NAMI Restaurant and Bar: Impressive Japanese Fine Dining at Shangri-La Hotel Singapore

PUBLISHED October 9th, 2017 07:00 am | UPDATED March 14th, 2018 03:44 pm

The Tower Wing at Shangri-La Hotel Singapore emerged from a major revamp earlier this year and if you had good memories of Nadaman, the Japanese restaurant on the ground level specialising in fine kaiseki dishes, we have bad news – it’s closed. However, the good news is that diners can head to NAMI, a new Japanese concept focused on seasonal produce and Japanese hospitality, instead.

Taking up half of the 24^th floor (the other half houses the Horizon Club Lounge), NAMI is helmed by Head Chef Shigeo Akiba, who hails from Yokohama. The highlights of his 30 over years of culinary experience includes five years managing the five restaurants owned by Iron Chef Koumei Nakamura, preparing the wedding banquet of Japan’s Prince Akishinomiya and Princess Kiko, and serving Emperor Akihito when he dined at Nadaman Tokyo. And guess what? Chef Akiba is best known for an incredibly underrated part of Japanese cuisine – dashi.

Made with kombu (Japanese kelp) from Hokkaido and katsuobushi (dried, fermented and smoked skipjack tuna, also known as bonito flakes) from Kyushu, the broth made its first appearance shortly in the form of dashi jelly with red snapper sashimi, served alongside a small dish of asari clam cooked in soy and topped with ikura. These tasty morsels were the first pair of appetisers of our Omakase ($190) dinner, which is probably the most complete experience of NAMI aside from the Sushi Omakase ($220), though there are a la carte options on the lunch and dinner menus too.

Drinks-wise, NAMI has a small curated list of premium sakes and Japanese whiskies, accompanied by a larger wine list that covers all the bases. Besides the Sake Flight ($100), which sees three sakes paired with seasonal tapas by Chef Akiba, there’s no alcohol pairing available so we went with our server’s recommendation of the Kuheiji junmai daiginjo ($42 for 180ml, $170 per bottle) from the Aichi Prefecture. The complex flavours from this cult brewery stems from their use of vintage rice, which complements the fishy flavours coming up next.

We haven’t seen anything like the second dish in Singapore before – sea urchin wrapped in pike conger eel in a clear, smoky, umami broth. We’re too used to the creamy texture of raw sea urchin, so the firm texture of cooked uni didn’t appeal to us. The eel, though, was done perfectly; just watch out for the micro bones. With this dish, we also learnt that Chef Akiba makes his dashi with three types of dried bonito, which contributes towards the delicious smokiness of the broth.

There’s nothing to nitpick about the sashimi course; the scallop, sea bream, amaebi (sweet shrimp), toro, and kanpachi (yellow tail) were as fresh as one can get in Singapore. Instead of eating the raw seafood with soy sauce and wasabi as is customary, we savoured it with some of the Himalayan salt on the plate since it doesn’t overpower the delicate sweetness.

The Pan-fried Tuna Head with Chef Akiba’s Sweet Soy Sauce is one of NAMI’s signatures and is also on the a la carte dinner menu ($60). The flavours evolve as you eat your way through the tuna head; the texture and crunch of the pepper adds another dimension to the firm fish and soft radish, while the twist of lemon lets you have more of this rich dish. Thankfully, it’s followed by a bowl of sea bream and mushrooms in dashi. It might not be as innovative as the previous dashi dish, and it’s quite fishy in flavour, but it is immensely comforting and set us up for the last savoury dish.

Another specialty of NAMI is the Japanese Saga Wagyu Beef Sirloin A4, Sea Urchin, Rice, Chef Akiba’s Special Sauce, and Seasonal Truffle (available a la carte at $65). Accompanied by Hokkaido ikura, shimeiji and shitake mushrooms from Kyoto, and shavings of French black truffles, it’s the epitome of Japanese culinary luxury. It’s also everything I love in a bowl, so yes, I was happy (I’m sure you’d be too).

Dessert was a simple plate of Japanese fruit: a wedge of melon, a couple of cherries, and a grape. Sweet, refreshing, and bursting with flavour, it’s obvious that the fruits are also imported from high quality producers.

While great Japanese restaurants hawking the same excellent quality, and toting a similar price range, are aplenty in this city, it’s rare to see a new opening that really does bring something new to the Singapore scene. So if you’re looking to splurge on your next Japanese meal, why not consider NAMI?

NAMI is located at Level 24, Tower Wing, Shangri-La Hotel, 22 Orange Grove Rd, Singapore 258350, p. +65 6213 4398. Open 12pm-2.30pm, 6pm-10.30pm daily. The terrace is open for dinner daily 6pm-12 midnight.