Akari

An Illumination within Marina Bay

Situated at the new Marina Bay Financial Centre, Akari offers a refreshing menu of traditional and contemporary Japanese cuisine that caters to the most exquisite palates at very reasonable prices. With an impressive executive lunch and Omakase course, and a spacious private dining room, Akari is the perfect place for a business lunch or company party, especially with its accessible location. As with an authentically Japanese experience, the service is impeccable from the moment you step into the restaurant.

Start off your meal with a glass of sparkling sake to whet your appetite. A modern take on the traditional sake, this was a drink created from the influence of Westerners in Japan who infused a delightful fizz into this Japanese alcoholic drink. Enjoyed by all generations, this is a trend that is rapidly gaining popularity in Japan. Lightly sweet, with an ever-so-slight alcoholic flavour, this drink won us over with its subtly refreshing nature. Alternatively, you could try their draft beers at very reasonable prices during Akari’s happy hour from Monday to Saturday. 

What’s a Japanese meal without seafood? The Salmon Zukushi platter consists of salmon, salmon belly and salmon roe. We especially love the salmon belly, so tender and smooth that it simply slithered down your throat. The oyster, which was a special off-the-menu dish highly recommended by the staff, completely blew us over. Pan-fried in its own juices, it was succulent and slightly crispy, and glided into our mouths with the freshness of a crystalline rock pool. 

To prepare yourself for the onslaught of meat dishes, we recommend to clean your palate with the Negitoro Avocado Nama Harumaki – an astoundingly healthy dish, and yet absolutely delicious. A stunning visual masterpiece, you will surely be enraptured by the arrangement of the leafy vegetables amidst the rice paper rolls. Delicately thin rice paper encased chopped tuna belly, so fine that it dissolves in your mouth, and diced avocado, whose muted taste complements the fish perfectly. Creamy wasabi mayonnaise generously drizzled over the rice rolls provides an invigorating zing to round off this healthy salad. 

With all this food, you would no doubt feel satiated at the end of your meal. But for a sweet touch, try the cheese cake. A wobbly tofu cheesecake that balances precariously on a crunchy biscuit base, this sealed the deal for us to provide a closure for our meal.