Chef-owner Mitsutaka Sakamoto sets up shop in Singapore and slips a few bold dishes into his 12-course menu at Ikkagoyo
Japan’s famed cherry blossoms flowered in mid-March, days earlier than expected. An ocean away in Singapore, a new kaiseki restaurant opened its doors on March 21, mirroring the sakura’s full bloom.
Chef-owner Mitsutaka Sakamoto of Japan’s Hyogo prefecture moved here earlier this year to start Ikkagoyo — the name inspired by a Japanese proverb of “one flower opening up to five petals”.
Sakamoto began his culinary journey at 18 years old. After graduating from high school in 1999, he pursued his interest at Kagaya, an award-winning ryokan (Japanese-style inn) in Ishikawa, where he began studying the art of crafting kaiseki meals. In 2011, Sakamoto returned to Ishikawa to head another ryokan, eventually rising to become director and executive chef.
At Ikkagoyo, Sakamoto showcases traditional techniques with some bold yet agreeable additions. Located at 115 Amoy Street off Gemmill Lane, Ikkagoyo replaces Burger Bar New York, which in 2020 took over the former Le Binchotan by chef Jeremmy Chiam.
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The kaiseki restaurant seats 16 — eight along the counter and another eight in a private room, with separate menus for diners on either side. Unlike omakase, a kaiseki restaurant offers a prescribed set of courses designed by the chef.
At Ikkagoyo, Sakamoto’s fixed-price dinner menu features 12 courses at $338++ per person, with select courses prepared a la minute in front of diners. Accompanying the menu is a list of “artisans who support Japan’s wonderful food culture” and “gems of Japanese craftsmanship” — a detailed credit reel of the farmers, designers and brands behind the restaurant’s ingredients, cutlery, art and even the counter — which is carved out of 100-year-old Yoshino cypress wood.
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Before the meal begins, Sakamoto offers a selection of five pairs of chopsticks. Diners are invited to choose a pair each, which will double as a souvenir at the end of the evening.
We start with “Sea and Land”, a cold appetiser of rapeseed flower mixed with ikura (salmon roe) paste to signify the start of spring. Grilled Japanese pen shell and Japanese tiger prawn are pitted against silky beancurd skin and hyuganatsu, a citrus fruit grown in Miyazaki, on Japan’s Kyushu island.
The springtime motif continues through the hot appetiser: a delicate congee, made with Japanese short-grain rice and topped with clams and the herbaceous notes of grilled butterbur buds, which only bloom at the start of the seasons. Meanwhile, Sakamoto busies himself with the soup course, proudly displaying each ingredient before it is immersed, grilled or torched. Sea bream is served in a “golden broth” of freshly-shaved katsuobushi (skipjack tuna flakes) and magurobushi (bluefin tuna flakes), which are displayed in an ornate wooden box.
Next, Sakamoto’s “Gift from the Sea” sees him bringing out a sizzling hunk of charcoal — and us bringing out our phones — before he presses Spanish mackerel directly onto the hot surface. In this way, Sakamoto achieves the crisp, aburi-style skin of blow-torched fish without employing the namesake technique. The mackerel then receives a zesty dollop of fresh onions marinated with ponzu, which is aged for two weeks; along with shaved Japanese ginger and shiso flower.
The latter part of the same course is served separately. Unctuous otoro fatty tuna is presented two ways: raw with kombu shoyu and gold flakes; and aburi-style with black peppercorns. To complement the indulgent tuna, Sakamoto opts for an orb of daikon with white wine ponzu vinegar, along with wasabi, light snow salt and deep sea salt.
The hassun, or “seasonal platter”, sets the theme for a kaiseki meal. Here, diners can expect velvety monkfish liver, prepared in a painstaking, two-hour process — first chilled on ice before being steamed over dashi broth. The delicacy is presented alongside a cold serving of spear squid, stuffed with squid innards. Completing the trio is a side of spinach, covered with miso and sesame seeds.
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A seasonal vegetable course served on a rabbit-themed plate is a quirky precursor to an interesting unagi course, perhaps the furthest Sakamoto strays from his conventional Japanese techniques. On a buckwheat flour wrap lie two glistening slices of eel from Oigawa in central Japan, under luscious almond cream cheese, freshly-grated black truffle and a sprinkle of homemade truffle oil powder.
Rolled up and consumed Peking duck-style, the unagi wrap is a daring, winsome feint at the midpoint of a composed and calibrated menu — a course that is equally at home both here and on the spirited streets of Osaka.
Following a tempura course is a hearty bowl of hand-stretched udon, sautéed with butter and a homemade abalone liver sauce, topped with steamed abalone from Ishikawa. Chef brings out an entire chunk of Japanese A5 wagyu, which he slices and cooks, shabu-shabu style, in a large pot of bonito stock. The medium-rare slices of beef are topped with garlic chives and served in a moreish sauce of sesame, walnut, almond and cashew.
For the penultimate course of the evening, guests may choose one of three options: a katsuobushi and raw egg don with soy sauce on the side, a maguro sashimi don topped with fresh wasabi, or a bowl of gyusuji (beef tendon) and beef brisket in a soy-based broth with rice on the side. With the wagyu broth still fresh in our minds and mouths, nearly all of us diners opt for the beef don, which arrives seared and sizzling.
Between the generous slices of tender beef and my choice of chopsticks (the only coloured pair in scarlet red), I thought I had done very well on the decision-making front. When it came to the sweets, however, I realise I should have been more judicious about finishing my bowl of rice. With more digestive real estate I would have better enjoyed the chilled Amazonian cacao, coupled with strawberries and custard cream.
By the presentation of the final course, handmade shiroi warabimochi (bracken starch cake) made with coconut milk, I am thankful for a sweet and satisfying end to the evening.
Ikkagoyo
115 Amoy St, #01-04, Singapore 069935
Contact: Tel: +65 8457 8732
Website: reserve.toretaasia.com/ikkagoyo
Opening hours: Mondays to Saturdays: 6.30pm–10pm
Closed on Sundays
