Nijuuichi Duxton Hill - Very Awesome Omasake

After being to quite a number of awesome Japanese Omakase restaurants, I thought I had tried it all, but Nijuuichi pleasantly surprised me with beautifully and uniquely presented dishes with awesome tastes. To add on, the service here is outstanding: the chef is very friendly while the service crew is polite, efficient and willing to go the extra mile for patrons. With all these elements in place, a meal here sure makes me super happy.

The setting of place is slightly different from that of most omakase restaurants. Located along the scenic Duxton Hill paved with cobblestones (this is one of my favourite places to stroll along since it feels so different from the usual urban jungles), the interior of the restaurant is of chic, modern style due to the dark wooden ceiling and dark frames, with zen influences incorporated into it. It is a very cosy and intimate space that feels exclusive since it can only accomodate at most 8 patrons.

Seasonal appetisers immediately impress by refreshing and simulating the palates at the same time. Fugu jelly is such a unique dish, with the nuanced clean umami of fugu elevated by the bouncy texture and clear taste of the jelly. The lotus chips is amazingly thin and crispy. Deep fried sea bass tastes so good with the shredded radish and carrots soaked in vinegar.

Hamachi carpaccio is so amazing and unique in taste. The slightly planty sweet hamachi complements the pure umami of caviar and uni so well and gives texture to them. I love this so much.

This platter of sashimi actually looks way better than what I had taken here because this picture is of another patron's platter that I took in a rush. I got distracted with a phone call and then missed out on taking a decent picture of my platter. Moral of the story: when enjoying a great meal, ignore all calls unless urgent.

That aside, I totally enjoy savouring the sashimi. Sayori with ginger flower packs so many harmonised flavours including the spiciness and pungency of ginger flower. Akami is crunchy and fresh. Otoro, which is from the very cold waters of Kagoshima, is so fatty that it melts in the mouth.

The soy sauce used for dipping the sashimi has the extra light fragrance of shiso flower and chrysanthemum.

Deep fried flatfish and veggies with butter sauce gets me swooning in delight. Very rich and flavourful.

Clean and mildly sweet in taste, the Tai sushi makes a great start to the courses of sushi.

Hata, a kind of grouper, tastes so sweet. Being aged for 7 days sure adds to its sweetness. First time I tried this fish and I love it.

Seasonal Fuedai, a kind of snapper, is sweet and fatty.

The chutoro is of excellent cut, in which when put into the mouth, the rich fats and briny sweetness immediately spread across the palates. This is pure indulgence.

The chef preparing aburi anago sushi. I like the lovely aroma of smoked fish flesh that comes out during the preparation. This itself is part of the enjoyment of dining here.

Creamy, fluffy anago with smoky flavour is delicious.

Another pure indulgence of negitoro (minced otoro with chopped spring onion) handroll topped with uni. Every bite is creamy umami bliss. I actually want to add on a second helping of this, but decide to let craving lingers on so that I can retain that feeling of wanting more of this while typing out this post.

Crunchy pickled radish to refresh the palates.

The asari miso soup is packed with briny sweetness. It is so comforting to drink this. And the clams are plump and sweet.

Japanese fruits with pumpkin pudding on top of red bean paste. The Japanese melon is literally like refreshing floral honey water in solid form. It is unbelievably sweet, oh my. The pudding is creamy with hints of earthy taste, accentuated by the red beans. Very nice dessert.

When the chef said, "Have an enjoyable day," in my mind, I was actually thinking, "Yes, I have an enjoyable day, and this meal is the most enjoyable part of the day." Not only the food here is awesome, couple with great service and ambience, the staff is very meticulous in adding little touches that the experience feels special. Like wiping the sushi serving plate after each sushi I had finished and printing a personalised message for each patron (on second thoughts, I should have taken that message home).

Definitely want to go back to enjoy the omakase here again!

Thoughts: Superb Omakase

21 Duxton Hill

Nearest MRT: Tanjong Pagar or Outram or Maxwell