Birthday meal at Tatsuya

Dinner at Tatsuya, one of Singapore's more popular Japanese restaurant, is one that requires some sort of an occasion, at least for me.  The lunch sets are good value for money but going omakase at dinner is really an indulgent, fun experience that I wish for all sushi fans to have an opportunity to experience.  In my case, what better ocassion could I ask for other than my birthday, especially the last birthday before I turn big 3-0?

On a Saturday at 7:30pm, the sushi counter was still relatively quiet less than half-filled. Closer to 8pm, the rest of the dinner crowd started filling up the restaurant and counters. The waitresses in their body-hugging kimonos walked hastily back and forth, back and forth behind us, along a narrow corridor to fulfill orders from hungry diners. The sushi chefs, all five of them behind the counter, never had a free moment. Their deft hands could not stop moving and that busy scene went on for another good two hours. 

Initially, the chefs almost all had their sashimi knives on, long and sharp.  They were slicing beautiful slabs of fresh fish for sashimi course.  Then there was the shiny long metal chopsticks that could neatly arrange and decorate the plates.  A dollop of wasabi, beautiful little stalks of shisho (oba) flowers, and a cute crysanthemum flower that looked like a cheerful yellow button added visual aesthetics to our rectangular platter of sashimi. The kanpachi, creamy and pristine, was my favourite of the night.  But that was after another delicious seasonal sashimi of katsuo (bonito) in a ponzu vinegrette. It was so good that I zoomed right into the dish, forgetting to take a picture of it.  That said, the hairy crab from Hokkaido mixed with its own crab miso was a close second, if not for the bits of cartilage.  I don't like akagai (ark shell) but Tatsuya's was fresh and crunchy.

Then the kitchen took over, giving the Chef a breather to concentrate on other diners.  We had a couple of lovely seasonal dishes in the form of grilled sanma (pacific saury) and a snow crab leg tempura.

Shortly after, the Chef got busy again.  He sliced the fish for the sushi neta, then crafted each piece of sushi followed by either blow-torching and / or dressing.  Tatsuya's sushi are modern, refreshed with special sauces and interesting toppings that add texture and flavours.   Sometimes, the sauces could be overpowering, such as in the case of the hotate (scallop) with goma (sesame) dressing.   If you are a purist, then forget Tatsuya.  But most of them, the additional things made sense.  Look at the anago sushi.  It was soo good!  Grilled ala minute, it was dressed with a little sweet sauce.  It was deliciously warm in the mouth, disintegrating easily with the sushi rice.  But it would have just been too one dimensional if not for the crispy bits of fried salmon skin bits that the Chef used as a topping. 

Dinner ended with a house-made custard pudding with vanilla-infused brown sugar syrup.  It was creamy, soft and rich.  By then I was too full to fully enjoy them.  The boy did not have the luxury of seconds until then.  But the sushi chefs were still not done for the night.  The leftover fish had to be packed and the counter cleaned down good and proper.  I guess the sushi counter at Tatsuya would never be a tranquil scene.  Yet against that energetic backdrop throughout the night, my heart and mind just focused on one thing - how blessed and happy I was to be there experiencing the moments with someone really special.

This post is for you D.  
xoxo