Ikkoten Omakase - Unique, Varied, Awesome Surprises

I'm always excited to visit Ikkoten and so here I am again! This restaurant is one of my favourites among favourites for the reason that Chef Brandon will ensure every visit is full of awesome surprises. He has like a treasure trove of rare Japanese cooking techniques that he will use to prepare the dishes to cater to my preference for unique, one-of-a-kind experiences. The perks of being a regular here 😊

This time, every dish is a "Wow" and the highlights of the dinner are never-tried-before Tofu Sauce, Smoked Sashimi and Special Hotpot with Wagyu. Who could have thought that Tofu Sauce and Smoked Sashimi actually exist and taste so awesome?

A meal here definitely turns my day from a good one to a fantastic one. This restaurant is one of those where the awesome experience gets even better with each repeated visit.

Japanese Persimmon, drizzled with tofu sauce and sprinkled with pine nuts, makes my eyes widen in pleasant surprise because it doesn’t feel like fruit. It is more like a savoury snack packed with floral sweetness of fruits. Amazing that the earthy savoury tofu sauce and nutty goodness of pine nuts can totally transform this fruit. And the persimmon is of perfect texture: slightly firm and absolutely juicy.

By the way, I scoop up every bit of the tofu sauce since it is so good.

Silky smooth Cold Chawamushi with Edamame Puree surprises me with the unexpected light touch of that lovely umami tempered with a hint of vegetal freshness. Now then I know edamame and egg custard is a match made in heaven.

Smoked Shima Aji tastes so magical, so complex and so briny sweet! The first bite is unbelievably amazing because it’s like nothing I had tasted before. The smoked hay aroma, fruity, earthy sweetness of carrot sauce and the pungency of ginger flower do their magic to transform the Shima Aji to the best Shima Aji I ever have.

Clean taste of flounder sashimi is accentuated by the vegetal pungency of shiso oil and the beautiful purple shiso foam made from flowers. When paired with spongy Japanese Yam Stem, the sweetness of flounder accentuated by the unique refreshing pungency of the stem. And it’s getting best of both worlds when savoured with both shiso foam and Japanese Yam stem.

Tempura Amadai is definitely another highlight of the night. Its meat is so creamy and its deep fried skin with scales is so crispy. The smoothness and umami of nori butter adds a splash of intensity to the taste of the fish. And the strands of Iapanese seaweed are crunchy and refreshing, thus refreshing the palates between bites of the briny sweet fish.

Spinach Ohitashi is such welcomed dish that comes after the rich Amadai dish because it is refreshing, tempered with doses of briny sweetness. The sweet crab meat goes perfectly with the gelatinous tangy yuzu jelly. I love this too.

Since I want to try Wagyu in a different style, Chef Brandon prepared something special for me: Wagyu Hotpot! The A5 Wagyu, dipped in umami-rich broth served boiling hot in claypot, tastes so meaty and incredibly sweet. It’s so different from other Japanese hotpot due to all the goodies added to the broth, making the meat tastes even sweeter, and the slightly thicker cut of meat, yielding a lovely creamy good bite in the texture. Such warm, comforting and luxurious dish.

The Handroll is meaty and delicious.

The Hotate is plump and sweet.

The squid has a good smooth, crunchy core and milky briny sweetness.

Chutoro is so buttery good. It’s melt-in-your-mouth goodness.

Smoked Hamachi is intense and unique in taste. A must-try here.

Yuzu miso to refresh the palates.

Negitoro, with truffle and a layer of lux from the gold dust sprinkled, is so sinfully good! Lots of creamy briny sweetness, made complex by the intense earthy aroma of truffle, does wonders for the palates.

Sweet Kyoho Grape sorbet tgat interestingly tastes like Hichew Candy.

Goma Mochi has the prefect texture with slight chewiness and pillowy soft feel.

Thoughts: One of the Best and Most Special Meals!

86 Telok Ayer Street

Ikkoten Omakase - Awesome Omakase Experience as Always

I’m back again at Ikkoten, all eager to try the new fine tuned menu after the overhaul. Despite me being a regular here, Chef Brandon still manages to surprise and delight my palates with refreshingly unique takes on traditional Japanese dishes.

From the Japanese appetizers, sashimi, cooked fish, binchotan grilled beef to the variety of sushi, every dish here hits the sweet spot, and I’m so looking forward to be back here again to enjoy the delicacies here.

Cold Chawamushi with Corn Puree is the best chawamushi. This is so silky smooth in texture and the taste is amazing. The floral buttery taste of corn balances the eggy taste of the custard and adds layers of complexity in taste. The first mouthful makes me go, “Wow, what happened? This is unbelievably good!”

Amela Tomatoes with Wine Jelly is so refreshing and totally whets the appetite. The wine jelly features this light floral sweetness that cut through the zest of the juicy tomatoes to balance the taste. Actually the wine jelly is so good that I can even finish it on its own.

Smoked Hamachi, is like another surprise of the night. Its lovely smoked flavour, punctuated by savoury sauce and refreshing pungency of ginger flower, adds so much to the briny sweetness of Hamachi, making me bask in bliss of complexity on the palates.

Tai, with its refreshing taste accentuated by the ume jelly, is such a welcomed addition after the intense taste of smoked Hamachi. I love this shift in taste profile.

Oshinogi, a salad full of goodies such as Uni, Ikura and Kani, is packed with different layers of briny sweetness, balanced by the cool, refreshing, crunchy Japanese Kyuri cucumber. I love this!

Shiizakana Binchotan A5 Wagyu with Pan Seared Foie Gras is so full of meaty sweetness with a lace of creaminess and char goodness. 

Sweet Hotate sushi with perfect springy smooth texture.

Tsubugai features a nice bouncy texture and mild milky briny sweetness.

Monga Ika is creamily good, with an iota of crunchiness for an awesome texture.

Churoro is pure melt-in-your-mouth briny goodness.

Hamachi sushi here is the best Hamachi sushi.

Yuzu Clear Dashi Broth is refreshing and savoury sweet, which is awesome after the sushi feast. 

Home made warabi mochi is like sweet spring water in gelatin coated with earthy fine goodness from the soya bean powder.

Floral sweet peach ice-cream for sweet dreams.

Thoughts: This is my favourite restaurant for a good reason!

86 Telok Ayer Street

Ikkoten Omakase - New Exciting Japanese Omakase with a touch of Fusion

When my favourite restaurant, Ikkoten Omakase, announced the change in menu, I didn’t hesitate to make two reservations: one before the change and one after the change. I’m not sure of what to expect of the new menu actually, but trusting Chef Brandon Low’s culinary skills and his flair for belting out lots of surprises, I’m all excited to try it.

And yes, I totally enjoy the new experience! Tweaks will be made to this soft launch menu. So if you want to try the most refreshing and Japanese tasting pasta, need to try it soon before more changes implemented two weeks later.

My favourite dish of the night got to be the Smoked Hamachi, whose lovely smoked flavour is punctuated by savoury sauce and refreshing pungency of ginger flower for a well-rounded and complex taste.

Crispy Rosemary crackers with dips may look simple but the taste is on another level. Japanese Black Bean Cream Cheese is surprisingly sweet and creamy, enhanced by hints of earthiness of beans and soft savoury nutty taste of cream cheese. It’s a dip like no others.

Tuna Mashed Potato surprises me by how good it is and how different it is from the typical tuna. The strong briny taste of tuna is perfectly balanced by the earthy sweetness of potato for an addictive treat.

Tai, which is Sea Bream Sashimi, tastes so good with homemade Ume Jelly. The taste is clean, refreshing and exciting.

Grilled Chilean Seabass (I’m drinking a lot and forgot to take photo) is the crowd favourite due to the flaky, creamy, succulent texture and the sweetness brought out by the thin strands of seaweed and Nori Butter.

Japanese Pollack Roe and Ikura with Angel Hair Pasta is surprise of the night. I was expecting this dish to taste like one of those Japanese fusion pastas, but Chef Brandon Low totally defies this assumption to come up with a pasta dish that is so unique and delicious. The pasta tastes absolutely Japanese that I will think it's a special somen if not told that it's pasta. The taste is delightfully light, refreshing and briny sweet. I will take this over most pasta dishes anytime of the day.

Binchotan Wagyu is so juicy and meaty, made even better with the char from grilling over binchotan.  Anchovy Infused Potato goes so well with the meat. Pan Seared Foie Gras is perfectly done.

Special dish of Fig with jelly, topped with a dash of gold, is so refreshingly good. Perfect for cleansing the palate before the sushi.

Akami (no photo) sushi has this mild savoury taste that highlights the sweetness of the premium Niigata sushi rice.

Hamachi sushi is clean tasting, made exciting by the zest. This is one special hamachi with such smooth texture. I love it!

Amaebi sushi, served fresh, is so sweet and especially creamy. I love this too!

Chutoro sushi is sweet and has this lovely melt in your mouth texture.

Tai sushi is unique because it has been smoked to impart a unique smoky flavour, making this sushi rich and complex in taste. First time I try a sushi with smoked fish, and it works! 

Otoro sushi is so rich and decadent in taste.

My uni sushi is specially upgraded to Chef's Signature Sushi wth the best, sweetest treasures of the ocean: uni and negitoro, tempered with pickles for complexity in taste. So luxurious, so sweet, so awesome.

Refreshing Kyoho Grape Sorbet is full of the unique wine-like sweet intense flavour of Kyoho Grapes. An excellent way to round up the meal.

Thoughts: Exciting and Full of Surprises!

86 Telok Ayer Street

Ikkoten Omakase - Special, Wonderful Gastronomic Adventure

Back at another of my favourite restaurant of my favourites, Ikkoten Omakase, for another awesome gastronomic adventure! Chef Brandon Low flexed his culinary skills and prepared special dishes specially for me 🎉 I love all the dishes here, they taste oh-so-good and unique at the same time. Lots of first times here also, with savouring Sakura Sushi, Uni with Shio Kombu, Smoked Otoro and Takiawase of Round Eggplant, Tempura Mushroom soaked in thick crab broth and Sake Pairing 😊😊😊

Japanese Spinach and Mushroom soaked in homemade Dashi sauce is a lovely garden of freshness and savoury goodness. The texture of Spinach is perfection, being moist and tender, juxtaposing well with the bouncy, succulent texture of the mushrooms. Excellent start.

Fig with Fig Jelly is so refreshing and sweet. My favourite fig, yes!

Sakura sushi is light, earthy and savoury, an awesome snack to contrast with the refreshing sweetness of the snack prior. I love this change in taste profile between snacks. In fact, I realise that the Fig is masterfully placed before this sushi to cleanse the palates so that I can appreciate the subtle flavours of this sushi.

Shitake Mushroom stuffed with Fish Paste features a fantastic texture, where the crispy veil-thin batter excellently contrasts with the plump, juicy mushroom for conplexity. And the savoury sweet fish paste adds a richness to perk up the earthy taste of mushroom. Best Shitake Mushroom I ever have.

Pregnant squid has a creamy, bouncy texture and lovely mild briny sweetness made exciting by the mild Japanese peppercorns.

Tsukuri, in the form of Houbou Shio Kombu, makes me go "Wow!" at first bite. I thought it will be sweet, but it turns out to be far more complex due to the briny goodness of the Shio Kombu. And the firm texture of the paper thin slices of Houbou, a rare kind of red flatfish, complements the creaminess of the uni so well.

Smoked Otoro Ponzu Foam is the best smoked meat I ever have. Creamy, tender, smooth, and elevated by the aroma of smoked hay, this is oh-so-good. The light savoury zesty umami of the ponzu foam perfectly balances the robust taste of the smoked otoro.

Takiawase, a difficult-to-master simmered dish, is actually Chef Brandon's specialty and he always hits the sweet spots with his Takiawase creations. Yes, I feel this burst of warm feeling of happiness when savouring this dish full of the briny goodness of kani, which is crab, soaked in Ankake, a starchy broth. Marunasu, a round eggplant, is specially prepared to retain the firm core amid the simmering. And the labourious process pays off to yield this amazingly delicious eggplant with a wonderful texture. Shiomaitake, aka tempura mushroom, radish roll with cheese and oden are all excellent additions to the dish, featuring an array of tastes and textures.

I enjoy this so much that I actually forget to request Chef to shave in some yuzu zest. Luckily he offers to do so before I gobble up everything. With yuzu, there is an element of refreshing flavour to brighten up the warm flavours, giving a new perspective to the taste.

I'm not exactly a fish person, but I will gladly help myself to the fish dishes here, including Yakimono of Aka Amadai. The Amadai features smooth, creamy, succulent flesh that juxtaposes so well with the super crispy deep dried fish scales.  And the root vegetables add lovely earthy flavours to balance the taste.

Miyazaki A5 Wagyu being cooked in Shabu style and then grilled the Yakiniku way, finished with Sanshio Pepper and almost raw egg, is complex in taste, perfect in texture and full of meaty sweetness. The extra step of grilling the meat to yield that taste of char, adds so much more to the overall taste. Excellent.

Ayu Donabe Meshi, made with premium Niigata rice, is starchy, smooth and starchy, packed with the goodness of the collagen broth. This is such a satisfying dish to savour.

Housemade dessert of Marshmallow-like Rice Puffs and Red Bean paste looks simple but is absolutely delicious. The light, fluffy, crispy rice puffs complement the sweet earthy taste of red paste perfectly. Shizuoka Crown Melon is like honey water, infused with musk, in solid form, which is so good.

Special Sake Pairing for the A5 Wagyu, enhancing the experience 💖

Thoughts: One of a Kind Awesome Gastronomic Adventure engaging all senses 💌

86 Telok Ayer Street