So while I enjoy checking out different Japanese restaurants, Akashi is still my first love. Ha! For a good 5 years, I have frequently dined at Akashi with my friend who’s a regular. And I still find it (crazily) amazing to see how much they have grown since their Tanglin Shopping Centre days. Now, now… when I say ‘grown’, I am not referring to the physique of the owners although they did put on a bit of weight. Haha. But rather, it’s the number of shops they have since opened.

However, with some changes in my career (which came with an enormous increase in workload), it has been 1.5 years since I last stepped into Akashi. Like “whattttt!” Haha. I mean, I still do check out new eateries. But when one has limited time, I used it to dine at new places instead. (^^lll)

So it was only recently that I headed back in November 2014 and January 2015 with other friends. And I posting this entry as a neutral customer since the staff probably couldn’t recognise me without my regular friend. Or that was what I thought. Ha!

Made reservation for both visits for 9.30pm, counter seats. And I say it’s pure luck if one got a friendly staff on the other end. Not that the other was rude, but she was more of the ‘no nonsense’.

And upon seated at the restaurant, the chef stationed in front of our seats asked for our preferences. Do note that by sitting at the counter, one would be going with omakase. Menus were available, but only for customers at the tables.

And on both occasions, my friends and I requested for sashimi and sushi. But of course, we made additional requests like kinki fish, interesting sushi creations, etc along the way. Ha! Although one may want to state one’s budget if the thought of dining without a price tag scares one. On my 2nd visit, I overheard a group of 6 Chinese exclaiming how expensive the dinner was at $2800. Hello… You ordered so many bottles of wine and sake too.

And with that, we started our dinner:-

1) Tomato (above)

2) Sashimi (above) – The only sashimi which we specifically requested for was surf clam (hokkigai). We enjoyed everything although if I had to choose, I would definitely go with the chutoro roll. Delicately rolled to resemble a rose? Ha.

3) Abalone (above) – Served in its liver sauce.

  

4) Fish sperm (above) – One of the items I would always try my luck at Akashi to see if it’s in the season. Probably because I had my first and many thereafter here. And even though it’s just fish sperm (shirako), it varies according to the (fish) specie too. My favourite is still cod fish fish sperm (above, left). So good.

5) Taraba crab, $70 (above) – Specifically requested for crab leg. However, I would be sticking to steamed over grilled. This was grilled and the flesh simply stuck to the shell. It was a little challenge to get the flesh out.

6) Assorted tempura, $42 (above) – Satsumaimo, ebi, sayori. tempura Was a little surprised when we were served this. It could be that the chef thought we were still hungry because we kept adding request that he arranged these to fill our stomachs up. Photographed portion shows only 1/3 of $42. The chef took the initiative to give us 3 different types and spilt them up for the 3 of us to eat off our respective plates. And of all, I really liked the sweet potato (satsumaimo)! Skip the fish (sayori) which ratio of meat to (tempura) batter was pathetic.

7) Kinki fish, $88 (above) – One of my must orders at Akashi! Grilled to perfection. Meat was juicy and sweet!

8) Nigiri sushi (above) – And what looked like beef was actually seared tuna belly (aburi otoro)! So good. It just melted in the mouth although my favourite and a must order was the sea urchin (uni) served with deep-fried seaweed.

9) Rice bowls (above) – Wanting to have a go at chef Mervin’s rice bowls (chirashi), we ordered 3 bowls but let chef Mervin surprise us with the flavours. And I must say our favourite was the tuna belly with sea urchin.

10) Asari miso soup, $8 (above)

11) Green tea (above) – And a cup of green tea (different from the one which we were drinking throughout our dinner) to indicate the end to the savoury portion of our dinner.

12) Fruits comprised of:-

(A) Musk melon, $14 (above)

(B) Persimmon, $21 (above)

And it goes without saying that I enjoyed my dinner. Most importantly, my friends who had their first-times dining at Akashi enjoyed themselves very much too. They just got back from Japan and couldn’t stop raving about the sashimi served at Akashi. A testimonial to the quality and freshness of sashimi at Akashi? Items 1 to 4, 8, 9 were lump-summed under ‘sushi bar’ on the receipt which set us back by a low $200 each.

Akashi (Orchard Parade outlet) is probably one of the very few places which successfully merged casual and formal casual dining environments in one place. Seated at the tables, one could spot teenagers, office crowd, families while tai tai-s, business men and even celebrities could be seen seated at the counter seats.

  
  

By dining at Akashi’s flagship store at Orchard Parade Hotel, one would get to see the owners; Chef Mervin and chef Don. They are always stationed at opposite ends of the sushi counter. I got to sit at the different halves during my 2 visits, and I realised there’s a difference in their sushi-making style. Chef Mervin served his with soy sauce and wasabi while chef Don served his naked; In its original state. Both styles tasted equally good to me. =)

And what really left me impressed was the photographic memory of chef Mervin. During my 2nd visit, although I was seated at chef Don’s half, chef Mervin came over, said hi and asked if I wanted my usual kinki fish. Wow!

Related posts:

Dinner @ Akashi Dinner @ Aoki Restaurant [Revisit] Lunch @ Aoki Restaurant [Revisit] Lunch @ Hashida Sushi [Revisit] [Revisit] Lunch @ Ginza Sushi Ichi | Sushi Restaurant in Orchard