Akira Back

I decided to visit Akira Back because of a free-flow uni sushi promotion, but sadly, when I arrived, the promotion was only available during weekdays and not weekends. Instead of looking for a new place to eat, we decided to just settle and order from their a la carte menu

Located at JW Marriott South Beach Road, Akira Back is owned by Chef Akira Back, who is a Michelin-starred chef, having received a star for his restaurant Dosa in Seoul in 2017. He also has other notable restaurants in various locations, like Las Vegas, Toronto, Seoul, Dubai, Hanoi, Bangkok, Beverly Hills, Paris, Istanbul, and Dubai, listed in the  MICHELIN Guide

The restaurant is famous for its innovative interpretations of Japanese and Korean cuisine. With quality ingredients and cross-cultural culinary techniques, one should expect new flavours and surprises from their dishes. The interior was rather dim, and instead of a fine dining restaurant, the furnishings reminded me more of a semi-formal restaurant

To start the meal, we ordered the sashimi platter, which came with a variety of fish, including salmon, fatty tuna, scallops, yellowtail, snapper, and a Japanese omelette. There is no doubt that the sashimi is well presented and cut to the perfect thickness. While most people like super-thick sashimi, I feel there is an ideal cut, so you don’t overstuff your mouth at one go to fully enjoy the sweetness of the fish. The fish is very fresh and has a natural umami sweetness

Next, we had the crispy pork belly signature maki roll, which was pork belly maki topped with Akira Back coleslaw and served with apple miso sauce. The pork belly was surprisingly still crispy even though it was wrapped up in rice. The coleslaw gave the roll a crunchy texture and also helped to cut away the oil from the pork belly. The combination of flavours and textures was very refreshing and new, which is not offered elsewhere. The apple miso sauce gave the roll a light sweetness, which complemented the pork nicely

We had the seabass with saffron beurre blanc sauce and romanesco broccoli as one of our mains. The fish was smooth and soft and melted in our mouths with a light charred flavour on the skin and sides. The creaminess of the beurre blanc sauce paired well with the fish, and the dish was clean and tasty

We had the Iberico pork French Rack, which was served with brown butter apple puree and maple jus sauce. We had high expectations of the pork, but it turned out to be the most disappointing dish. The pork was a little tough, and the flavours were pretty general. The maple jus was slightly overpowering with the pork, but by itself, the flavours were somewhat lacklustre

Last but not least, they served us a Birthday dessert which had a mixture of crumble, chocolate, and ice cream served in a cup

Overall, the food was tasty, although some dishes were generic; but some had new and refreshing flavours. The price range of the dishes was between SGD 30 to 130 for mains, SGD 15 to 90 for sashimi and platter and SGD 26 to 56 for maki rolls. The other dishes are all priced similarly in range. I was not overly wowed by the meal for the amount of money paid, and the atmosphere also did not feel out of the ordinary

Address: 30 Beach Road, Level B1M, 189763

Opening hours: 12 pm to 2.30 pm and 6 pm to 10.30 pm