{"id":53522,"date":"2020-01-06T07:07:30","date_gmt":"2020-01-05T23:07:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/?p=53522"},"modified":"2026-05-20T17:45:56","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T09:45:56","slug":"akira-back-singapore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/zh\/2020\/01\/06\/akira-back-singapore\/","title":{"rendered":"Akira Back, South Beach: Excellent Japanese-Inspired Food Made Better by Amazing Service"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On Christmas, we were at the eponymous restaurant Akira Back<\/strong> housed under JW Marriott Hotel South Beach<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mastermind behind it is a pro snowboarder-turn-celebrity chef Akira Back who has 16 restaurants (one of which won a Michelin star<\/strong>) and whose real name is Sung Ook Back. He’s Korean-American but his cuisine is inspired by Japanese flavours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although it was Christmas, the service staff remained cheerful, professional, and considerate (I’m specially talking about the three female staff, two in “ugly” Christmas sweaters [their theme for the holiday] and the third one, a Korean in uniform, memorised the dishes and informed us about the ingredients, bearing in mind that this Xmas menu was available for two days only).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Aehobak (Korean baby zucchini), aloli, micro shiso, truffle oil<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If I had to work on Christmas, I’d surely put on a black face, but not them. They were SQ flight attendant standards: beautiful smiles and know restaurant etiquette. They served the ladies at our table first, which is how etiquette dictates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the next table, one of the female servers greeted the gay husbands, “Happy anniversary.” It was their 15th wedding anniversary. At this moment, I decided that the service here deserves a 10\/10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Carpaccio (snapper) in citrus, natto powder, coriander oil<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Christmas menu ($128 per pax) consisted of 7 courses. The standout dishes include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aehobak<\/strong>, which is Korean baby zucchini, on a crispy base (fried pita bread? nacho?), like a pizza. It sounds boring but the koku<\/em> explodes in mouth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
King crab croquette, corn veloute, heirloom salsa, caviar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The other dish we like is the corn veloute<\/strong>, so extremely sweet it rushes to the cheeks. But when eaten with the crispy king crab croquette<\/strong>, it becomes more complex, savoury first and slowly mellows down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes caviar is added to a dish just to elevate it without any enhancement to the dish but here, the caviar gives the dish a robustness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Grilled octopus with basil pesto, anticucho<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The third dish that we like is the\u00a0tenderloin\u00a0<\/strong>steak that comes with two sauces, spicy bulgogi<\/strong> and a vinegary sauce (sorry didn’t pay attention to the server).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The beef (probably sous vide, not my favourite method of cooking) goes very well both sauces although the bulgogi isn’t spicy at all. It tastes more like teriyaki?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tastewise, it’s good if you ignore the description (“spicy”) on the menu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Tenderloin with spicy bulgogi and spring onion<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

None of us like the\u00a0grilled octopus<\/strong> with three sauces. The octopus is too hard and too little to go around for the too-many drops of sauces on the plate. It’s a confusing dish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of us do not like the\u00a0chazuke<\/strong> (kinmedai and rice with dashi). To me, it’s just a common Japanese dish. But the restaurant is known for its creativity, so to serve a so-so traditional dish seems incongruous with their direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Chazuke<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The dessert (pictured below) is as fun as it is delicious. Very cold pear compote with a layer of cinnamon cream is shaped as a Santa’s hat. Love it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Santa’s Hat: pear compote, cinnamon bavarois, currants frangipane<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This has been a stellar experience: food, service and ambience. Experiences like this sit somewhere along the same spectrum as the best omakase in Singapore<\/a>, where execution, pacing and service all carry equal weight. I thank the service and kitchen staff for making it happen. Thank you for your hard work on Christmas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We paid for our food in our anonymous reviews<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
Akira Back<\/strong>
\n30 Beach Road, Level B1M, JW Marriott Hotel Singapore South Beach, South Tower, Singapore 189763
\nt: +65 6818 1914
\n12pm – 2.30pm, 6pm – 10pm daily
\nfacebook<\/a><\/address>\n\n\n\n

Food: 7.25\/10

Price \/ value: 7\/10

Service: 10\/10

Decor \/ ambience: 8\/10<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

You may be interested in…

–Caffe Cicheti, South Beach Tower: Straight Up Italian Cuisine for Seafood Lovers<\/a>

–Vatos Urban Tacos, South Beach Quarter: KoMex (Korean-Mexican) Food, Best Tacos in Singapore\u00a0<\/a>

–Capitol Milk Bar, Capitol Piazza, City Hall: Size Matters When You Have a 1m-Long\u2026 Hotdog<\/a>

–Publico Ristorante, Robertson Quay: Italian Food and Great Vibes<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Written by Dr. A. Nathanael Ho.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Akira Back at South Beach is a Japanese-inspired restaurant by a Korean-American celebrity chef. 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