custard with Avruga Cream, it had an ultra-smooth texture with delicate caviar taste – a teasing prelude to the next Signature dish.

Having seen loads of photos of this Signature dish, finally got to taste the Marinated Botan Shrimp with Sea Urchin and Oscietre Caviar. Rich and creamy uni paired with sweet raw shrimp and topped with briny caviar. Using the mother of pearl caviar spoon, you can savour the flavours of the sea in your mouth with each scoop of this epic appetizer.

Slow-Cooked Amadai with Autumn Truffle and Mushrooms was served next. The amadai (tilefish) is a rather expensive fish in Japan. The meat was firm and low-fat hence very lean. The mild flavoured meat was well complemented with the generous stack of aromatic autumn truffle and a light savoury sauce.

For the next dish fresh abalones were presented to us by Chef followed by live action on the teppan. The abalones danced and sizzled on the flat griddle before being placed nicely into the sauce that was also heated using a copper stainless steel saucepan on the teppan. There we have it – Australian Abalone with Fregola and Tomato. I enjoyed the chewy and succulent mollusc.

Action on the teppan doesn’t end there. The next dish Japanese Wagyu Tenderloin from Shizuoka Prefecture with Wasabi and Citrus Soy was also cooked on the teppan. Chef first prepared the wasabi by grating wasabi rhizome over the traditional Japanese tool that has sharkskin stretched over a wooden board; followed by searing of the steak on the teppan. The boneless and well-marbled tenderloin was tender and juicy.

Even before we finished our steak, the Chef had finished cleaning and scrubbing the griddle and it was back to its original spotless state. Amazing~

Ended our main courses with Somen with Myoga and Junsai. Somen is a very thin and white coloured Japanese noodle made of wheat flour, The fine and soft noodles was served cold in a clear broth.

After completing our main courses, we were ushered out of the teppanyaki room to another area with view of the Singapore city skyline to enjoy our desserts.

Before dessert was served, we were offered pre-dessert – Musk Melon. We were ecstatic to have Japanese fruit as pre-dessert as they were well-known to be juicy and sweet. This musk melon didn’t disappoint and we absolutely enjoyed the high quality produce. P.S We saw similar Japanese melon selling at supermarket for S$60 for 1 whole fruit…

Finally dessert of Chocolate Mousse with Vanilla and Macadamia was presented to us. The chocolate mousse was rich and smooth with the centre filled with crunchy bits of macadamia nuts.

Ended our meal with Coffee and petit fours.

I’m certainly glad to have the opportunity to enjoy the F1 lunch special at Waku Ghin, otherwise I guess it’ll still take me quite a while to consider parting S$400 for dinner at the restaurant.

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