Meandering through a maze-like entry sequence, we arrived at Takumi Tokyo restarant. Situated at Keppel Marina, it is a Japanese-run establishment specializing in teppanyaki and robatayaki with fresh produce imported regularly from Japan. The restaurant is made up of 2 main areas, the robata section with the charcoal grill and the teppan area with the hot pan. Patrons can choose between the counter seating, around the 2 open cooking areas or the stand alone tables away from the counters. The interior with its clean lines, and rough stone and light timber finishes, is not unlike many contemporary restaurants in Japan. Right from the entrance, a Japanese aura that pervades the whole place, the Japanese speaking staff further enhances it
After ordering, we were first served with an small appetizer of seaweed and cucumber in a small gold ceramic saucer. This was shortly followed by the first course that we had ordered which was a platter of assorted seasonal appetizers. Served on a long fat ceramic plate, the platter consisted of a slice of smoked duck with vinegared lotus root, fresh oyster and a slice of sweet cherry tomato. Varied in flavours and textures, all three components were delightful, each having an interesting flavour arc. The platter certainly raised expectations of the other dishes we had ordered.
Next came the shellfish which was cooked on the robata grill. We had earlier ordered it from a basket of fresh seafood which was shown to us by the chef over the counter. We bascially did a judging-the-book-by-its-cover and ordered the shellfish which looked rather interesting but not knowing what exactly it was. The shellfish, together with the stock, was served in the shell. Slightly rubbery at the beginning, the shellfish flavour became more pronounced with every bite. The chef recommended eating the shellfish liver which we had to dig out from within the shell, saying that it was the best part of the shellfish. I'm generally not a fan of liver and this did not change my mind, the thick flavour coupled with the powdery texture did not appeal to me at all.
After ordering, we were first served with an small appetizer of seaweed and cucumber in a small gold ceramic saucer. This was shortly followed by the first course that we had ordered which was a platter of assorted seasonal appetizers. Served on a long fat ceramic plate, the platter consisted of a slice of smoked duck with vinegared lotus root, fresh oyster and a slice of sweet cherry tomato. Varied in flavours and textures, all three components were delightful, each having an interesting flavour arc. The platter certainly raised expectations of the other dishes we had ordered.
Next came the shellfish which was cooked on the robata grill. We had earlier ordered it from a basket of fresh seafood which was shown to us by the chef over the counter. We bascially did a judging-the-book-by-its-cover and ordered the shellfish which looked rather interesting but not knowing what exactly it was. The shellfish, together with the stock, was served in the shell. Slightly rubbery at the beginning, the shellfish flavour became more pronounced with every bite. The chef recommended eating the shellfish liver which we had to dig out from within the shell, saying that it was the best part of the shellfish. I'm generally not a fan of liver and this did not change my mind, the thick flavour coupled with the powdery texture did not appeal to me at all.
The charcoal grilled Japanese leek was deliciously light and crunchy with the mild sweetness and green flavour of the leek, though it was not as smoky as i would like given it came from the charcoal grill. Next, we have the teppan rockdale sirloin steak cooked to medium rare. The steak was perfectly grilled, juicy and full of flavour, and excellent with a few flakes of salt on top. The grated radish served at the side provided a refreshing contrast, juxtaposing with the heavy flavour of the steak. There was also a wasabi sauce served with the steak which I found rather unnecessary and disruptive to the flavour of the main ingredient (unless the point is to mask the original flavour, but that would make the whole dish questionable).
An item on the menu that intrigued us was the teppan scamorza cheese with balsamic soy sauce. The ingredient was decidedly unjapanese but (to quote one of my dinner companions) yet so plausible as an item that we would find on the menu of a restaurant in Japan. Served in bite sized portions, the cheese is sliced and melted on the hot pan and draped onto half a cherry tomato. The balsamic soy is drizzled over it. The resulting flavour profile was rather Italian but the soy component kept it distinctly in the Asian realm.
The trio of grilled mushrooms we had ordered earlier finally arrived towards the end of the meal. Lightly dressed in soy sauce, the mushrooms were grilled to soft chewy consistency, but some of it was tepid, probably due to the different cooking times of each type of mushrooms, resulting in some having to sit on the plate while waiting for others to be cooked. The meal ended with garlic fried rice which the chef prepared in front of us. The garlic flavour is unfortunately not as pronounced as we would have liked we witnessed the chef, after frying the chopped garlic, push the oil into the grease trap, together with all the garlic flavour in it. The fried rice, as expected, turned out rather mediocre, lacking in garlic flavour and wok hei. (haha, can't believe there's a wiki entry about wok hei).
While most of the dishes we had did not quite match the expectations we had after the appetizers, the food and service were decently good. Takumi bears the hallmarks of a good restaurant -fresh, good quality produce and knowledgeable service staff, though it's still a little short of being excellent. But what one can definitely find here is a little bit of escapism,the feeling of being in Japan.
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