Mikuni @ The Fairmont Singapore

“いただきます Itadakimasu”

In Japan, children have been taught from young to say “Itadakimasu” before each meal. It carries many good meanings, from “I receive humbly the meal you have prepared” to “let’s eat!”, “please join me”, “dig in!” or “Bon appétit”! Tonight at Mikuni, “Itadakimasu” had been taken to a whole new level! Thank you to the hosts, Tutu Kueh and Tonguerchi (how we came up with our pseudonyms is another story!) for a wonderful Robatayaki dinner! And thank you, Japan, for inventing Sake 😉

Robatayaki is basically slow-grilling food over hot charcoal (kinda like barbeque?). And if Mikuni isn’t already one of the top Robatayakis in town, it sure is one with an impressive private Robatayaki room! Check it out!

Look at that! There’s the chef in the back by his charcoal grill. And fresh ingredients sit seductively in front of us! See anything you fancy? Just get the chef's attention and point! — Look at that! There’s the chef in the back by his charcoal grill. And fresh ingredients sit seductively in front of us! See anything you fancy? Just get the chef’s attention and point!

Fortunately, Tutu Kueh had done his homework and ordered all the chef’s specials so we could concentrate on eating!

Hokkaido Scallops; Aomori Ichiyaboshi Squid

Bone-in Kurobuta Pork Belly; Mushrooms with Garlic Butter

All scores based on individual's opinions. — All scores based on individual’s opinions.

Reviews

Tutu Kueh says…

(1) Venue 8.5- We were lucky to have the whole Robatayaki area to ourselves cuz it feels like private dining and the chef was only serving us. Small room with great display of Japanese produce. Authentic! (2) Taste 8.0- Grilled food mostly can only taste that good, but we ordered the Chirashi which was splendid! Best in town! And the Pork Belly Bone-in was grilled to perfection. The rest of the grilled food was due to produce from Japan and that is always good! (3) Service 8.0- Service was good cause we had a good server to ourselves and she was concentrating mostly on us only. Great job! (4) Value 7.0- Price was indeed quite steep. At S$100 each,the price is still steep and at $200 can buy you many dinners. But the venue and service made the night and food memorable.

Tonguerchi says…

(1) Venue 8.0- In the heart of town. Private room and personal service were very authentic and prestigious. (2) Taste 6.5- Liked the Truffle Oil Kampachi & Chirashi rice. Fantastic pumpkin and aspragus. Loved the leatherjacket. Not a fan of the pork and scallops or lobster. The grilled fish was something I’ve never tried. Fruits surprisingly sour. (3) Service 7.6- Helpful in ordering. (4) Value 7- Guess if you don’t drink and you have the Far Card, then the value is +++ !

Just-Eat-Lah says…(1) Venue 7.0- Particularly in the “private” room with chef Tommy Yeo.. o/w outside’s abit too dark for my liking. (2) Taste 8.0- Stop me at the Chirashi bowl, ppl!!I say again!!! Perfect size, quality and service. (3) Service 7.5- Members of the group had to ask for soya sauce twice, o/w service was good cuz 2 servers on attendance. (4) Value 6.0- @ $150-$200/pax, the price correlates to the expectations of a Japanese restaurant plus @ a 5-star hotel. Sour plate (fruit) could’ve been better priced/ complimentary.

Kit Cat says…

(1) Venue 8.5- Nice ambience for a Japanese place, nice private room. (2) Taste 7.5- Food was relatively good, luv the grilled fish and the use of sea salt for food. Sashimi with truffle sauce was good. (3) Service 7.5- Standard service expected @ this kind of restaurant but with initiative of letting us know how much to order. (4) Value 7.0- Thought the price was abit expensive, vegetables were expensive for that portion. Fruit platter should be complimentary.

Will-I-Ham says…(1) Venue 8.2- Feels like we were in Japan. Very authentic ambience. However, chef was not Japanese. (2) Taste 7.8- Everything was spot on, except for the fruit platter at the end which was rather dissapointing. (3) Service 8.0- Very attentive staff, always ready to serve. (4) Value 7.0- At $200 per head, I feel its still a little pricey for this quality of food.

G.licious says…(1) Venue 9- Wow! I love counter seats at Japanese restaurants (think Sushi bars, Teppanyaki counters, noodle making open kitchens)! And this one here is just beautiful! This Robatayaki room is small yet comfortable. With the array of seafood spread before us and the chef right there doing his thing! That’s always a hit for me! The main hall? Hmm..I don’t remember how that looked! (2) Taste 8.0- Most memorable for me were the Chirashi, simply because it was superbly fresh. It was naturally sweet, cut was thick and bite was good and firm. It didn’t need further enhancement from soya sauce or wasabi. And my other favorite, the bone-in pork belly. It wasn’t fat and oily like most belly meats. It was seasoned and grilled perfectly with the meat melting off the bone effortlessly. Tender with bite. Served with a sprinkle of seasoned sea salt. Yummy. The rest of the food were ok. The Kampachi is worth a mention too. The dessert platter at the end? Please take it away! *SMH (3) Service 7.0- Server was efficient. Chef was soft spoken and polite. No complaints. (4) Value 6.5- 200 a pop!? Woah! If Mikuni isn’t known for its hefty pricing, I’d have scored it 5. I’d skip the lackluster items (asparagus, mushrooms, scallops, pumpkin), shoot the person who made the dessert platter, and maybe pay… $140?

7.5 over 10! That’s a pretty sweet score albeit the steep bill!

In Japan, when you’ve been fed or treated to a meal, one says “ごちそうさま！Gochisousama deshita!” You know what? That should really happen anywhwere in the world! So, “thank you for the delicious meal!” And “Kanpai” to another successful SIX dinner.