Little Miss Bento » kaiseki Bento | Recipes | Food Review | Lifestyle & Travel | Japan Tue, 16 May 2017 07:33:18 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=4.0 Akari Japanese Dining Bar /2016/01/akari-japanese-dining-bar/ /2016/01/akari-japanese-dining-bar/#comments Mon, 11 Jan 2016 11:06:55 +0000 <![CDATA[Little Miss Bento, Shirley Wong]]> <![CDATA[Food Reviews]]> <![CDATA[japanese]]> <![CDATA[kaiseki]]> /?p=14299 <![CDATA[

My 2015 ended on the sweetest note thanks to one of the best (and so shockingly affordable) kaiseki menu I had at Akari Japanese Dining Bar. Helmed under the hands of renowned Chef Hirotaka Murata, the kaiseki dishes came wonderfully plated featuring some of the best winter season ingredients and flavours of Japanese cuisine. Where Continue Reading

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My 2015 ended on the sweetest note thanks to one of the best (and so shockingly affordable) kaiseki menu I had at Akari Japanese Dining Bar.

Helmed under the hands of renowned Chef Hirotaka Murata, the kaiseki dishes came wonderfully plated featuring some of the best winter season ingredients and flavours of Japanese cuisine.

Where washoku (traditional Japanese cuisine) is concerned, kaiseki is considered as the most refined form. There is huge emphasis on elements including the freshest ingredients, culinary methods, presentation and taste.

With more than 20 years of experience under his belt, Chef Murata is a connoisseur when it comes to kaiseki cuisines. Snaking queues are also a common sight outside Ginyu Ryokan, his restaurant in Japan.

His skills were apparent in the well thought through and well executed dishes I had at Akari. They offer two types of 9 course kaiseki choices, priced at $100++ and $150++ per pax respectively.

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We started the 9 course meal with on a high note. with a seasonal appetizer. I was pleasantly surprised by the taste of slightly charred cooked Shirako – Milt, cod fish sperm sac. Shirako is a winter delicacy and can be harvested from various fish, the one that was served came from cod fish.

Just don’t think too much when you eat it. It tastes much better than it looks.

Slightly sweetish with a distinct (but not fishy or overpowering) flavour of the ocean, I finished every bit of it, including all the rest of the appetizer items.

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A warm bowl of soup quickly followed to prepare the tummy for more good food.

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Their sashimi cuts which are flown in twice a week from Japan was evident in the fresh sashimi items we enjoyed that night.

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This was followed by a comforting (and huge) pot of Braised Tilefish with Yuzu Flavour. The yuzu really gave that zest as you savour the sweetness of the soup and the fish.

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Just look at that glorious slab of Grilled Wagyu Beef with Hoba Miso. Served with hoba miso, a type of paste that orginates from Hida Takayama, and it is made from the large leaves of the ho (magnolia) tree.

For the $100 set, instead of the Grilled Wagyu Beef, you will be served with the Wagyu Sushi.

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True to its winter roots, another comforting dish is the Japanese Unagi Eel Porridge Earth-pot. The delectable, generous servings of unagi is bound to delight and satisfy.

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The Deep-fried Japanese Oyster was perhaps the only one that missed the mark that evening. The oysters were so fresh, but a litle heavy handed on the salt in the seasoning of this fried item.

Nevertheless, my spirit went right back up the moment I was served with the pickles with Japanese vinegar and crab. Presentation was of course flawless. the scallop, freshly picked crab meat, seaweed and Japanese cucumber work together like magic, with a nice constrast in textures and taste. Sweetness of the crab, and that light tangy flavour from the vinegar – heavenly. IMG_6507

Even though I was super stuffed by this time, I cleaned up the homemade dessert item – which was a sweet potato swiss roll.

 

The choice of sweet potato was a nice surprise. The earthy flavour a the natural sweetness of the sweet potato worked to perfection and the cake was so soft and moist. Even the whipped cream was so light and worked in harmony with the cake.

Do note that Akari’s kaiseki set menus are available during dinner service daily. Reservation must be made one day in advance.

Akari’s a la carte menu, which boasts over 70 traditional and contemporary Japanese dishes, will still be available throughout the day.


 

Akari Japanese Dining & Bar Akari Japanese Dining & Bar (Akari) 

Operating hours: 12pm – 3pm; 6pm – 10pm
Address: 8A Marina Boulevard #01-02 Singapore 018984
Tel: 6634 0100
Email: info@tomoizakaya.com Website: http://www.akaridiningbar.com
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Akari.MarinaBoulevard
Instagram: @AkariJap.DiningBar

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FUKU Fine Fugu Kaiseki Restaurant /2015/06/fuku-fine-fugu-kaiseki-restaurant/ /2015/06/fuku-fine-fugu-kaiseki-restaurant/#comments Tue, 23 Jun 2015 06:31:05 +0000 <![CDATA[Little Miss Bento, Shirley Wong]]> <![CDATA[Food Reviews]]> <![CDATA[fine dining]]> <![CDATA[fugu]]> <![CDATA[FUKU]]> <![CDATA[japanese]]> <![CDATA[kaiseki]]> <![CDATA[pufferfish]]> /?p=12702 <![CDATA[

For the first time, you can now enjoy Fugu (Pufferfish) cuisine outside of Japan in Asia. FUKU Fine Fugu Kaiseki Restaurant (FUKU) is the first-ever restaurant in Asia outside of Japan that specialises in fugu — pufferfish. Did you also know that of over 100 species of pufferfish in the world; only 20 species of them Continue Reading

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IMG_5581For the first time, you can now enjoy Fugu (Pufferfish) cuisine outside of Japan in Asia.

FUKU Fine Fugu Kaiseki Restaurant (FUKU) is the first-ever restaurant in Asia outside of Japan that specialises in fugu — pufferfish.

Did you also know that of over 100 species of pufferfish in the world; only 20 species of them are edible.

The “king” of all, Torafugu or Tiger Pufferfish, is considered as the most delicious one and is also the type of fugu served here at FUKU. And their  torafugu is flown in twice a week from Shimonoseki, Japan.

Helmed under the skilful hands of Chef Koji Tsukamoto, the one and only licensed fugu chef in Singapore.

He and his team members together have over 20 years of experience working as fugu chefs in Shimonoseki, which is touted as “Fugu Capital” and is the largest harvester of the fish in Japan.

Fugu chefs are known to be highly trained having to go through rigorous training over several years before being certified.

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A heart-racing experience?

Not to worry, FUKU adheres to the regulations set by Singapore’s Agri-food and Veterinary Authority to ensure that the gourmet experience is 100% safe for their diners.

The internal organs of the Fugu fish that contains the poison are all already properly and thoroughly removed in Japan before the fugu is flown to Singapore.

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We started the meal with this appetizer of Torafugu lightly stewed in mildly sweetish stock that most likely include soy, mirin and sake. I enjoyed this dish as the flavours were familiar of me, and also quite typical of Japanese cooking.

The torafugu here provided a meatiness bite and I enjoy the tiny bits of meat near the fins/bones etc.

The burdock also provided a nice earthy flavour to this appetizer.

IMG_5584Next we move on to Torafugu skin.

My first experience eating Torafugu skin. Texture reminded me a little of jelly fish, like pufferfish meat, the lightly boiled fugu skin is very light and subtle in taste.

Interestingly, it is actually quite a nice balance when other items such as the sashimi, hotpot and sushi dishes are ordered. IMG_5586

We were all excited when the Fugu Sashimi dish was served up. I first tried fugu sashimi some 4 years back in Osaka and was curious to see whether my thoughts on this fish has changed.

Thinly sliced fugu sashimi beautifully presented on a plate. Using a specialised knife and a trained cutting method, thin slices of fugu meat is cut such that the meat even appears translucent.

Fugu sashimi is also the most popular way of consuming fugu fish in Japan.

Just like how I remembered it to be, delicate taste and light on the tongue and just that light chewy texture. If you are looking for equivalent of tuna sashimi, then this is not for you.

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We are definitely going fugu all the way.

After an entire plate of fugu sashimi, we went on to yet another beautifully presented Fugu Sushi with Gold Leaf.

This time, we enjoyed slightly thicker slice of fugu sashimi with Japonica sushi rice, so yummy! I love it when quality rice is used.

And no, in case you are wondering if the Gold Leaf has any taste :P but so luxurious eating it.

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I must say I was quite skeptical of deep frying such an expensive fish meat but this fish turned out pretty okay.

Deep Fried Fugu Fish served with some coarse sea salt.

Lightly battered, this dish offers a slightly different take on fugu fish with its meatier chunks and crisp texture.

I like it better with some lemon juice to balance the taste of the deep fried batter.

IMG_5592Non sashimi diners will also be happy to note that FUKU has recently launched two new soup bases for its popular fugu hotpot, soy bean broth and red miso soup. IMG_5594

This was definitely my favourite dish of the night – the soya bean fugu hot pot.

A creamy broth that boasts a thick flavourful consistency that was a perfect pairing with the vegetables, tofu and fugu fish meat.

If you prefer a more traditional take, try the Tecchiri soup base, which is available here as well. Personally the soy bean broth is still my favourite.

Plus these fugu hotpot is also a little kinder on the pocket, at $70++ per pot (for 1-2 pax).

Beef lovers would also absolutely love FUKU’s Shabu Shabu hotpot with A5 beef imported from Miyazaki, Japan, is also available at $70++ only.

Apart from hotpots, the restaurant also offers set courses featuring different parts of fugu fish cooked in different way. Amongst all, Fugu Course Daikokuten ($250++) is good to share between 3-4 pax. The course menu includes appetizer and Gelatine Meat, Lightly Boiled Fugu Skin, Thinly Sliced Fugu Sashimi with Gold Leaf, Deep Fried Fugu, Seasonal Japanese Cookied Dish, Grilled Milt or Steamed Milt, Fugu Hotpot with Vegetables, Fugu Japanese Style Porridge and Seasonal Dessert.

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A unique drink at FUKU is this fugu sake. Hot sake served with a dried piece of Fugu fin.

The drink is lit and served to you nicely heated up to bring out the fragrance of the fugu fin.

Recommend to consume while the drink is still warm as the taste changes once it cools down. It could have a slightly fishy flavour when that happens.

Still thinking whether to go FUKU to try some fugu cuisine?

Aside from the assurance that you will live to share the tale, it is also interesting to note that fugu is low in fat content but is a rich source of protein. Besides its meat, which can be enjoyed both cooked and sashimi style, the skin also contains a superb level of collagen and is especially popular among ladies for its beneficial effects on skin complexion.

June 2015 Promotion

For the month of June 2015, FUKU will be holding a special promotion. Each pot goes at S$60++.

FUKU Fine Fugu Kaiseki Restaurant (FUKU)

Address: 14 Mohamed Sultan Road, #01-01 Singapore 238963

Telephone: 6235 8216

Operating hours: Monday – Saturday 6pm – 11pm (Last order is at 10:30pm)

Website: http://fugu-fuku.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FUKUsingapore

Instagram: @fuku_singapore

Hashtag #fukusg

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