Akari Japanese Dining Bar launches first-ever Kaiseki Set Courses

Buoyed by the addition of Chef Hirotaka Murata, Akari Japanese Dining Bar is introducing an exciting revamp to its dinner menu. For the very first time, its menu will include kaiseki set courses. Beautifully plated, chef’s kaiseki sets uses seasonal ingredients such as snapper egg, Japanese bluefin tuna, abalon turnip and Hokkaido scallop, making them an exquisite delight.

Akari Japanese Dining Bar offers two kaiseki set course choices, priced at $100++ and $150++ per pax respectively. We had the $150++ kaiseki during the tasting and our dinner start off with silky smooth chawanmushi. Oyster from Hiroshima is the hidden treasure in this steamed egg dish. The appetizer is a splendid treat, with surprises such as anago sushi, baby turban shell with basil, grilled belt fish with yuzu flavour, roast duck with spiced egg yolk and more making an appearance.

For soup, I enjoyed the clear soup with minced snapper, bamboo shoot, carrot and kinome (Japanese mountain leaves). The snapper is first thinly sliced, minced and wrapped into a ball. The kinome leaves have a bit of a citrus-fruit aroma, with a bit of a mint-like and lime taste to boot. It’s followed up by very decent sashimi, imported from Tsukiji marketing. Featuring Japanese bluefin tuna toro, two kinds of white meat fish and huge spot prawns, the sashimi is sliced to wafer translucent thinness.

The tender and juicy grilled A4 wagyu beef has just the right fat marbling, which is half covered by a homemade brown sauce steeped for a day. I prefer to eat the beef by itself, without any sauces. The simmered snapper egg is steamed with abalone, turnip and sakura, topped with mustard leaves.

Before rice was served, we had a refreshing plate of vinegared – salmon wrapped in radish and baby squid dressed with vinegar. Instead of the usual tempura, the chef created a dish of deep fried minced prawn made with sakura ebi and topped with Japanese pepper. The next course, Hokkaido scallop rice is complete on its own.

We end the night with homemade milk pudding with black sesame mochi. The homemade mochi is chewy and very soft, while the custard in an eggshell is so smooth and creamy.

Akari Japanese Dining Bar’s kaiseki set menu is available during dinner on both weekdays and weekends. The a la carte menu, which boasts over 70 traditional and contemporary Japanese dishes, will still be available throughout the day. Akari will also organize a private kaiseki dinner on every 1st and 4th Saturday of the month. This dinner is strictly on a reservation basis, where you can indulge in the exclusive fine dining experience. The private kaiseki dinner is priced at $200++ per person (without sake pairing) and $250++ per person (with sake pairing).

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