Came for lunch and did their $80 omakase set. Although the quality of the food is generally very high – the osashimi were fresh and some of the other dishes were well-made, they somehow lacked an imaginative touch that some of the other restaurants were able to offer. For the amount spent, I had expected more.

And coupled with mediocre service and their (slow) speed of dishing out the food, the overall experience was just okay.

I had the opportunity to do a review of the food at Tomo Fine Dining in March this year. Tomo Fine Dining is located among a bunch of eateries at Marina Square. Despite it being a rainy day, the place was quite packed with the lunch crowd that Chef Thomas has attracted from his 27 years at Kaisan at Raffles Hotel. Due to high rent, he had to move out of the hotel and that was how Tomo Fine Dining was born.

I started out with the salad, which unlike the usual plain tasting Japanese salads had a tinge of "hae-bi" or prawn paste to add to the usual soy-sauce and vinegar which was great in opening up the palate.

Next on the menu was the Fried Yellow Jacket Fish which combined with mayonaise melted well in the mouth. But the star of the afternoon had to be the sashimi platter whcih comes directy from a joint venture (JV) Hokkaido Fish Market. With this JV, Chef Thomas has moved from being just a pure chef into the business of fish supplying as well, not to mention ensuring that he gets the freshest portions three times a week without having to go through a middle man!

I started out with the salmon belly which was - heavenly. But that was nothing when I tried the "otoro" (blue fin tuna belly) which is something I could feast on all afternoon. The Akagai (Red Ark Shell Fish) was crunchy and refreshing. The only let down would have to be the amaebi, which had a fishy after-taste. What I liked about the platter was that the cuts were big and this enabled me to get a full mouth watering experience.

Done with the platter, I moved on to try the Beef Tenderoin Yakiniku Tapas (off-menu). The tenderloin tail-cut of the beef was selected after Chef Thomas (whose father is a butcher) tried twenty different cuts. This is a must-try for anyone coming to the restaurant who love beef as he does a good job of creating a dish of tender and juicy beef cubes that would have one yearning for more.

Lunch is not over yet. Next on the tasting menu was the Grilled Tiger Prawn with Miso Sauce. The prawn was fresh but some may find the dish a little salty due to the influx of miso sauce.

I also had some "uni" (sea urchin) sushi. This has to be the best "uni" sushi I have ever eaten as it does not even have a fishy after taste at all - indicating its high level of freshness. However, one has to be prepared to pay for quality and the price for this "uni" sushi is $20.

To wash my lunch down, I had the Hokkaido Crab with Hotate Kani Kani Nabe, a soup served in a paper hot pot cooked by charcoal. The soup base tends to evaporate but no fear as the attentive waitresses nearby will quickly fill it up. However, one should be aware that the ingredients in the soup would get burnt if left in contact with the paper hot pot without the soup. The soup was soothing and light and was good in washing down a heavy meal.

I must admit that it was tough getting back to work after such a sumptious lunch but such is the reality of life. I look forward to my next dining experience at Tomo Fine Dining.

I swore my initial intention was to just stick to the SET LUNCHes ($16.80) when I took position at the counter seat. I love the counter seats, coz that’s where I could gaze lovingly at the fresh fishes hoping they would all eventually be mine. We pored over the ala carte menu with those set lunches fighting hard for my attention. Frazzled by the flurry of the CNY hassles (excuse), I yielded to Chef Hong’s coaxing to go omakase ($60~$70 for lunch - $70 for my case coz I was greedy haha), my usual inclination whenever I dine at Japanese restaurants (bad bad bad) anyway, with special requests for no meat and no clammy & rubbery stuff (aka squid).

I started with an appetizer of crunchy Vegetable Sticks with Miso dip, then an otoshi of pickled Wakame. I passed the leatherjacket strips (rubber) and baby sardine crisps, and waited excitedly for the ankimo that Chef promised earlier. The pieces of monkfish liver, marinated in tangy ponzu sauce and topped with Momiji oroshi (spicy grated daikon radish), tasted decadent, and clearly whetted my appetite for the next course to come.

The sashimi plate came next. I smelt the sea. The beautiful platter had an expertly sliced salmon belly, yummy and fatty, and the most stunning piece of otoro, which has the most intricate marbling I couldn’t help but feel sorry for its plight (LOL). Other darlings include kanpachi bellies and shima-aji. The akagai, though usually not my fav (rubber), however went well with me that day. Just for being so fresh.

I requested for no meat primarily coz I had more indulgent treats on my mind. The foie gras. The foie gras sumiyaki that was beckoning to me from the moment I glanced upon it on the menu. Wish granted. Slightly peppered, the piece of sinful indulge was a total gastro-catastrophe. It sent me to liver haven, after which I was sure I maxed out my total calorie intake for the week (whatever that was left of LOL).

Chef Hong next ordered the Hotate Mentaiyaki for my already tickled palate. Blanketed under a luxe layer of bubbling mentaiko, the scallops were lightly grilled in its shell with Eringi mushrooms. I think this got to be my fav dish (I love scallops!) that day.

Following the usual sequence of a typical kaiseki course, the nimono dish was a symphony of succculent ebi all dressed up in a miso-mayo goo. These prawns had all that extra crunch with spurting juices, and even as I complained about the overkill of mayo, in good time, those nasty tiny little orange roe too were easily mopped up.

I really only wanted to find out the difference between kurobuta pork and the standard ones. Really. But once again, tempted by the Man Of The Day, I conceded and agreed to have just one of those yakitori sticks. Not a very carnivorous person, I must confess I didn’t really like the grease that came with it. Not to mention the gnawing part. The difference? I swear I don’t know!! Chef laughed.

Subsequently, I worked through three pieces of hotategai, tai and uni sushi. The scallop was lightly showered with rock salt and a brush of yuzu before I was ordered to eat it naked, without the standard shoyu and wasabi accompaniments. That tender piece of raw scallop, with its wings all resplendent, seemed to be planning its flight away from being devoured. What stark contrast with those petite little ones that were once swimming about in the steamboat just two nights ago (*yawn*). Those should just hang their heads in shame. The tai (snapper), was another decent piece, umbrella-ing some morsels of chopped negi atop the tiny mound of sushi rice. My favoritest uni came next, creamy and bursting with freshness of the sea. Then I was handed a negi-toro temaki (tuna belly handroll) before the last course of toro yuromi mushi, a clear soup consisting of tuna belly, tofu and mushrooms.

I had to delude myself by washing down all the grease with a mildly tart, yet clean and refreshing yuzu ice-cream. Oh such sins.

Tomo exudes a warm and friendly atmosphere. Coupled with a bunch of fun and giggly cooks, and affable waitresses engaging in candid banter, there was none of those pristine hoity-toity airs. Now this gave me just one (did you say just one?) more reason to return.

I could still taste the smile of satisfaction on my lips when I left.

Just a little background .... The restaurant is opened and helmed by ex-Kaisan chef. He expanded the size of the place so there could be more cooking and robatayaki. Its location in a more secluded part of Marina Square makes it difficult to find at first but worth it. The 1-for-1 promo is definitely a good deal and the set lunches are indeed value for money at only $15 (promo price; regular price is $22-28). There are private rooms too, if you expect your company to be rowdy; no corkage charges if you BYOW.

I like to sit by the counter to see the chefs in action. They are all previously trained in top restaurants and hotels and very friendly. So eating sushi and talking trash is a nice way to chill on a Friday evening for me.

If you are on budget, either go for one of their bento sets, or give your budget to the chef and go omakase. You won't regret it. I usually start with fresh veggie sticks and a miso dip. Salad with sakura ebi and a sesame dressing is quite nice. Then there is this leatherfish jerky that goes really well with a cup of sake. Get the waitress manager to recommend one for you - she is good!

The sushi is small on the rice that is nicely seasoned and moist but big on the neta that is fresh. If the ingredients are fresh, then Chef makes me his special uni toro handroll. YUMS!

Their fish soup is usually good - sweet and you feel healthy after drinking it.

After all that healthy food, you can end off with a scoop of their black sesame ice cream that is unusally smooth and thick and creamy. Like, 99% ground black sesame frozen! If that is not your thing, go for the matcha ice cream with red bean paste. That is good as well. But if you are greedy like me, ask for both and shock the chef. Hee hee.