Wednesday, September 11, 2013 | Posted by CalvinTCQ ♣ |
0 footsteps ♠
Celebrated my first 21st Birthday dinner celebration at Ume!
It was my first time trying a chef hatted restaurant.
So I was definitely excited to try it out :)
Ume holds one chef hat, and they proudly display it on their window.
Service
Service was excellent! The waiter was knowledgeable about the food.
And they catered to my friend's dietary requirements.
Nothing to complain.
Great start :)
6 Course Degustation
Ume offers a 6 course degustation for $80.
I thought that this price was extremely reasonable, considering that it's a hatted restaurant.
Let's see how it fares.
Snapper Carpaccio
Shredded Cucumber, Shiso, White Soy, Black Sesame
I found their starter to be quite normal.
I wish they pushed a little bit more and be more adventurous.
Nevertheless, it was a good snapper carpaccio.
Scallop Carpaccio
Soy brown butter, Yellow Lime, Dulse
THIS. Oh my god.
This was by far my favourite dish of the night.
The dulse (sea lettuce flakes) and the soy brown butter really brought out this delicate fragrance that just delivers harmonious flavours to your palate.
Not to mention that the scallop was sliced thin enough to just melt in your mouth.
Yums!
If you visit Ume and decide to order a la carte, order this.
Shiki no Salad
Roasted Heirloom Carrots, Fried Brussel Sprouts, Dashi Custard, Soy & Ginger dressing
Oooof.
We hit a bump.
I found the dish to be very very salty.
I believe it's due to the soy dressing that they used.
It was so salty to the point where you could taste a hint of bitter-ness.
Yikes.
(not sure if it was deliberate though)
Tako
Fremantle Sustainable ‘Giant’ Octopus, Shio Koji Potato, Baby Sun Rose, Pickled lime Juice
Another dish to rave about! :)
Their octopus was insanely massive.
I have never ever seen an octopus leg that was so huge in my life.
The waiter said it was put in an oven(?) (or something I forgot) for 4 hours.
Thus, it made the octopus really really tender.
An issue that I had was that they served carrots on the course before this.
And now they serve potatoes.
They both have similar texture, so it actually bothered me a little.
Another issue that I had was that this dish is also really salty.
Riverina Lamb
Charred, Soft Lamb Shoulder, Wasabi-Pea Sauce, Yaki Nori, Wasabi Cress
I liked how they went for lamb as their main, instead of the usual wagyu.
The lamb itself was really good.
It was very tender and the amount of fats was just enough.
The wasabi-pea puree was also very interesting.
But I'm not so sure if it works.
Hmmmm maybe it's just me.
Purin
HoujichaMilk Pudding, Candied Chestnuts
I loved their dessert!
What a great end to a meal :)
The presentation was really cute.
I really liked how they serve their pudding in this tiny little jar.
And of course, the little 'happy birthday' touch was nice :)
The pudding was a little bit on the sweet side, but overall its quite fragrant.
A picture with my friends :)
Conclusion
It is worth the $80? Yes.
However, I don't think these 6 dishes can justify their one chef hat status.
It's definitely questionable as their food has little bumps here and there.
I mean, it's great, but it's not amazing.
But don't let my judgement stop you from trying Ume.
Considering the portion size of their dishes, along with their creativity, and their reasonable price tag,
It's still quite worth it.
Fin.
Labels: degustation, dinner, food, japanese, ume
