Tom Omote Japanese Restaurant was a venue that we have wanted to visit for a while now. Mostly because of the cute bear mascot of Omote that suspiciously resembles Ice Bear from WeBareBear. Of course, we have also heard about the excellent quality of chirashi that Omote offers. Hence, we decided to visit the Omote OG, the flagship at Thomson Plaza this time.
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About Omote Thomson Plaza
The concept of Omote is about delivering high quality, delicious Japanese fare at affordable prices. Judging by the snaking queues at almost all of Omote’s outlet (the other Omote are located at Raffles City and Novena Square), they have certainly been able to deliver on this vision. Even during our visit, we had to make reservations prior – something that we’d strongly recommend. Otherwise, you’d have to join the queue as seen here…(about 10 people were in the walk-in queue during our visit)
After making reservations, the app will also prompt you to arrive early because the parking at Thomson Plaza can also be a real problem due to the limited number of parking spots there.
As we had made our reservations, there was no need to queue and we were immediately shown to our table. Remember to arrive on time as reservations at Omote are only held for 10 minutes.
Inside Omote, we found the area to be quite big with its high ceilings. However, the table and seats are a little small, probably to fit in more patrons during peak dining hours. The other thing that we noticed was that the premise was rather quiet. Despite being full, we were still able to hear conversations of tables next to us. Again, probably due to the high ceiling that helps to dissipate the sound instead of causing reverberations within. Let us know if you noticed this as well – in our comments section below.
Once inside, we were shown to our table and there it was, the Omote bear, greeting us at the table. This time, dressed as the scholar from the movie Chinese Ghost Story (倩女幽魂). We have previously seen the Omote dressed in different clothes as well. The one dressed in blue with a yellow bag and hat resembles an explorer which fits the theme of 2bearbear.com. Another interesting aspect of visiting Omote – to check out the latest fashion of the Omote bear. The Omote bear was also imprinted on our menu this time…
Soon, it was time to browse through the Omote Menu…
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Omote Flagship Thomson Plaza Menu
Here’s what the Executive Chef Philip Christopher wrote on the Chef’s Note as you open the Omote Menu…
“Creating this menu is like looking out the window on a moving bus with your headphones in. With just you and your thoughts, your mind wanders to a safe space soaking in the nuances around you.
I recognised that the joy life brings is always celebrated over food, basking in this sustenance with the other people we hold near and dear.
With every dish inspired by a hallmark moment, we’re thrilled to present new dishes and creations meant to be shared and enjoyed for the years to come.
While flipping the pages of our menu, I hope you’ll find yourself planning your next visit while figuring out how much space your belly can take this time around.
An ode to the people we love, the guests we meet, and our team that serves you,
Thank you for keeping the Omote spirit alive.”
Really cool that Omote keeps people at the heart of its creation. Chef Philip did get it right that we were already figuring how much we could eat during this visit as we flipped through the Omote menu – there were so many food that we wanted to try!
For starters and appetizers, we wanted to try the Prime Beef Tataki and the Black Truffle Tako Karaage.
For Executive Chef Creations, we wanted to try the Kurobuta Kakuni – simmered black pork belly, sakura spinach and karashi mustard, mainly because Chef mentioned that its “grandma’s favourite” as well.
As for the Omote Iconic Classics, you will be spoilt for choice on the types of chirashis available. You can supercharge your chirashi with salmon or ikura and choose from ingredients such as spicy lobster, tamgo mentai, grilled unagi, salmon belly as well as premium sashimis.
You could also opt to top up your set lunch with
Premium Set ($8.8) that includes Chawanmushi, Mentaiyaki Gyoza, Salmon Sashimi, Japanese Salad, Hot Appetizer, Cold Appetizer and Miso Soup
Sashimi Set ($5.8) that includes Salmon Sashimi, Japanese Salad and Miso Soup
Ladies Set ($3.8) Japanese Salad and Miso Soup
You can also make your selection via the online menu that includes:
In essence, there’s so much to choose from based on the menu from Omote. So what did we choose from Omote Thomson Plaza this time?
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What We Had at Omote Flagship Thomson Plaza
After browsing through all the options, we decided to go with
1. Super Mount Chirashi ($38.80)
2. Chargrilled “Samgyeopsal” Butadon ($25.80)
3. Premium Set Upgrade ($8.80)
4. Peach Bliss Cocktail ($11)
5. Umeshu Highball ($12)
As we were celebrating during this visit, we decided to “go big” with the Super Mount Chirashi from Omote Flagship Thomson Plaza. Touted as “A Towering Mountain of Seafood and Rice with the Signature Chirashi Blend”, we decided that this would be a dish, fitting of our celebration this afternoon. Moreover, the Omote Menu specifically indicated that it was for a “minimum of 2 pax” – reminding guests that the portion would be too big for one. But not Tom…
He actually finished the entire Super Mount Chirashi from Omote all by himself! Well, almost, save for some mouths for Kate to try. The Omote Super Mount Chirashi, as can be seen from its name, does resemble a mountain of fresh chirashi when it arrived. There was salmon, tuna, yellowtail, ebi, fish roe (Ikura) and octopus that are marinated in its secret Omote signature chirashi blend.
Nonetheless, it still took Tom quite a while before he could bash through half the bowl of Super Mount Chirashi. There was also quite alot of rice within as you can see. Nonetheless, the taste of the chirashi was superb, allowing Tom to finish every last bit of the Chirashi, less the rice, which was a little bit too wet this time.
Next, we had the Chargrilled “Samgyeopsal” Butadon for $25.80. As you can see from the photo, the meats literally overflowed the bowl. Taste wise, it was excellent. The grilled taste of the sauce along with the butadon pork went pretty well together. However, having tried the Giga Shibire Butadon at Ameyoko Shopping Street in Tokyo, we think that the version here was sliced a little bit too thick – which affected the texture (not as chew-friendly as we’d like) as well as the tenderness. Nonetheless, still a pretty good dish overall. As for the Premium Set that came along, it was worth it given the variety of side dishes provided. Our favourites were the braised daikon and seaweed salad. Delectable.
For the drinks, we enjoyed both the Peach Bliss Cocktail ($11) and the Umeshu Highball ($12). If you’d prefer something with a kick, the Umeshu Highball does the trick while the Peach Bliss reminded us of a dessert – cocktail style. Enjoy! (with caution!)
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All in all, Omote does turn out to be as good as they say. The Japanese foods (chirashi and butadon) that we chose tasted excellent with fresh ingredients used. The price was rather affordable given the copious amount of fish and butadon that we had. Hence, it is no wonder that queues continue to form at all Omote outlets even up till now. It’s novelty has not worn off.
Also, Chef Philip has gotten it right. We’re actually thinking about what we might have on our next visit…now…was it the spicy lobster or the truffle roasted garlic chirashi? 🤔
