Rakuichi @ Dempsey

Dempsey is fast becoming a place on my bane list - a preloved obsession that was the place to be at yet now, parking is a horrible fiend and so is accessibility. We were headed for Rakuichi and already running late and parking was not in its best element, as with the drivers who head there. 

rakuichi

We all headed for the full set - a showcase of what Rakuichi has to offer, inclusive of a mug of Asahi beer, minimum two to order.

beer

Frothy one!

salmon

Amuse bouche of marinated salmon was in effect, pan fried salmon with a tangy sauce. It was not too telling of the culinary abilities of the chef. 

egg

Ivory shell, river shrimp, omelet, tomato

Hardly impressed with the display for this one. I have had a field day eating ivory shells bought off a zichar stall before, had the best omelet in Hokkaido and well, river shrimp was possibly more decent than expected. 

shell fish

Crunchy, and that was it. 

oyster 

Raw oyster served in 'ponzu' sauce

Fresh and bulbous to taste, slurp it down at once for immense oral pleasure. The ponzu sauce was a tad heavy as well. 

sashimi 

Sashimi
Raw catch of the day

This arrived in a visually very flattering platter. I particularly enjoyed the salmon belly and scallop which were fresh

fish mousse

Fish Liver Sauteed

Presented as fish foie gras, the texture was more pate and mousse than foie gras. The baked apple was a joy to eat. 

tempura 

Deepfried Prawn, Fish, Vegetable

Tempura is always hard to resist, the fish was particularly good though. 

sushi 

Sushi

The tray of a 4 piece semi grilled sushi was considerably measly at first glance, yet none were served with a dab of wasabi. However, I soon understood the rationale, each piece was so well flavoured and fragranced that having wasabi would not complement it any further. I loved the chargrilled fragrance and grilling each piece made the rice crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside.

fish soup

Soup

I met the nemesis, fish head miso soup served in hotpot. The fish lovers rejoiced but having fish eye balls swirling in the cloudy soup is no means close to my idea of oishii. Truly just miso soup with fish parts - in the crudest sense. 

icecream

Icecream served with red bean and rice dumpling

Black sesame icecream meant only for diehards, each bite was perfumed with ground black sesame seeds. I thought it was a lovely one

There was also the smaller set meant for those who do not favour raw food that much, priced at $48++. Here's a couple of snaps I managed to steal, not the whole set in entirety though. 

scampi

A more petite version of what the rest of us had.  

skewers

Skewers which the companion enjoyed.

fish cutlet

Crusty fish cutlet, light and not greasy!

platter

Lovely touch for the birthday girl!

Rakuichi is hardly as top of the notch as the companions would term it, hearty japanese fare at decent dinner prices. Wow is lacking.  

$78++

Rakuichi 
Dempsey         

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