BEST CHIRASHI DON EVER: Japanese Food Review @ Omote Thomson Plaza
View this post for Omote Thomson Plaza menu.
After coming back from Japan, I found it incredibly difficult to satisfy my sushi and sashimi cravings. Japanese food in Singapore is very, very expensive and not always very good. Authentic, pricey Japanese food can be found everywhere, so it's quite rare to find affordable sushi; if you do, by all means bookmark the place and hope that the crowd never finds it.
After coming back from Japan, I found it incredibly difficult to satisfy my sushi and sashimi cravings. Japanese food in Singapore is very, very expensive and not always very good. Authentic, pricey Japanese food can be found everywhere, so it's quite rare to find affordable sushi; if you do, by all means bookmark the place and hope that the crowd never finds it.
Anyway I only very recently found out about this popular Japanese restaurant - Omote, located at Thomson Plaza. Apparently they've been around for a few years already, but they've been shifting here and there within Thomson Plaza because they keep needing a bigger space to fit all their customers.
I actually went twice in a row because the food was so good. Do expect a longer queue during dinner times though, as people are constantly coming in even at 8.30pm. Without a reservation, we had to wait for about 20 minutes.
I love the interior of Omote. It's bear themed - a little bit of the We Bare Bears feels - and is very minimalist. Reminds you a little bit of dining in an IKEA showroom. The kitchen is also open so you can watch the chefs in action.
Omote also has private dining rooms that can sit up to 20 people, as well as a bar for those of you alcoholics out there. For private dining rooms, there is a minimum spend so please contact the restaurant for more information!
Omote also recently launched "Dining by Nagae", where you can dine in a private setting within the restaurant. The concept is named after their head chef Toshiharu Nagae and offers a full-on omasake experience with various "jewel box" meal sets and ala carte options.
So before we get to the food, I'd like to talk about the menu. Omote's menu is truly unique and mouth-watering! It actually looks more like a food magazine than a menu, and the pages have different textures and pictures that really stand out. Check it out for yourself when you're there!
For appetizers, we ordered the Truffle Garlic Glazed Duck Salad (S$14.80) and the Fillet of Salmon Mentaiyaki (S$13). I really loved the duck salad because it was quite value for money and really heightened my appetite! Remember to mix the salad, smoked duck breast, and onsen egg well for that perfect eggy taste! The salmon mentaiyaki was soft, creamy, and a great choice for mentaiko lovers out there. The slab of salmon is huge with a generous coat of Caviar sauce. Extreme tender perfection.
Now to the main part - the sushi! We ordered the 6-pc Salmon Sushi Set (S$13) and the "Takumi" Prime Selection (S$90) which is basically a feast of Hokkaido sea urchin, prime tuna belly, scallop, salmon belly, white tuna belly, salmon caviar, and Kyushu-seaweed. The sushi was really, really fresh and you could tell that it was all made by hand. The sea urchin tasted really sweet, and the sashimi slices were very generous.
Sushi and sashimi aside, Omote is actually best known for their Chirashi Don. Their Omote-Chirashi Don (S$12.80) is one of their cheaper and more basic dishes with diced seafood sashimi. I ordered the variant of the Omote-Chirashi Don - the Tamagoyaki Omote-Chirashi Don (S$15.80) with slices of sweet egg tamago! As I just can't get enough of salmon sashimi, I also got the Salmon Booster Chirashi Don (S$21.80). The serving was gigantic and we were so full at the end of the meal. There was also a perfect balance of sashimi pieces and the rice, so it didn't feel like there was too much of either.
If you prefer beef over fish, you can opt for the Tokyo Gyuniku Don (S$12). I'm not really a fan of gyudon, but my boyfriend really loved it! It did taste really good though, especially when mixed with the egg yolk and onion slices. The meat slices were also tender and thin, which made it easy to it. I'd say the price is super affordable too!
Another interesting dish would be the Utsuri Tempura Don (price N/A). It's basically just a bunch of tempura on top of rice. A very simple dish for if you need a dish that's a little more crunchy.
For drinks, opt for the Shirley's Temple of Bears (S$7) or the Nikka Highball (S$15) - both colourful cocktails for you to cleanse you palette!
For those of you who live far away or are lazy to come down to Thomson Plaza to try out Omote's dishes, you'll be glad to know that they are also available on Deliveroo!
I know that there are some bad reviews of Omote online saying that their service is bad and the staff are rude, but so far I have not experienced any of that! The staff were pretty attentive and the service was good; the food arrived pretty fast too.
I'd love to come back to Omote soon because I've had such a great time there and the food is so delicious. Really hope that they will start getting better reviews as well!
Update:
I came back here (again) on 9th February and tried some more dishes! I've included the pictures below for your eye candy.
Update:
I came back here (again) on 9th February and tried some more dishes! I've included the pictures below for your eye candy.
Omote @ Thomson Plaza
Address: #01-22/30, 301 Upper Thomson Road, Thomson Plaza, 574408 Singapore
Telephone: +65 9450 1020
Love this post? Feel free to share and comment below or check out my Birds of Paradise ice cream review here.
0 comments