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2014-09-22
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It was a return visit for dinner since we were craving for some decent Japanese food and it had been a while since our last visit to Hide Yamamoto.Booking a few days in advance notched us the elusive round sofa seat, which on hindsight, wasn't a great choice as it was situated directly below an air conditioning vent. And we spent a good part of our dinner shivering.Chawanmushi Black Truffle Flan with Fresh Sea Urchin - The chawanmushi boasted a silky smooth texture with truffle undertones in eve
Booking a few days in advance notched us the elusive round sofa seat, which on hindsight, wasn't a great choice as it was situated directly below an air conditioning vent. And we spent a good part of our dinner shivering.
Chawanmushi Black Truffle Flan with Fresh Sea Urchin - The chawanmushi boasted a silky smooth texture with truffle undertones in every spoonful. Topped with a fresh piece of sea urchin, it was just sublime. Portion sizes are a tad small so do order another one if you are a fan.
Tiger Prawn & Tamago Sushi - Sweet and crunchy prawn served atop fluffy, not too sticky rice with a mild vinegar aftertaste and a spot of wasabi in the centre. Nice and simple. Ditto the tamago sushi as well. A sizable piece of mildly sweet tamago towering over a bed of excellent sushi rice.
Sea Scallop with Spinach and Butter Soy Sauce - The scallop was huge and the buttery taste gave it a very western slant whilst the saltiness of the soy sauce yanked it towards an eastern orientation. Interestingly good but not exactly mind blowing for $20++ a pop.
Teppanyaki Wagyu Sirloin - Done up medium as per my request, the wagyu (100g) clocked in a fat to meat ratio of about 30-70 with the meat tender and flavourful, albeit a tad too salty for my liking. Certainly not the best I've tried but decent enough. Served up with awesome crisp garlic chips and vegetables. Not too sure if its worth the $98++ though.
Snow Crab and Mushroom Claypot Rice with Ankake Sauce, Truffle Flavour - Served on a hot plate with the sauce mixed in separately (a little like Pepper Lunch), the rice was moist and plump with a nicely savoury, mild truffle aftertaste. Topped with copious amounts of succulent and sweet snow crab. Pretty nice!Seafood Miso Ramen - One of the reasons we wanted to return to Hide Yamamoto - the awesome ramen, which is apparently made from a 110 year old recipe. Alas, it wasn't as good as we remembered it to be. The ramen was al dente but the broth did seemed a little too diluted. And this time round, the sweet corn failed to lift it up with its mild sweetness. The seafood (tiger prawn, scallop) was fresh though.
One other comment. I have no idea why the wait staff hesitated in serving us the ramen in parallel with the claypot rice. I was having the rice while my wife was having the ramen so it wasn't cool that we had to chase them for the ramen.
Apart from the chawanmushi, dinner wasn't exactly memorable. And it certainly wasn't cheap either, at $260 for two (diluted green tea @ $9++/pax. Seriously?). Food quality seems to have taken a dip and even the once great ramen has fallen from the peak. Would I return? Probably not.
See all my pictures at http://www.timelessfacade.com/2014/09/hide-yamamoto-ii.html
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