The serene, zen-garden inspired décor draws you in, but the restaurant excels in what you can eat and feel too
Not only has Sushi Ta-Ke moved on from its original home at Cubus and moved into a new 6,000 square feet ground floor space in Lee Garden, it has also dropped the first part of its name. The transformation is clear when you enter the Japanese restaurant, because the establishment has three designated areas for sushi, teppanyaki, and tempura, as well as a general seating area when you pass its zen-garden inspired entrance, through a bamboo-lined corridor. The restaurant’s interior, a masterful collaboration between renowned Japanese interior designer Kengo Kuma and the restaurant group’s resident interior design guru Steve Leung, brings elements of the serenity to life by embellishing the space with an abundance of wood and bamboo to separate semi-private dining spaces. The lighting is soft and warm, and tables are spaciously scattered across the room.
While there may be new additions of teppanyaki and tempura, Ta-Ke is still strong on its sushi. The sushi bar, located at the centre of the restaurant, is where omakase magic happens, and sushi chefs freely interact with guests while keeping a steady flow of nigiri sushi throughout the meal. We had a taste of Ta-Ke’s sushi and the kinmedai, or golden-eye snapper, neatly sat atop seasoned rice, was handled just right. The rice was expertly pressed, but not tightly packed into a lump. Uni, or sea urchin from Hokkaido, was a generous serving with a mousse-like texture.
Grilled silver cod with Saikyo miso is beautifully prepared, where the edges are crisp and the creamy fish yielded into large flakes, with just the right balance of savoury miso and sweet aftertaste. Wagyu came in two varieties: Omi wagyu steak or wagyu from Miyazaki. The latter, served seared and diced, was prepared properly with a crust and buttery interior.
