The Place Located along Tanjong Pagar Road, Rockon Tokyo is a relatively new Japanese restaurant which specialises in obanzai Kyoto-style home cooked meals. Obanzai is a traditional type of Japanese cuisine native to Kyoto where most of the ingredients used hails from Kyoto as well. The shophouse space is a cosy 22-seater restaurant, helmed by head chef Sekiya Katsuyuki. There are limited tables, along with counter seats for a more intimate experience where you can catch the chef in action.

The Food The menu is a mix of ala carte selections, or you can go for the 8-course Omakase meal (S$88) which I did.

Homemade Cold Tofu is an interesting start to my omakase meal. The tofu is served in a basket along with spicy olive oil from Italy, soy sauce and salt. You can customise how much of each ingredient to add, where I only added a tinge if the spicy olive oil as it masks the flavour of the fresh tofu easily.

Next up is a trio of Assorted Obanzai – Hijiki Seaweed, Tuna & Edamame; Octopus & Okra dressed with Japanese Plum Sauce; and Lotus Root Ohitashi with Minced Shrimp.

The third course I had was the Boiled Shogin Turnip & Chicken Dumpling with Special Lemon Oil. A dish light in flavour, I enjoy the broth which spots a tinge of zesty flavour from the lemon.

One of my favourite course is the Seasonal Sashimi, where I had the halibut, wild blue fin tuna, and wild yellow tail.

On to a warm dish, the Charcoal-grilled Spanish Mackerel is delicious. I like the fatty texture of the fish, and it is served with lemon for the extra zesty touch.

The next course is an indulgent way of having crab, Deep-fried Crab Dumpling. The size is generous and the dumpling is filled with snow crab, delicious!

The last savoury course is the Tamago Kake Gohan, egg topped on rice.

That said, there is a supplementary option of the Gout-o ICU (Ikura, Caviar, Uni) at an additional S$60, an indulgent combination of three prized ingredients. It’s a satirical name, where this is almost a gout inducing dish, though it is simply pure pleasure.

Alternatively, the most over the top supplement to the omakase is the Rock On! Treasure Box Black Truffle TKG (additional S$80), where the black truffle is stored in a prized LV box.

It comes with a bowl of rice topped with torched egg white meringue and egg yolk, before some black truffles are shaved on it. Other accompanying sides are Ikura, Uni, Caviar and Crabmeat to go along with the rice. It is a little gimmicky on the presentation, though the flavours are really fresh and I enjoyed it.

For dessert, I had the Home-made Honey Lemon Pudding. This is very similar to creme brûlée, a sweet ending to the meal.

If you are in the mood to drink, there is a wide selection of sake as well. Here is the sake I tried, topped with black truffle no less!

Rants The small space while cosy, easily makes the space noisy as well.

Will I Return Again? S$88 for an omakase meal at Rockon Tokyo is a pretty good value in Singapore’s context. The flavours of the style at this restaurant lean towards the lighter spectrum, as it advocates the obanzai Kyoto-style dishes. As such, it probably wouldn’t suit your palate if you usually go for the heavier flavours in Japanese omakase.

This was an invited tasting, though all opinions expressed are our own.

TheRantingPanda says:
Taste bud: 4/5
Hole in the pocket: 3.5/5
Ambience: 3/5
Overall Experience: 4/5

Rockon Tokyo
106 Tanjong Pagar Road
Singapore 088525
Tel: +65 9731 1136

Opening Hours
Tuesday to Sunday: 5pm to 10:30pm
Closed on Monday

Ranted by The Ranter