Rakuichi, Dempsey

I realised just how spoilt my tastebuds were when I left Rakuichi unimpressed, despite the good word-of-mouth that the restaurant has. Rakuichi has two branches and the Dempsey branch is tucked away in a deep corner of Blk 10. I had high expectations when I walked in but was greeted by a faint whiff of not-so-swimmingly-fresh fish from the counter...not a good sign.

Since I had already made the trip there, I forged ahead and ordered the rainbow sashimi set ($36.60) which came with assorted sashimi, char-grilled sushi, chawanmushi, teapot soup (dobinmushi) and dessert. The sashimi (maguro, salmon and hamachi) was excellent, very fresh and sweet tasting, although cut in slightly thicker chunks than what I would have preferred. Unfortunately the powdered wasabi paste was a huge letdown - surely at this price the restaurant should be serving freshly grated wasabi!

The aburi sushi came next and a pretty picture it was too, with ika (squid), tamagoyaki (sweet egg omelette), salmon belly, hamachi (yellowtail), cooked prawn, tai (red sea bream), and chutoro (medium fatty tuna belly). Unfortunately the sushi appeared to have been aburi-ed by an over-enthusiastic chef with pyromaniac leanings and were cooked all the way through instead of being just charred on the surface -now I know where that not-so-fresh fish I smelt went. Nonetheless, the chutoro still tasted great with all its fragrant oils seeping into and infusing the sushi rice.

The chawanmushi and the dobinmushi were okay, and luckily dessert was not cut watermelon, but a scoop of black sesame ice-cream.

Overall, the meal was not bad but I left with some slight dissatisfaction and the feeling of having overpaid for what I got. Given the spate of not-up-to-expectation experiences at Nogawa, Santaro, and now Rakuichi, I've got to wonder, whether it's my spoilt tastebuds or whether restaurant standards are slipping. Either way, I need a fix at Aoki soon!!!

www.rakuichi.com.sg
Blk 10 Dempsey Road
#01-22