What does an omakase buffet even mean?
Maguro Samurai, a Japanese restaurant along Robertson Quay, has just launched a novel dining concept — the first Omakase Buffet in Singapore.
Our honest review of Maguro Samurai
For $78, we thought that Maguro Samurai’s Omakase Buffet was worth it because we have exceptionally large appetite. We also found the fish, sourced directly from Toyosu, Japan, was rather fresh. But, an important thing to note that this concept is really more of an a la carte buffet than an omakase.
Omakase Buffet — gimmicky or actually good?
Is Maguro Samurai’s new Omakase Buffet worth the money, or is it just another marketing gimmick? To sum up, if you have a big back, i.e you have a huge appetite, it’s worth it.
Let’s break it down.
The Omakase Buffet starts off with somewhat of an omakase. You’re served a soup, a chawanmushi, a cooked dish, and a bento of 12 sushis.
Here are the sushi that we had:
- O-toro
- Salmon
- Hokkaido scallop
- Bincho maguro (albacore)
- Akagai (red clam)
- Iki (squid)
- Maguro cheek
- Whelk
- Flounder fin
- Uni
- Tuna with mentaiko
- Tamago
According to the chef, more mainstream fish are used in their repertoire — perhaps to satisfy the palate of the average Singaporean. However, this also means the fish used for the nigiri sushi are less varied.
You might have already noticed that this is atypical of an omakase. Aside from the lack of seasonal ingredients, Maguro Samurai serves everything in one shot, in contrast with most omakase restaurantts that serve course by course.
Nishida-san, the Head Chef of Maguro Samurai, explains that they designed the meal in this manner to ensure that their customers have sufficient time to enjoy the buffet as well. The dining duration of the Omakase Buffet is only one hour.
What dishes do we recommend?
As part of the “omakase”, we thought that the following stood out: aburi flounder fin, maguro cheek, uni (of course), and whelk.
The aburi flounder fin released multiple layer of flavours. You start off with a nice smokey char, then the rich fattiness of the fish hits, before ending off with a sweet buttery aftertaste.
Meanwhile, the whelk was simply fresh and crunchy.
From the buffet menu, we highly recommend the amaebi (sweet prawn). This was perhaps one of the fattest and sweetest ones we’ve had.
If you’re feeling adventurous, you can also order the pufferfish nigiri sushi.
Shoutout to their skewers too! These were incredibly well seasoned and juicy.
Should you make a reservation?
The omakase buffet is only exclusive to the six counter seats in the restaurant, so we recommend making a reservation especially on Friday and Saturday nights.
Location: 30 Robertson Quay, #01-16, Singapore 238251
Opening hours:
Monday: Closed
Tue-Sun: 12-2:30pm, 6-10:30pm
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