Waku Ghin

 
Waku Ghin is Tetsuya Wakuda’s  restaurant at Marina Bay Sands, and it’s also his first restaurant outside of Sydney.

Fatty King Fish Sashimi

The fish was really juicy and fresh, they almost melt in your mouth.

Marinated Botan Ebi with Uni and Oscietre Caviar

This sinful dish is just pure seafood indulgence. Botan ebi sashimi is draped with fresh Hokkaido uni and then topped with a lavish dollop of oscietre caviar. 

Alaskan King Crab

The result was the most succulent crab meat I ever tasted. It was so tender and the sweetness of the crab leg was brought out by using salt for steaming. The lemon scented olive oil added some zest to this wonderful dish.

Slow Cooked Tasmanian Petuna Ocean Trout with Witlof and Aonori

The fish was fresh and sweet, well-seasoned and paired nicely with braised Witlof and Aonori (a green seaweed). There was a healthy cracking of black pepper atop the trout, which I loved, and which made the kick from the seaweed sauce more pronounced. This was no ordinary peppercorn, it was woody, tart and spicy beyond the pepper you and I use at home. By itself this might have already been my favourite dish of the night, but what sealed the deal was the salad of endive leaves and pear that accompanied it.

Abalone with Fregola and Tomato

The abalone was from Australia and it was a tad too salty for my taste but aside from that, they were so fresh and firm, but yet tender enough so that it was not rubbery. Fregola are small balls of pasta, originating from Sardinia where a traditional dish is to cook them with tomatoes and clams.

Braised Lobster with Tarragon

It is a no brainer that such a dish can only be successful when using the freshest seafood available. When you bite into the meaty lobster claw, your mouth is immediately filled with the sweet juice streaming out from the thick flesh. To my horror,the lobster was served to us a tad overcooked as Canadian lobster was supposed to be sweet and crunchy. However, what they lack in texture, the made up for it with the lobster stock that was flavourful and had a nice buttery fragrance.

Wagyu Beef Cube Steak

The marbling of the Wagyu beef was beautiful. A The beef was incredibly fatty, with salt and pepper the only adornment it needed.  The star of the show here, I thought, was undoubtedly the fresh wasabi. It was not as pungent or spicy as the processed wasabi we were used to eating, but had an almost soothing burn when paired with the beef.

Consomme with Rice and Hirame

The final dish was this rice dish soaked in lot's of tasty chicken consomme with freshly cooked Hirame (snapper) slices, which was impressive for the pure and strong taste of the consommé.

Gyukuro tea

 Before dessert we had a shot of Gyokuro tea, an expensive kind of green tea with a distinctive sweet aroma, and less bitter than normal green tea. It was made with lukewarm water and I have to say they weren’t bluffing about the rich umami flavour, which is sweet and delicate on the tongue. No bitterness at all here!

silver-leaf adorned Ghin Cheesecake

house cheesecake, which was almost too fluffy in texture

For the most part, Waku Ghin is a gastronomic experience that will please you if only for one reason – the quality of its ingredients. I take nothing away from the ability of our chefs and waitstaff. They guy is a good chef and  there was always a waiter or waitress nearby, just out of sight so as not to let you feel watched but yet instantly there at your call. They were all also very knowledgable about the dishes and they were attentive to small details, like the chefs never showing their backs when leaving the counter kitchen.

  I guess with ingredients this spectacular, you don’t have to do much to them, and Waku Ghin wisely refrains from doing so. But you pay a pretty penny for the luxury of these ingredients - $400++ a person.

 Waku Ghin
10 Bayfront Avenue
Marina Bay Sands
Tel: 6688-8507
Email: wakughin@marinabaysands.com
Open: Mon – Sat, 6pm – 10:30pm