So, I don't do this very often, but this place- located on the 51st floor of CapitaSpring Tower in Raffles Place- is a restaurant that I'll highly recommend.
No doubt at first glance a price of $88+/pax might seem a tad extravagant to some, but when you consider that it's a brunch, it's a buffet (at weekend price), and that you're having dishes prepared by renowned restaurants KAARLA and OUMI whilst being seated in the 1-Arden Food Forest with such, and such a view, $120nett (thereabouts) actually doesn't seem that expensive after all.
You will enjoy the view, but don't forget to look at the rest of the restaurant, and the menu.
One of the very first things that caught my eye was the way they'd presented the menu.
I had thought it would be one of those huge, heavy, black-colored hard cover books that Japanese-style restaurants tend to provide, but no, it was this elegant looking, minimalist-style, ivory-white rectangular hard-card with classy, neat print and no pictures.
Best part, they'd placed a sprig of rosemary on the table near the stand where you stuck the menu card in between ordering.
Seeing the sprig was very uplifting.
Up till now I hadn't realized just how huge a difference this little bit of fresh nature (on a dining table) could make.
But now I know.
Now I know just what aesthetics and subtle, subliminal differences can do to the mood.
I also know just what quiet, subtle differences can do to a dish.
Because this gentle subtility was everywhere, in everything that we had.
There it was in our bowl of Creamy Pumpkin Soup, there it also was in our bowl of Fish Soup, where in the Pumpkin there was Miso Mascarpone and Pumpkin Seed, and in the Fish Soup there was Hijiki, Maitake and Spring Onion.
So good were the soups that we fell in love with them both right off, but between us both, we thought the fish soup more interesting, what with its clear like broth of clear texture and rich (umami) flavor- a far cry from our very simplistic expectations of a few fish slices thrown into a pot to boil.
If these were the dishes that we first fell in love with, it didn't take us long to fall in love with the Salmon Cheese Roll, Tempura Futo Roll, and the Kaarla Truffle Fries soon after.
The Tempura Futo Roll had a combination of Tamago, Avocado, Fish Mayo and a hint of Daikon Pickle all wrapped within its wall of seaweed.
The Salmon Cheese Roll on top each piece had a slice of Salmon, a slice of Miso Cheese, and within, Salmon Skin, Cucumber and Avocado.
Then, the fries, when brought to the table, were fresh, crisp and hot, with the distinctive fragrance and flavor of truffle at every bite.
We had a great time alternating between one roll and the other (to my surprise, the flavors of salmon skin and tamago didn't clash) and it was fun trying to figure out the best way to have the Salmon Cheese Roll without the salmon sliding off or everything falling apart.
It wasn't just our familiar favorites that we had for brunch that afternoon.
There were some fascinating ones too.
Like the Kajiki Tataki, the Spicy Tuna Roll, the Salmon Butter Yaki, the Teppanyaki Tofu and the Petite Beer Battered Fish and Chips that I'd made a special request for.
Amongst all of these, the one dish that I thought really made OUMI stand out as a Japanese contemporary restaurant was the Kajiki Tataki. Consisting of Light Grilled Swordfish over a bed of Tosaka Seaweed, there was also White Onion and Roselle Leaf.
Funny thing however is I'm not really sure whether this was it.
It looks like it, as in, the main really does look like a fish that's been gently seared, but I can't tell if the little white cube is White Onion, I'm not sure if all the greens underneath the fish are Tosaka Seaweed and Roselle Leaf, and what's more, there's a bit of black-colored roe sitting on top which the menu doesn't mention.
No matter, I enjoyed it anyway.
It's hard to not enjoy the food that's being served here.
Doesn't matter what it is- it might be the Salmon Butter Yaki, or the Spicy Tuna Roll, which at first glance looks like a ordinary rice roll wrapped around a spoonful of spicy tuna, but then the tuna's real (not canned) and then there's Shiso, and then, there's Bonito Flakes scattered generously all over the sushi as well.
You know how I've said that all the dishes here speak of gentle subtility?
I'm not joking.
It's true.
There's no dish here that doesn't look classic, simplistic, and elegant.
Like the Teppanyaki Tofu, which, had I not known that it were really a piece of Beancurd with Miso Sauce and Seaweed, I'd have thought it were a (very huge) piece of foie gras.
And it was the same for the Petite Beer Battered Fish and Chips (which is really a chonk of battered fish with a handful of potato fries), and the Bara Chirashi Bowl.
Both are common foods, I know, you can find them at cafes and restaurants everywhere, but the fried fish was meaty and tender- battered in the way I like- and the Bara Chirashi Bowl was arranged in a way that cheered me up even as I worked through the Chef's choice of raw fish and Food Forest Salad.
We didn't have any other foods after that- our stomachs were feeling full- but there was still dessert to be had, and glad I am to say that we had the Matcha, the Yuzu, and the Mandarin Lamington (of which I don't have a picture)
Let's just say that I was superbly impressed with the Yuzu, and although I enjoyed trying out the Lamington- I wanted to try the Mandarin jam- I think I liked the Matcha slightly more.
Maybe because the Matcha was a soft and bouncy Panna Cotta that had a varied texture in the form of Black Sesame Brittle and Azuki Red Bean, and I liked carving it out to feel it melt in my mouth.
But if you can't decide and there's just one dessert which you want to have, the Yuzu is good.
It's a sorbet, I think- I'm not sure- but visually, it's gorgeous- you can see the shape of a yuzu fruit- and then below there's also Wasabi-Yuzunama Chocolate (where you won't taste the wasabi) and a little cube with a flower that is the Yuzu Curd.