Waku Ghin @ Marina Bay Sands Singapore

Waku Ghin! Momo and I finally went to Waku Ghin last Saturday, 4 December 2010. Both of us had gone to Tetsuya's in Sydney few years ago (separately). It was one of the more memorable meals we had. When we heard that they are opening in Singapore, we were so excited! We don't need to fly to Sydney to dine at Tet's.


Our experience at Waku Ghin:

When we got to the Waku Ghin, we were wondering where the main door was! The outer wall and the main door looks so similar. As we walked nearer to it, the service staff knows we were coming and they open the door for us. When we entered, we were 'wow'-ed by the interior. It's a mix of warm and cold in the materials used for the interior design. We felt very comfortable to be there. If you are a person who do not like clutter, you would like this place!

We were ushered to the first room and were seated at the super clean and shiny stainless steel teppanyaki counter. The service staff were always so attentive and they even have a chair for our bags!

Our chef was this young Japanese chap originally from Tokyo and had previously worked at Tet's in Sydney. He brought out this box of fresh seafood to show us what we were going to have for our degustation meal.

*** The Fresh Seafood Tray ***

Wow. Looks at the lobster, abalone, prawn, trout, sea urchin, etc.
Looking at it, we knew our dinner's going to be a great one!

*** Kan-buri with Salted Black Bean and Preserved Lemon ***

Kan-buri are large yellowtail caught during the winter months. I have not tasted this before, but found this combination with kan-buri truly amazing! Both of us wished we had more of it!

Momo found the serving dish familiar and asked our cute Japanese chef. He said it's from the same potter that produced them for the Sydney restaurant. You can see some of the pottery on the walls too.

*** Marinated Botan Ebi with Sea Urchin and Oscietra Caviar ***

The next dish was even better! Look at the shiny black Caviar. The orange coloured uni and the marinated botan ebi below. It comes with a ivory spoon that I think is made of seashell.

You should try it! Eat it slowly and savour the taste. Probably the best caviar I have tasted, the sea urchin did not smell of other sea urchin I have tasted before. Out of curiosity, I tried to do an online search on Oscietra Caviar, and you can see how much Fortnum and Mason sells it for!

*** Slow Cooked Tasmanian Petuna Ocean trout with Witlof and Yuzu ***

The slice of ocean trout was also an absolute delight.

If you are wondering, Petuna is a brand in Tasmania. They rare ocean trout. What is witlof? That's the Australian name for endive or chicory. The witlof was bitter. I did not really like it, but I ate it anyway, just because it was expensive? (you are allowed to laugh at me!)

*** Pear Salad Sides ***

At this point, we were given a salad that's not in the degustation menu. It was quite fresh tasting.

*** Grilled Alaskan King Crab with Lemon Scented Extra Virgin Olive Oil ***

The huge alaskan king crab looks so appetizing resting on a mountain of molded fine salt.



Well, it tasted better than it looked! Grilled perfectly, it was tender and yet firm. It was also cut into 3 portions nicely. All you need to do was to pick it up with your chopsticks. So easy to eat!

*** Abalone with Fregola and Tomato ***

The two abalone that were presented to us before cooking. They were alive. As the chef seasons it with some salt, the abalone seems to have screamed.

 

There were no acrobatic acts or noisy clanking at the teppanyaki table. The most well mannered and cultured 'show'. Our chef was so gentle. You noticed the oil splash above were within a square? That's because the chef keeps wiping his so called 'workstation', keeping it so clean and neat.

Most places scrap the stainless steel surface hard after cooking or use water to steam up the place? This place was different. Our chef used oil to polish the stains off! He then wipe off everything and the whole place is clean again! Wow!



Our abalone was served on top of the Fregola and Tomato salad. Fregola was the small little ball pasta you see above. It was cooked in front of us as well. It's yummy!

We did found the abalone a bit tough though. I liked it more than Momo did.

*** Braised Lobster with Tarragon ***

Ooo.... Lobster! It's one lobster for the two of us. The body of the crab was seared with extra virgin olive oil first before it was braised in a little pot in front of us.



Both of us preferred the claws to the body. The claw was more tender. The sauce was nice. I nearly wanted to drink it all!

I was too shy to do that in front of the chef and Momo. Oh the room only had the 3 of us! Nice privacy eh?

*** Asparagus with pistachios ***

Another side, this time asparagus with crushed pistachios. Simple and nice!

*** Japanese Wagyu Steak from Kagoshima Prefecture with Wasabi ***

Look at that piece of well marbled meat! This slab of meat is from the Kagoshima Prefecture. Today's wagyu is not the usual Australian version. (yey!)



The piece of wagyu was seared on the sides just as our Sea Urchin dish was served.



It was then covered, all the way until the lobster and asparagus dish.

It was then seared on high heat again and cut into cubes. I wanted 75% and what was presented was just how I like my beef!



That's garlic chips and freshly grated wasabi. There was two bowls of sauces too.

The best beef I have tasted the last few months! It literally melted in our mouth. Heavenly! Absolutely astonishing! A piece of crispy garlic chip and some wasabi on the wagyu beef then dipping it in the sauce and put it in our mouth. These 5 chunks were not enough for me!

*** Consomme with Rice and Fugu ***

Pufferfish with rice in the most tasty broth! It's so light yet so tasty. You can taste hints of yuzu in it too. It was so good, I finished every drop of the broth.






If I remember correctly, we were told it was chicken soup that was boiled for exactly 20 minutes. 

*** Gyokuro ***

This was our final course at the teppanyaki counter.  Gyukuro means 'jade dew' in Japanese and it's one of the most expensive tea around. The chef told us the water used to brew the tea for us was only 40 Celsius.



It was a small cup and was to be savoured slowly. To my tastebuds, it was very bitter.
But it was a nice end to the courses at the teppanyaki counter.

After this, we were ushered to the dessert area, a very pleasant area in the restaurant. Our table faces the Fullerton. You can see their collection of fine wines too, all around us.

*** Sorbet of Beetroot and Blood Orange ***

I love the desserts here! The sorbet of beetroot and blood orange was delicious.
Slightly sweet and slightly tart flavour makes it very nice.

*** Caffe Latte ***

We were told their Caffe Latte is the best around. So Momo who drinks coffee ordered it.



I wanted something without caffeine, so I had the Chamomile tea with honey.
Love their honey.

*** Blue Cheese and Vanilla bean Bavarois ***

Bavarois or Bavarian Cream, with blue cheese and vanilla beans. If you are not a fan of blue cheese, then avoid it. Not for the faint hearted! The blue cheese was so 'stinko'.

I still wanted to try it though. It was an acquired taste! I finished the whole thing though. Momo could not even finish a mouth of it! LOL

*** Salted Sable with Leatherwood Honey Cream ***

You get this at Tet's in Sydney too. We were told we are to crack the top of the sable to eat it. It's slightly salty and sweet. The taste is very unique.Wonderful.

*** Petit Fours ***

The petit fours served were macarons! Really small ones too! It was extremely sweet too!
A bit too sweet for me, so when we were asked if we anted more, we declined.

Momo and I were so full. We had a very enjoyable night dining here. Our meal here was different from what we had in Sydney. If you have been to Sydney, you would have remembered their delicious warm bread that's served with truffle butter. There was no warm bread here like the ones in Sydney to fill you up, but the servings here was enough to make you very full!

At $988.68 (incl taxes and service charges and mineral water), it might be a bit steep, we think it was worth it. The food was absolutely wonderful. The service staff was top notch. The chef was brilliant too.  There goes the year end's bonus.



Waku Ghin
Marina Bay Sands Singapore
10 Bayfront Avenue
Singapore 018956

Tel: +65 6688 8507