Joel Lim
The Gen XY Lifestyle
Big Sake Bar: Big on many fronts
With a philosophy of being big on food, big on service and big on sakes, it is easy to think that these three young entrepeuners, Daniel, Jeremy and Andy have big dreams and big shoes to fill. With izakayas being a dime a dozen in this gastronomy melting pot of Singapore, to have Big Sake Bar do well for the last year is cause for celebration. To commemorate their anniversary, they have launched this wagyu-themed omakase.
From the outside, the Japanese kanji ‘大’ greets us on the outside like a reminder of what these guys stand for. Stepping inside, the walls peppered with Japanese beer posters and an imposing wall of isshobin bottles of sakes filling the back wall, one is greeted to a cozy space with seats for 24 including six at the sushi counter.
With an appreciation for simplicity and quality, Chef Andy takes food very seriously and lets the ingredients shine in their own right, accenting them just so. We start with a Century Egg Tofu, which has a sprinkling of tempura bits to give the dish a delightful crispy contrast to the smoothness of the house-made tofu.
Followed this refreshing start with a Sashimi Platter of swordfish, botan ebi, salmon and aburi salmon; the thick cuts of fish fresh and that sweet, firm flesh of the spot prawn really hitting all the right notes. Chef Andy followed this quickly with slices of A4 Kagoshima Wagyu Beef Sirloin served with a house-made ponzu sauce to complement the natural flavours; I enjoyed it both ways, alternating my bites between the two.
Almost upstaging the star dish of the Wagyu beef was the Sushi Platter where we were presented with two gunkanmaki of golden tobiko and ikura and paired with the deep fried head of the botan ebi we had earlier.
As though to punctuate the meal, we were then presented with the Wagyu Maki, where we could taste the same beef in a different form. To round off the meal, a bowl of Negitoro Don made with tender chopped otoro and served with a raw quail’s egg and crisp green onions; a nice balance of richness, melt-in-your-mouth without being overwhelming.
As an optional add-on and one that we would definitely recommend would be the sake offerings. For each omakase, diners may choose between three premium sakes to be paired with their dinner. Toyo Bijin (Asian Beauty), a beautiful, delicate junmai daiginjyo with a clean entry and slightly sweet finish from Yamaguchi prefecture. Nabeshima “Pink Label”, from the Kagoshima prefecture is a tokubetsu honjozo that is sweet from start to finish and has a slight efferverscence. Karakuchi Ki-ippon, is a delightfully dry junmai ginjyo from the Nagano prefecture that is well-balanced. Diners will be allowed to try the three sakes and will be given a tokkuri (carafé) of their choice. With a constantly expanding selection of 40 different kinds of Japanese sakes and whiskies to choose from, you will be spoilt for choice once you are done with your carafé of sake.
Please also head over to see our good friends’ Spirited Singapore’s take on the alcohol side of things as well as Parched Asia’s review of Big Sake Bar
To match their philosphy on quality at affordable prices, Big Sake Bar’s omakase menu is at $88 nett per person, the additional sake pairing can be had for $108 nett for both meal and sake. This wagyu-themed omakase is available until the end of the year. To ensure the best experience they can give to each of their guests, Big Sake Bar will seat only six at the sushi counter each night, so reservations are definitely recommended.
One should only dismiss this humble izakaya at their own loss and we hope to see them around for a long time to come!
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Big Sake Bar
302 Beach Road, #01-02 The Concourse Skyline
Singapore 199600
(65) 6291 2700
12pm to 2.30pm and 6pm to midnight (Mon-Fri); 6pm to midnight (Sat)
FB bigsakebar IG @bigsakebar
