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2021-07-01
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Don’t usually write reviews here but the food was so bad I feel compelled to warn others. A friend booked this place for dinner and normally I trust their pick so I didn’t bother to look at any reviews. Unfortunately the evening turned out to be the worst dining experience in recent memories. As I sat down at the restaurant, it was pretty empty and overall decor felt dated but I know it’s the food that counts. So I looked at the menu, which only has two options since it is omakase, priced at $1,
As I sat down at the restaurant, it was pretty empty and overall decor felt dated but I know it’s the food that counts. So I looked at the menu, which only has two options since it is omakase, priced at $1,599 and $1,899 per person (before 10% service). We went for the more expensive one as my friend wants to try the sea urchin cup. At this price point, you would expect the food quality to be good or at least fresh, how wrong can I be..
The first two appetizers were cooked and they tasted nothing special, but it’s the raw dishes that were the most disappointing (80% of the dinner was raw). Basically the fish was not fresh. You can tell from the dull color when the chef was preparing it. The chef was also putting on a lot of soy sauce to give it a glossy look (and partly why some photos look palatable), probably to compensate for the lack of taste of the fish.
The combination of ingredients were highly questionable.
1. The chef was putting raw fish paste on a Pringle like cracker (I could tell it’s the sour cream and onion flavour), the fish was not fresh and I could just taste the MSG in the cracker
2. Warm rice was used for sushi dishes, and they were all pre flavoured with some kind of soy sauce
3. Two different kinds of fish were combined into one sushi (one on top of another) and we were told to eat them whole.
The “highlight” was the sea urchin. I couldn’t finish the uni cup, actually I gave up after the first taste because it was stale and had a foul taste.
Hygiene was another concern. The chef’s hands were mostly wet when preparing the food, and only one towel was used throughout the whole process. Including wiping the cutting board, knife and hands. It got thrown to the sink a few times and rarely got rinsed. Luckily I didn’t get stomachache but just felt it was disgusting.
As I went through the different courses, I know the chef cannot be genuine Japanese, just in the way the food was prepared. He was speaking simple one word Japanese for the dishes like ebi, toro and most of the time was speaking Chinese to the waitress.
I didn’t complain about the food at the restaurant as it was my friend’s birthday and I didn’t want to ruin it further, but we all know it was a bad dinner. To cap it off, the chef forgot to prepare a birthday dessert as promised beforehand and just hastily pour some plum wine for us.
It amazes me that this restaurant still has so many positive reviews here when it’s food is of such poor quality. Maybe some people know its reputation already and canceled their bookings, but they kept the food which becomes stale and hence the vicious cycle. The whole experience just felt being cheated at this price point and I would much prefer eating at other chain Japanese restaurants at one tenth of the price, at least I could finish the food there.
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