Food, travel & discoveries
Join Rebecca Assice Founder & Director at Virtual Room as she deep-dives into Magosaburo Singapore Japanese Yakiniki Cuisine
By Rebecca Assice · Senior Features Writer
Originally filed 19 October 2020. Details in this report reflect the time of writing.
Magosaburo Singapore is a top Japanese Yakiniku restaurant chain originating from Japan's Kumamoto prefecture. Since opening in Singapore in 2018, Magosaburo Singapore has become a leader in Wagyu Dining. Join Rebecca Assice, Founder and Director at Virtual Room for what is cut out to be one of her most favourite recent local dining experiences.
Japan firmly holds a spot in my top 5 travel destinations of all time and I’m not afraid to admit it’s the food that is one of the biggest drawcards. Japanese cuisine literally has something for everyone – from the simple yet hearty Ramen shops, to the delicate and fresh sushi restaurants to the succulent tasty meats served BBQ’d, grilled or teppanyaki style. Food is at the very heart of Japanese culture and their intense and infallible focus on quality easily positions them at the peak of the global food scene.
When Singapore Restaurant Week comes along, I am a fastest finger first type – eagerly scanning the list of restaurants for a new and delectable find and hoping upon hope that maybe a new Japanese restaurant will grace the collection. Given restaurant week offers great value in general, my modus operandi is to straight away filter for only the premium experiences in group A (those priced from $48-68++ for dinner).
This October, I was delighted to see among the 16 candidates, one lone Japanese restaurant - Magosaburo. Had I hit the jackpot? I eagerly clicked to discover more and I was not disappointed. First, it was a new restaurant for us (which I prefer to try in restaurant week) and it was offering a comprehensive 8 course tasting menu (which was more like 10 courses when we actually experienced it). Even better, there was a focus on their speciality – Japanese Wagyu BBQ meat, perfect to entice the husbands along.
The verdict? An exceptional Japanese BBQ experience. While they did the salad and sashimi dishes extremely well, they truly exceled at the BBQ. Before the BBQ commenced, we were presented with a platter of three different types of meats as well as three vegetables and subsequently served each meat and vegetable in a three course extravaganza.
Each BBQ course (my favourite was the rib eye) was beautifully presented with a little card explaining the type of meat cut in both English and Japanese – an endearing and very Japanese touch. I firmly believe one has not sampled real beef until you’ve tried the wonder that is Japanese beef. It is in a whole different league – succulent, melts in your mouth and ever so tasty.
Another notable feature about Magosaburo is they can do their meats in guests preferred styles – either BBQ, Sukiyaki, or Shabu-Shabu. Given the handpicked selection of the finest Wagyu on offer, I would personally recommend the BBQ to get the full flavour and tenderness from these exceptional cuts.
We were also treated to several of Magosaburo's signature a la carte dishes – Shio Konbu Truffle Flavour Chawanmushi and their grilled prawns. I am a HUGE truffle fan but I do get put off when restaurants use the “cheap” stuff i.e. infused truffle oil instead of the real deal.
Well as to be expected from a quality Japanese restaurant, our Chawanmushi was layered in generous shavings of truffle – sending those recognisable aromas over to our table before the waiter even appeared. The prawns, well what can I say…another absolute highlight for me. They were enormous, plump, succulent and the flavours absolutely spellbinding. I was relieved we got to try both the garlic and the mentai prawns as it would be a struggle to choose between them.
To wash this fulfilling meal down we enjoyed a bottle of Sakemirai – not a style of Sake I had tried before but as recommended by the host, delicious and very very smooth. It complimented the fabulous food perfectly.
In the very competitive landscape of Japanese restaurants in Singapore, Magosaburo is a relative newcomer, however I suspect they will be here a long time to come with the exquisite quality and dedication of their offering.
INFORMATION
a. 391 Orchard Road #05-31 Ngee Ann City Singapore 238872
s. www.facebook.com/magosaburou.sg
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