Omakase @ Stevens Is Probably the Best Omakase I Have Tried This Year

I walked into Omakase @ Stevens on a midweek evening and was surprised to find the dining counters facing the chef’s area almost full. It is no secret that many omakase places have been hit hard by the runaway inflation of recent years, with many local diners opting for that omakase experience in Japan or elsewhere. Omakase @ Stevens seemed unperturbed by this and remains as well-received as ever.

The restaurant is helmed by Executive Chef Kazuki Arimoto who hails from Osaka and has 12 years of culinary experience. The menus in Omakase @ Stevens are defined by the seasons and at the time of my visit, they were offering their summer menu. This is served in 6 or 8 courses, priced at S$280++ and S$333+ respectively. 

Check out my list of underrated omakase places here

I knew I was in for a treat the moment I laid eyes on the first course. An opened can of oscietra caviar with finely chopped striped jack set the tone for dinner. Taking on the role of blinis, the monaka pastry served to catch the dollops of caviar I could scoop from the small spoon. This was the only raw dish of the evening with everything else that came after served in cooked form.  

Hassun consisted of a trio of starters. The first was fatty tuna (chutoro) from Kagoshima sitting on a perilla lead with a base of seaweed chip. 

It was followed by a most picturesque egg with A5 Wagyu Rilette from Saga prefecture as base and topped with a layer of burdock cooked with caramelized onion and butter and a layer of egg yolk puree and croutons. 

The third and last component of the hassun was a most intriguing corn tart. Of the 3, my favorite was the egg which was bursting with creaminess.

The next course was the Kinmedai or Golden Eye Snapper coming from Chiba prefecture. The fish was prepared in 3 ways – first by pouring hot oil until scales are crispy. This is then followed by deep-frying the scales using minimal hot oil. Finally, the meaty part of the fish is then grilled over a binchotan. 

Similarly, as there were 3 steps to prepare the fish, the dish came with 3 kinds of sauces as well with all carrying French sensibilities – Rouille, Bouillabaisse and homemade green basil oil. 

I wholeheartedly enjoyed the Wagyu Katsu which came as the next course. The beef they use here hails from Miyazaki and I appreciated the contrast between the juicy and melt-in-your mouth qualities of the meat against the delicately crusty and impossibly thin layer of breadcrumb coating. It was almost entirely the beef doing the work here, with the meat being sprinkled only with a little bit of salt. The beef also came with a stuffed cabbage on the side which looked notably like brussels sprouts. It was another winner, being wonderfully stuffed with wagyu rillette – the same ingredient inside the egg in the hassun course.

Another notable dish that evening was the Seasonal Donabe. During my visit, they used river eel that’s been charcoal-grilled on a binchotan. I was amazed to find the meat still moist while the skin on the other side already turned into a delightful and burnt crisp. The rice used for the donabe is Koshihikari rice from Niigata prefecture.

Japan is not usually associated with mangoes but if there’s any place that can potentially grow them I’d reckon it would be at the southern tip of Kyushu. It’s close – but not quite. Japan’s famed mangoes are actually concentrated around Miyazaki prefecture and are noted for their bright red colors and large size. But I digress.

The dessert at Omakase @ Stevens featured scoops of mangoes layered with a sweet and crunchy meringue at its base and mango puree at the top. It is then crowned by a scoop of mango sherbet and coconut mousse – making for an impressive ending to the meal. 

But there was actually more. We ended the meal with Petit Fours – a trio consisting of hojicha mousse ball, homemade cream puff stuffed with vanilla and orange custard cream as well as chocolate cookie. 

Wow, just wow. Every dish was so masterfully prepared and I was bowled over by the details, intricacy and careful melding of eastern and western elements during the course of the dinner. There’s little (if at all) of the typical items here like sushi or nigiri so the experience here is definitely not something one can easily have or replicate in most other omakase places in town. I’d be keen to come back to try their next seasonal menu.

Omakase @ Stevens
30 Stevens Road
#01-03
Singapore 257840

+65 6735 8282 

Monday to Saturday, 6PM to 10:30PM