Of the seven dining concepts at a Emporium Shokunin, Takujo Japanese Fine Dining looks like the one that is best for special occasions and thus I made a quick decision to bring the folks down for a Father's Day lunch.
What I like about the menu is that there is a good range of ala carte dishes ranging from sashimi, agemono (fried items) to nimono(stewed items) and rice/noodles even though there is no sushi. However, it is quite hard to tell/guess the portions of the food as some turned out unexpectedly petite like typical fine-dining dish.
For instance, the fish and the oysters. I stared in disbelief that the plate (above top right) turned out to be my order of Hamachi Kama & Daikon ($18), as I would not be able to tell that the white cheese-lookalike thing sitting on the radish was yellowtail fish cheek! If greens is not a must, the overpriced Mizuna Salad ($16) can be skipped. The Tori Karaage ($8) could be crispier too. Fortunately, there were more hits than misses that day.
The Hamachi Kama Shioyaki ($28), a chargrilled yellowtail cheek passed the fresh test and was very meaty. Simply tasty when lightly dipped with some Ehime sea salt on the side.
The Kurobuta Kakuni ($18) was another excellent dish that caught everyone swooning. Braised for 8 hours, the chunky slices of pork belly was so meltingly tender that all the fats seemed to have disintegrated. Yet it was not greasy at all, flavorful yet not overly sweet.
Have you ever seen so much Sakura Ebi in a dish before? It's the first time to witness claypot rice being cloaked in a sea of pink in this Sakura Ebi Claypot Rice ($38/serves 3-4 pax). The rice spoke nothing except the natural aroma and umami-ness from the highly prized prawns.
The A5 Miyazaki Don Set ($29) was a tantalizing lunch option that was served with chilled onsen tamago, appetizer, miso soup and salad. I felt that the beef was slightly overcooked and would offer a better texture if sliced thinner.
Takujo
6 Raffles Boulevard #01-18 Marina Square
Singapore 039594
11.30am-3pm, 6pm-11pm