This was my first time visiting and dining at Waku Ghin. I have read many rave reviews, with some food critics even naming Waku Ghin as the top fine dining restaurant in Singapore.
Accolades include:
9th place – Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2015
7th place – Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2014
11th place – Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2013
2nd place – Miele Guide’s Top 20 Restaurants in Asia 2013
39th place – World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2012
The name ‘Waku Ghin’ is derived from two Japanese words: ‘Waku’ meaning to ‘arise’ (like water pouring forth from a hot spring) and ‘Ghin’ meaning ‘silver’. This restaurant is the brainchild of Chef Tetsuya Wakuda, the first person appointed Sake Ambassador outside of Japan, among his many other culinary achievements.
At 8,000 sq ft, Waku Ghin is the largest restaurant in the Marina Bay Sands integrated resort. However, for an intimate, conducive dining environment, it seats only 25 people in four private rooms that are each fitted with a teppan counter.
During my dinner session, there were only three diners in the room with one chef serving us:
Three is a crowd at Waku Ghin
If you are intending to dine at Waku Ghin, note that there are two seatings, at 6 and 8.30pm respectively, with the second group coming in while the early diners enjoy desserts in a main dining room that looks out onto Marina Bay.
There is no a la carte menu, only a 10-course degustation menu priced at S$400 per pax, which the chef designs based on your dietary restrictions. Each private room is assigned its own chef, who cooks the teppan dishes in front of you.
Appertisers were served when we arrived:
Fresh Gillardeau No.1 oystersClose-up
After meeting with the friendly Chef Wakuda, we were given a tour of the kitchen:
Chef Tetsuya Wakuda showing us around his kitchenThe chefs all stopped and stood still when Chef Wakuda entered the kitchenCleaning crewCharcoal grillChopping stationCoffee machineTea stationDessert station
Dinner followed:
The chef giving us an introduction of all the freshly flown seafood which we will be enjoying for the nightGorgeous stuff!Carpaccio of Tuna with EndivesThe signature Marinated Botan Shrimp with Sea Urchin and Oscientra CaviarThe right way to eat it is to use this specially provided mother-of-pearl spoon to mix the sea urchin, shrimp and caviar togetherVeteran food critic Wong Ah Yoke described that he was “totally bowled over” by this dish in his review and that the “generous scoop of Oscietra caviar – enough to somewhat justify the price of the meal” – I agree. Btw, this was my favourite dish of the night.Slow-Cooked Amadai with Black TruffleClose-up – love the tangy texture of the fish and the generous serving of trufflesA whole chunk of sea salt was used to prepare the next dishPouring water on the salt pile to create steamAlaskan king crab claws were then stacked carefully on topBamboo leaf is added on top before the pile is covered to steam at high pressureIt may look simple, but the chef requires years of training to prepare these dishes in front of guestsOpen sesame!Removing the shellsLook at how beautiful this simple dish can be when cooked to perfectionPlatingSteamed Alaskan King Crab with Lemon Scented Extra Virgin Olive OilI have never tasted such juicy flesh on an Alaskan King Crab!The next two dishes of abalone and lobster were prepared concurrentlyThe Canadian lobsters went on the teppan firstThese beautiful, fresh Tasmanian abalones followedExpertly cooking the abalones on the teppanThese are ready when they are lightly charred at the topPlatingTasmanian Abalone with Fregola and TomatoClose-up – soft and moist, this is unlike the usual rubbery abalone flesh which we tend to associatePlating the lobstersBraised Canadian Lobster with TarragonClose-up on the claws – another flawlessly executed dishThe ingredient for the next dish – charcoal-grilled fillet of Tasmanian grass-fed beefWatching the chef worked on the teppan is like watching a magic show, but with a happy ending for the tummyThe meat is ready to serveBeautifully cooked to rosy pinkCharcoal Grilled Fillet of Tasmanian Grass-Fed Beef with Tetsuya’s Wasabi MustardAh…. making me hungry againEverything is prepared with the utmost care at Waku Ghin, including the dipping wasabi for the next dish which was prepared freshThe grinder is made of coarse shark’s skinThe ingredient for the next dish – top grade wagyu beef with an 8.5 marbling scoreThe beef cooking on the teppanJapanese Ohmi Wagyu Roll from Shiga Prefecture with Wasabi and Citrus SoyClose-up of the wagyu beef sliceNext up, Truffle Rice is served to fill up on carbohydrate for a balanced mealGyokuro – japanese tea is prepared nextThis cleansed the palate before we moved on to the dessertsThe dessert dining area where you can enjoy a magnificent view of Marina BayJapanese musk melon – so sweet you don’t need to tamper with itChocolate Mousse with Vanilla and MacadamiaThis is so pretty I felt extremely guilty to cut it open to eatPetiti Fours to go with coffee or tea to round up the meal
The wine selection for the night in the order they were served to accompany each dishes were:
N V Billecart-Salmon Rose Brut
Masuizumi Platinum Nama for Tetsuya’s
2010 Pierro Chardonnay Special for Tetsuya Margaret River Australian
2008 La Velona Brunello di Montalcino – Tuscany, Italy
2011 Josefina Pinol Grenache Blanc – Terra Alta, Spain
Are you overwhelmed by all the extremely foodporn-worthy pictures?
I get really hungry when I edit and post up these pictures too. This is one of the best meal I had in my life. The preparations may appear simple, but they require years of training in order for such flawless execution from start till end, with every ingredient cooked to perfection to retain the freshness and the natural flavours.
Next time you are looking to pamper yourself to a luxurious gastronomical treat, look no further than Waku Ghin at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore! 🙂
alvinology
Alvin is a marketer by day and blogger by night. He is a 100% geek who spends too much time surfing the web.
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