Ikkoten Omakase - Amazing Sweet Flavours of Autumn

It's time to enjoy the flavours of Autumn, and so I'm at Ikkoten Omakase for it, trusting Chef Brandon Low to cook up a fantastic meal representing the season. And yes, he did it again, completed with two curated rare sakes for me: the best sparkling sake, and an award winner. This time, he pairs the different kinds of natural sweetness of the ingredients of Autumn to yield unique complex earthy sweetness that says, "Amazing Sweet Flavours of Autumn." Every dish is like my favourite.

Cold Matsutake Chawamushi, made with the rare King of Mushroom: Matsutake, is packed with earthy umami. Matsutake tastes so different from other mushrooms, featuring additional hints of nutty, woodsy, sweet taste and a soft spicy savoury goodness. The cold smooth chawamushi contrasts so well with meaty texture of the finely diced mushroom, made even better with pops of excitement from the flying fish roe.

Japanese Persimmon amazes me with its harmonious blend of earthy taste from Pine Nuts and milky taste from the Tofu Dressing, reminiscent of soft autumn, injected with refreshing floral juiciness of Persimmon and Shine Muscat. Autumn can taste refreshing? Yes, with this unique dish.

Buri Carpaccio with Mikan, Yuzu Citrus Oil, Ginger Flower and Sea Grapes is a perfect representation of different layers of unique sweetness. The intense floral sweetness of the juicy Mikan and light tangy taste balance and highlight the saline sweetness of the fish. I usually expect carpaccio to taste tangy to cut through the strong taste of the raw fish, but Chef Brandon Low surprises me with this dish that tastes like the balanced mild flavour of Autumn. And the taste is so amazing.

Itoyori Dai with Yuzu Foam, Bonito Vinegar jelly, Japanese Yam Stem and Deep Fried Fish Scales tastes super sweet, in a complex and amazing way. It is like a party of harmonised flavours and textures on the palates. I love this too.

Sanma with Burnt Egg Yolk sauce and Iwashi tatami taste so good when eaten on their own. The tatami is crispy and slightly briny sweet, making for an awesome snack. While chargrilled Sanma is intense in taste, and made even better with the aroma of char. The magic happens when savouring the two together, with the tatamin balancing the taste of Sanma for a harmonised unique earthy briny sweetness, with a light touch of creaminess from the sauce to gel together the two tastes. I'm totally won over by this dish.

Kabocha Ebi Shinjo wrapped with pumpkin, topped with Edamame Puree & Uni speaks of the freshness of Autumn. The Autumn vegetables are sweet, complementing the sweetness of plump prawns. A different sweetness develops from the warm sweetness of prawn, lifted up by the slightly refreshing vegetal sweetness of edamame, completed with the earthy sweetness of pumpkin. Awesome pairing of tastes and textures.

A5 Wagyu Beef Sumiyaki with Autumn Seasonal Vegetables is oh so good. Shishito Sauce mixed with pumpkin has this unique hint of pungency and spiciness cutting through and elevating the creamy meaty sweetness. I'm so amazed by how well it works. And the mushrooms make for crunchy good bites between bites of the creamy meat.

The briny sweetness of seabream goes perfectly with the earthy sweetness of chestnut, where I enjoy every bite of the mixture of starchy, fluffy rice pumped with collagen, shredded seabream and diced chestnut. So many flavours of Autumn and so satisfying.

Autumn Chestnut Mont Blanc is the best Mont Blanc I ever have. Chestnut puree is usually gritty in texture, but the chestnut puree in this dessert is surprisingly smooth, rendered even smoother when paired with the cold Hokkaido ice-cream. And the sweetness level hits the sweet spot not to overwhelm the palates.

I heard that even French patrons approved of this French inspired dessert.

Best sparkling sake with super fine bubbles that subtly excite the palates.

Award winning sake that is incredibly smooth, with hints of berry and melon.

Thoughts: Absolutely love the Sweet Tastes of Autumn here!

86 Telok Ayer Street

Nishikane (Kappo Omakase Restaurant) - Beautiful Cuisine that Speaks of Flavours and Sceneries of Summer

Nishikane, a Kappo Omakase restaurant, got my attention through the beautiful, vibrant displays of dishes incorporated into each miniature scenery in Japan. But it is the food that totally wins me over with the harmonious incorporation of new interpretation of flavours into six generations and 150 years history of traditional taste imparted to Chef Nobuhiro Nishi.

One of the highlights of Chef Nobu's creations is how the various vegetables and herbs add the refreshing juiciness and vegetal freshness to accentuate the sweetness of the core ingredients. They are like the magical touches to elevate the familiar tastes. Each dish features a different taste profile and different preparation method, making the dining experience a varied and exciting one. And Chef Nobu also seeks to inject colour and vibrancy into his creations, making the dishes both beautiful in taste and looks.

The place is an impressive space with both modern and zen influences. Impressive open kitchen counter hand crafted with wood imported from Japan, walls covered with wooden panels, backdrop of beautiful Japanese wooden lattice framing over translucent panel illuminated by yellow light spanning across the dining room behind the kitchen counter, floral arrangements and Japanese paper lights hanging above, I'm definitely impressed. And the soft traditional Japanese music played in the background gives me the impression that I'm in Japan.

The chefs here and the staff are very friendly and professional, introducing the dishes in detail, heightening my enjoyment of my meal here.

The experience here is definitely a glorious feast for all the senses. I look forward to enjoy such experience again.

The five appetisers are presented onto a beautiful scenic miniature display that speaks of summer with the fireworks, Japanese paper fan, summer blooms, lantern, Japanese ornaments and Japanese mini  architecture fixtures. Watching Chef Nobu carefully preparing the display is an experience in itself. This display feels a harmonised merging of culinary, art and ikebana.

First appetiser of Botan Ebi is so creamy and briny sweet with bouncy texture, made even better with the sparks of excitement from the crunchiness and vegetal freshness of vegetables added at the bottom. Yes, the vegetables make such a huge difference in the overall taste.

Fig is mildly refreshing and sweet, juicy, complemented by the savoury creamy tofu paste to add complexity to the taste.

Medai is clean and sweet in taste, tender in texture, which contrasts perfectly with the crunchy zesty pickled vegetable wrapped in the centre.

Bluefin tuna tastes super sweet, further highlighted by the goma sauce and herbal freshness of the herb decked on top.

Squid with seaweed sauce features milky briny sweetness punctuated by the fresh pungency of the ginger flowers for a warm and refreshing taste. 

Each vegetable (eggplant, tomato, asparagus and corn) on the huge scallop brings a different freshness and juiciness to highlight the briny sweetness of the scallop, made even better with the intense flavours of the buttery umami of miso sauce. It is amazing how the vegetables in this dish elevates the taste of the scallop.

The Sashimi is also presented in glorious presentation set that makes me go, "wow! Beautiful!" This looks like a summer garden by a water feature in Japan. Yes, the star of this course is uni. In fact, it is uni feast! I love it!

Murasaki uni is full of sweet creamy umami while otoro is full of buttery melty goodness, made exciting with the freshly grated wasabi.

When paired with special sauce, the uni tastes sweet, creamy, savoury and warm, surprisingly and amazingly different from the prior uni dish.

From Kyushu, the fish adds a layer of briny sweetness to make the uni taste refreshing. The zest in the sauce also lifts up the flavours of the uni.

The vegetables, namely zucchini and tomato, do wonders to introduce the juiciness and freshness to the warm meaty sweetness of the beef cutlet and crispiness of its deep fried breadcrumb exterior. the meat is cooked to perfection where its tenderness and juiciness are retained. 

Pure buckwheat somen from Fukui is super refreshing, and served in carved ice to maintain constant cold temperature, making the noodles so smooth and cooling. Perfect for summer. The slightly flat shape of the noodles make for a lovely different mouth feel. The tempura crab goes so well with thecold somen due to the juxtaposition between warm and cold.

The Donabe here, with fluffy, starchy grains, tastes unbelievably fresh due to the variety of crisp Japanese vegetables added. The tempura fish adds briny sweetness to the donabe, and the corn adds buttery, floral, crunchy sweetness. So good and so satisfying.

I love the Dessert Plate here too, so beautiful and delicious. And yes, it is free flow!

Sea Salt ice-cream contrasts so well with the sweet Monaka due to the contrast in taste and texture. I'm so pleasantly surprised by how simple yet so good this dessert is.

It is so easy to finish up the light, super smooth custard with hint of coffee aroma.

Amazingly sweet, juicy, refreshing grape unexpectedly contrasts so wonderfully with the crunchy walnut and thin stretchy mochi skin.

Pillowy soft cheesecake with soft nutty pungency of cheese is an enjoyment to savour too.

The frothy Sabonya sauce makes such an amazing difference to the taste of two types of floral sweet melons.

Thoughts: Beautiful Cuisine in all Aspects

78 Tras Street #01-01