Here's a tricky one: omakase dishes constantly change, so how do you compare them?
As much as the dishes can vary, the discrepancy between them shouldn't be that big, right?
We've been over this whole invited tasting vs real dining experience issue, and our recent dinner at Rakuya should offer you a brief, albeit stark comparison between an invited hosting, and a regular customer's experience.
Which is precisely why you should take online reviews (especially sponsored meals) with a pinch of salt, because if you weren’t invited to a hosted meal there, chances are your meal is going to be down to luck—and boy, were we very unlucky.
Perhaps the nicer dishes were bumped up to the higher-priced omakase set when we were there, in which case this would simply serve as an updated offering list for you; or perhaps we peasants just don’t deserve nice things.
Here's a look at the dishes (listed in the order of courses) from 2 invited tastings that others had, and our own meal we paid for at Rakuya. You be the judge.
Rakuya $48 8-Course Omakase:
1) Amuse Bouche
Invited Tasting 1:
For this bite-sized glimpse into the chef’s culinary vocabulary, Eatbook had the privilege of eating a sheet of edible paper glazed with teriyaki chicken sauce! Bon Appetit.
Invited Tasting 2:
Garlic Miso Escargot. Simple and tasty enough.
Regular Customer:
Not to be outdone, we were also served the humble snail—with pickles!
2) Appetiser
Invited Tasting 1:
Continuing their fine form, Eatbook were served a Fine de Claire oyster that was topped with tobiko and togarashi. Exquisite.
Invited Tasting 2:
They got an Irish Oyster with Ume Ice. Delicious.
Regular Customer:
We didn’t deserve any oyster.
A Note On Food Reviews
Isn’t it funny how two separate reviews can describe two different oyster dishes with almost the same words? Unless it was a coincidence that they were both met with “a pinch of piquancy and a zesty bite” and it “reminded me (them) of a more refined version” of briny oysters.
As many school teachers may have said before, "Copy also copy wrongly".
Seriously? Copy and Paste for food reviews? That’s why I have trust issues.
Moving on.
3) Cold Dish
Invited Tasting 1:
Salmon Carpaccio with ponzu and truffle oil. Look at that sharing portion though.
Invited Tasting 2:
Salmon Carpaccio as well.
Regular Customer:
Hooray. We all got the same cold dish! Are we finally being respected as equals?
4) Hot Item
Invited Tasting 1:
One of the dishes I was looking forward to trying. Here’s the Foie Gras Chawanmushi with Mapo Sauce that Eatbook got. I can’t wait for mine.
Invited Tasting 2:
They got the same dish too. The anticipation is killing me. I can almost taste it.
Regular Customer:
I spoke too soon about being respected as equals. We got a regular Chawanmushi topped with some ikura. I guess we didn’t deserve foie gras, or even some mapo sauce.
P.S. In case photos are deceiving, form a circle with your middle finger and thumb—that’s the size of this dish.
5) Hot Dish
Invited Tasting 1:
Another exciting dish I read about—their take on a “curry puff”, using tempura seaweed in place of the pastry casing, filled with chunks of tuna, small cubes of potato, onion and boiled eggs.
Invited Tasting 2:
No curry puff here, but Turmeric Chicken. Still, a substantial protein.
Regular Customer:
You know those small bowls of soup you get when you order dry minced pork noodles? That was essentially our dish—small bits of minced pork, a few spoonfuls of broth and three chunks of pumpkin and eggplant (which weren’t even well-cooked).
The nerve to tell us this was a “traditional” dish.
Traditional yes, like when I pay $2 for traditional Cai Fan and order the minced pork dish.
6) Main
Invited Tasting 1:
Pan-fried chicken.
Invited Tasting 2:
Satay Pork Collar.
Regular Customer:
This dish was described to us as “Pork Neck Skewer, but with a twist”--that twist was that it was marinated with Thai spices. Exciting stuff.
I thought the twist was that the pork was supposed to be nice.
7) Rice/Noodle
Invited Tasting 1:
Bak Kut Teh Udon. According to Eatbook, the “delicate broth in this painstaking dish requires at least eight hours of simmering time and had a mild peppery and herby nuance from the addition of dang gui.” Yum.
Invited Tasting 2:
Sounds creative and if reviews are to be believed, should also be very delicious.
Regular Customer:
What is going on here. We didn't get any of that Bak Kut Teh Udon. We got a tiny hand roll with a piece of salmon in it and some rice. Evidently, we were too upset to take a picture at this point, so here’s a 100% accurate depiction courtesy of CanStock.
I know that the dishes in omakase may change and rotate, but this Bak Kut Teh Udon was definitely on the menu that night—the tables next to us were eating it; perhaps the chef just felt that the $48 we were paying didn’t warrant it then.
8) Soup
Invited Tasting 1: No soup course, they got the oyster.
Invited Tasting 2: No soup course, they also got the oyster.
Regular Customer:
Instead of the oyster, we got a “light soup with minced chicken” which can only be described as a lightly flavoured hot water with a turd of soft mince.
9) Dessert
Invited Tasting 1:
What a stunner. Eatbook describes their dessert of Deconstructed Soy Pudding Tarte as featuring “a crumbled charcoal biscotti with mixed nuts, soy pudding, yuzu tart, egg yolk sponge cake and miso toffee”. You could almost taste the effort from that description alone.
Invited Tasting 2:
Not one but two desserts here. Because invited guests deserve the best. A mixed berry yogurt and watermelon ice-cream.
Regular Customer:
Yuzu sorbet in coconut cream. Ok.
So there, 8 courses each. Were they close equivalents? Do the dishes look like they're even worth $6 each?
Cliche, but you get what you pay for. Clearly.
If you want a safer bet with Omakase, perhaps try Waku Ghin's $450++ 10-course degustation menu .
Now get lost you plebeians.
-A.T.
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