Tamashii Opens After Months of Renovation, Offering An Intimate Kappo Experience

If you have been to the restaurant previously, you probably remember their robatayaki counter where seasonal produce is displayed beautifully. Unfortunately, that has been removed. Head into the newly-renovated Tamashii and immerse yourself in an intimate Kappo dining experience. You can still watch the chef prepare fresh seasonal ingredients and cook them in front of you.

During our invited dinner tasting, we had the chance to try the Chef Tasting Menu ($128 for 6 Course / $168 for 8 Course). We kicked off our meal with a trio of snacks which includes Hokkaido King Crab tossed with Honey Miso and served in charcoal cone, Tuna with Yuzu Sesame, and Lady Finger with Wasabi Vinaigrette.

I slurped down the creamy oyster from Okayama which is served with balsamic vinegar pearl and sea grapes. The freshest sashimi, which is flown in directly from Japan, is sliced and plated at the sashimi counter. We had the Tuna Belly, Flounder, Saba and Sea Water Uni. The flounder was marinated with salt and konbu for a day while the lightly seared saba fish was marinated with salt and vinegar.

It was really the next few courses that shone. Chef Patrick serves the popular foie gras monaka — an airy, crisp Japanese biscuit filled with creamy foie gras and served with pickled radish and 15-year-old balsamic vinegar. The refreshing radish and tangy vinegar help to cut through the heaviness of foie gras. I love their homemade Satsuma Age where the fish cake is made using a mixture of white fish paste, prawn and squid. Biting into bouncy deep-fried fish cake revealed a layer of seasonal clams. It’s such a beautiful dish with distinct crustacean flavours. I was hoping for a second serving of this.

Another highlight was the grilled beef tongue. The especially tender parts of the tongue are selected, sous vide, and lightly salted before being grilled. It’s superb.  The smokiness and flavor of beef grilled over charcoal are hard to beat.

If you come in a group of 4 or more, share a plate of Bincho-Grilled Blue Fin Tuna Char Kama ($138). Remember to order in advance. If you get a tuna collar, you’re in for an even bigger treat! Just a tiny squeeze of lemon is all it needed to be perfect. All that fatty, gelatinous goodness is going to make you crave for more. Even the bones release their juices. Every slice of meat is so soft and flavorful (but don’t be greedy and order the beef tongue as well because it may be too oily for you).

Focusing on the freshness of the ingredients, Tamashii only lightly seasons the ingredients to bring out their original flavours. Besides the beef tongue and tuna collar that are lightly salted and grilled to perfection, another recommended dish is the Spanish Carabinero Prawn. Similar to ebi fry style, this striking red deep-sea prawn is coated with bread crumbs and deep-fried. You start off by removing the prawn head, and pouring out the roe onto the meat. Then, savour it. It’s so good!

Before fruits are served, we had the Abalone Rice. Cooked in a pot similar to claypot, the rice has that crispy charred layer at the bottom of the pot. The rice is mixed with abalone liver sauce and served with shaved truffle.

Rather than sticking to elegant, refined Japanese food, Tamashii has come up with a new menu that’s more like an elevated, and deeply personal take on Japanese home cooking. I really like the fish cake and beef tongue! But with the new open kitchen concept, it also means that your shirt is going to smell, so get your fabric refresher spray ready!

Note: This was an invited tasting.