Congrats to Waku Ghin for winning Two Michelin Star 2017!
Having a meal at Waku Ghin was something I had wanted to do ever since I heard that Chef Tetsuya Wakuda had set up his only other restaurant at Marina Bay Sands. I have been wanting to eat at Tetsuya’s in Sydney ever since my days as a medical student at the University of Sydney. That was almost 20 years ago. I remember my friend Terrence raving about the $200 degustation menu and 3 month waiting list. Of course, I wasn’t as well heeled as my friend was, so I never did get the chance to eat at Tetsuya’s. Now that I live in Singapore, it is even harder to get a reservation at Tetsuya’s whenever I get the chance to visit my parents in Sydney.
Dining at Waku Ghin was something really significant for me. So to write a review of Waku Ghin is not easy. With which restaurant can you compare a meal at Waku Ghin with in Singapore? Not many offer an audacious $400 degustation meal with a personal chef to bring you through a ten course menu made with the finest ingredients on earth.
I feel inadequate to comment on dishes such as Chef Tetsuya’s signature whole sea urchin topped with marinated Botan prawns and Oscietra Caviar with a hidden surprise in the middle – a cold poached egg yolk. This is a nuclear cholesterol bomb and you don’t need me to tell you that it was fantastic. Chef Tetsuya himself said that he did not do much except to put all the ingredients together. So how could one comment on live Boston Maine Lobster, Japanese Wagyu Beef and fresh King Crab legs? The ingredients speak for themselves and the review would end up quite repetitive.
So instead of writing a typical blog post with comments on each of the dishes on the menu, what I thought would be more interesting is to share with you two short videos of my degustation meal there. The fun part of eating at Waku Ghin is that each private room has only eight seats. So it is only you and the chef and the food and the fun. And unlike some restaurants, Waku Ghin welcome photographers to take photos of their creations, so I took the opportunity to try my hand at using my 5DMkii to make a short movie.
So do take some time to download the video so that I can share my experience at Waku Ghin with you!
Conclusion
There was only one thing preventing it from being the perfect meal. After the main courses at the Teppanyaki table, we adjourned to the lounge for the dessert course. The main course had been so amazing that we were expecting the magic to go on for the two dessert courses, but they were quite a let down. It almost felt like I was walking down the spartan staircase onto the roaside after watching an amazing movie at one of those mulitplex cinemas. Know what I mean? To top it off, the spoon used for the Strawberry cheesecake dessert couldn’t reach to the bottom of the glass, which was forgivable I guess, until I found out that the waiting staff actually knew about the problem before and did not rectify it! Now, after a perfect meal, wouldn’t you find something like that a little incredulous?
Having said that, I guess what everyone wants to know is, “Is the meal at Waku Ghin worth the $400++?” Well, I had the good fortune of having my good friend treat me to this meal, so I didn’t feel the pinch. A $400++ meal is not something most people can enjoy at a whim. But if you are really out to impress, a night at Waku Ghin would surely seal the deal for you which is great if you are negotiating a lifetime contract with a significant other. Then it would certainly be money well spent since it would be something the both of you will be talking about even after you start taking a liking to Rosewood furniture.
