Great omakase dinner at Nagomi, which is a small and hidden Japanese eatery at Cuppage Plaza. The chef Nada Satoru used to have a normal menu but he changed it into an omakase menu based on the fresh and seasonal ingredients from Japan.

The place is dimly lit and you have to remove your shoes when you enter. There aren’t many seats, just a counter table of about 8 seats and about 4 tables. The ambiance is definitely cozy and it feels very traditional.

Appetizer: Mategai and daikon

The appetizer was bamboo clams and grated radish. If the chef didn’t tell me it was bamboo clams I would have thought it was cuttlefish.

1st course: Tofu salad

Basically sliced tofu with a bunch of veggies and some avocado and tomatoes. Nothing really special actually but the sauce was very nice and really made the whole dish come together. The tofu was also quite firm too.

2nd course: Sashimi moriawase

From left to right: uni, hotate, kanpachi, maguro, shima-aji, kinmedai

Fresh and delectable sashimi, this was the first time I had kinmedai which is also known as alfonsino. The uni was especially nice and it had that salty taste that reminds you of the sea breeze.

3rd course: Takabe shio yaki

This is a fish that is now in season in Japan. It was salt-grilled as a whole fish and the flesh was just so sweet, tender and fresh. Almost like it was just caught moments ago!

4th course: Braised kurobuta belly

This is the black pork belly, braised until the fats were so soft as to melt in your mouth. Very tasty but a bit too rich to eat so much of it. Reminded me of buta no kakuni.

5th course: Wagyu teppenyaki

This was the highlight of the dinner for me. Succulent slices of tender wagyu beef (imported from USA) that were grilled just nice. The chef instructed me to sprinkle the accompanying lime salt over the beef slices and the combination was amazing.

They tasted great with the marbled fats just melting away in my mouth with that grilled taste and because the wagyu slices were not pre-marinated much, so the lime salt added the right amount of saltiness to it.

6th course: Porridge

This is a simple yet exceptionally tasty porridge. It was simmered at low heat and actually more like soup rice than a real porridge. It came with peppered chicken and egg inside and seaweed was sprinkled on top. Great way to fill up the stomach at the end!

Dessert: Yuzu ice-cream

To round off the omakase, we get the usual yuzu ice-cream as dessert. It is fast becoming one of my favourite ice-creams to have now. The taste is so uniquely citrus and refreshing.