Nagai Hokkaido Cuisine joins Suntec City as the newest Japanese dining concept under Eat at Seven. All the way from Sapporo, Japan, this is Nagai's first overseas outpost, featuring their unique brand of Kaiseki, helmed by Head Chef Makoto Nagai. The 64-seater restaurant offers counter seats, open dining areas and three private dining rooms for private occasions. Sit at the counter, and you can observe the chefs intricately putting your meals together.
The new restaurant offers 4 omakase menus with ingredients procured directly from Sapporo and air-flown into Singapore twice a week to showcase produces of the best freshness and quality. The omakase menus are priced at $98, $138, $198 and $380. I had the $198 menu, which included an appetiser, 5-kinds sashimi platter, a grill item, a daily special, a main dish and a dessert.
Appetiser 3.5/5
The appetiser featured a Fried Ebi, complemented with sides such as mentai and persimmon.
Hand-carved Ice Plate Sashimi 4.2/5
Served on a hand-carved ice plate made from a huge block of ice, the Hand-carved Ice Plate Sashimi was a feast for the eyes and the bellies. You will find a highlight of fresh seafood specially imported from Hokkaido, such as salmon, tuna, kazunoko, whelk, botan ebi and more. The botan ebi was our favourite, being impressively sweet.
Oyster 2-Ways 3.8/5
Next was Oyster 2-Ways - done fresh and tempura fried. Both oysters were fresh and creamy, though I preferred the fresh oyster as it was more distinctly briny and sweet.
Snow Crab Stew 4.5/5
The Snow Crab Stew was undoubtedly the best surprise of the night. Chunks of sweet snow crab meat brimming in a thick and comforting broth. It provided an extremely comforting pause amidst the rest of the chilled dishes. The chef kindly topped up more crab meat for my bowl as I don't take beef. My dining companion, who had the beef, had great compliments for the tender beef slices.
Sashimi Roll 3.8/5
Before dessert, we were served a slice of Sashimi Roll with a centre of salmon, tuna, and more. It is then topped with briny ikura. We found it average. At the same time, we were expecting a bigger portion for our mains.
Hokkaido Milk Ice Cream with Sweet Potato 3.8/5
Dessert was Hokkaido Milk Ice Cream with Sweet Potato. I appreciated the natural sweetness of the sweet potato, and the ice cream was just right in its creaminess and milkiness.
The overall omakase experience was decent. The freshness of the ingredients shone through, but we hoped for more surprises and bigger portions, considering its price tag. The items are also more seafood-focused, which is something diners may want to take note of.
Premium Kaisen Don
Apart from their omakase menus, you can look out for 15 types of lunch sets. Prices start at $28, and the menu features items such as Premium Kaisen Don, Wagyu Roast Beef Set, Tempura Set and Yakitori Set. The Premium Kaisen Don features a mixture of fresh sashimi served with miso soup, smooth chawanmushi and pickles.
Photos and words by Jo. A girl who loves her Mala (麻辣) at Da La (大辣), discovering hidden food gems and a good cup of matcha latte. Note: This is an invited tasting.
Nagai Hokkaido Cuisine
Suntec City
Tower 1
3 Temasek Boulevard
#03-314
Singapore 038983
Tel: +65 66845054
Nearest MRT: Promenade (CC, DT Line), Esplanade (CC Line)
Opening Hours:
Daily: 1130am - 3pm, 530pm - 10pm
Direction:
1) Alight at Promenade MRT station. Take Exit C. Walk to destination. Journey time about 5 minutes. [Map]
2) Alight at Esplanade MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk to destination. Journey time about 5 minutes. [Map]
