Akane Restaurant

Brief Introduction of Akane

Akane Restaurant is owned by Chef Nogawa, a Japanese who came to Singapore in 1972, and has been here ever since (Hooray!). Mention his name at other famous Japanese restaurants in Singapore and you will get nods of admiration for the man. He is after all, the master of Ronnie Chia (of Tatsuya at the Crown Prince Hotel), Yoshida (of Sushi Yoshida) and even the chef of Shiro (at Greenwood Ave) was once a assistant of Mr Nogawa. At Akane, the ingredients are always fresh as they are imported from the famous tsujiki market in Japan 5 times a week! Well, to experience a true and authentic taste of japanese food by the master or his disciples, you decide.

This time, we went for lunch because we heard lunch was a lot cheaper. And it is! Set lunches are from $20 - $25 each, the portion is average, but the food taste a lot better of course.

First dish that arrive was "Scallop Tempura"

 

They added other vegetables such as mushrooms to go with the scallops, and overall, I would say that the tempura is light and has a nice bite to it. The scallops are sweet but maybe this dish tastes a tad too normal. But its still nice.

 

Our chirashi set lunch arrived next, and at $25, it is really worth it. In the big bowl in the middle of the picture, we have some sashimi, prawn, egg, roe, crab stick, squid. Underneath it all, they've added shredded seaweed on top of the rice and the rice is a little sweet and very delicious. Goes very well with the ingredients on top. The tofu on the top right was very good too. However, their miso soup (if we can call it that) is cooked with prawns, and the taste of the prawns is quite strong. It is a different twist to the traditional miso soup, so maybe not everyone will like it. Good selection for this set.

 

That, is their speciality. Its tuna soup and the soup is really very tasty. In the soup, there are tuna meat, mushrooms and tofu. The tuna meat was very very good - its the next best thing to a tuna sashimi and tuna belly, and the tofu was really soft. I think Akane makes very good soups. We had crab soup (seasonal) the last time we went there for dinner and that was fantastic and extremely flavourful too. Don't give their soups a miss.

 

 

At the top we have egg sushi, and at the bottom, we have "Fatty tuna with spring onion" maki. "Fatty Tuna" is really tuna belly - the translation gone awry somewhere. It was the first time we ordered the egg at Akane, and it was better than the average stuff outside, the egg being not as sweet. It's a interesting way of presenting the sushi because the egg is cut into halves and the rice is enclosed between the egg. So we have more egg than rice.

The first time we ate the "Fatty tuna with spring onion" maki, we were blown away. Firstly, when you place one piece into your mouth, right at the moment before it touches your tongue, you will sniff out the freshness of the seaweed. When you bite into it, the crispness of the seaweed (there you have it, its damn fresh and of good quality) will cause your eyes to widen a bit in surprise and when you get to the fatty tuna with spring onion part, you will be blown away. There are so many taste and texture to feel in each piece. When you eat the whole thing together, the fatty tuna is soft and the whole piece just melts in your mouth.And here, it will be where your eyes open even wider. It's incredible. The seaweed does not linger for too long in the mouth. Most seaweed from the outside will be almost the last thing that goes down. But at Akane, the seaweed, rice and fatty tuna all becomes one. The combination is quite amazing. This is another dish not to be missed!

 

Akane is also well known for their udon. I dunno what that bowl of udon is doing for you, but I can still remember how smooth and delicious it was. If you're those kind of person who likes their food simple, clear and light, you must try this. I'm not very good at describing noodles, and I don't really like noodles but I really relish every bit of this dish. Maybe at first it will be too plain for some, but after a while, you will like it =) It may not be as great as those they have in Japan, but this is as close as it will get.

 

Dessert! We ordered their home made Sesame Ice Cream. I dunno if you've heard, but good Japanese restaurant tends to make good sesame ice cream! The flavour is quite intense and for every bite, you can really taste the sesame. I'd say this is quite good.

 

This dessert came along with the lunch set. It's red bean with some nutty thing inside. From the appearance, it may look overly sweet, but surprisingly it is not. It is an interesting dessert and that's about it. The taste was pleasing, but so- so too.

Lunch at Akane is a different affair compared to dinner. The atmosphere is different because at night you will see people coming and actually taking it slow and relaxing with a few beers. In the afternoon, however, people just go there for a good lunch and leave to continue their day. Also, if you want to meet Chef Nogawa, I think it is best to go for dinner. He is a really friendly man though it is not that easy to understand his accent sometimes. But bear in mind that dinner is a lot more expensive. Reservations are recommended and if possible, book the counter seats where all the action is. For a fun dinner, just let the chefs decide everything. Try their sashimi platter too. And bring your credit card! They don't accept cash.

 

Akane Restaurant

120 Adam Road Level 4 The Japanese Association

Opening hours: 11.30am to 3pm, 6pm to 10pm

Telephone: 64672768