Terra


[dropcap size=small]F[/dropcap]or chef-owner Seita Nakahara, the best dishes are those defined by the natural taste of the ingredients. His style of Tokyo-Italian cuisine stems from years of working at Tokyo’s top Italian restaurants as well as training in Tuscany, Sicily and Piedmont. Food at the 36-seater is a celebration of nature’s bounty by way of classic Italian cooking using choice ingredients sourced – personally by the chef, no less – from Japan.

Chef Seita Nakahara is
an expert in coaxing flavours out of seasonal ingredients from Japan.

Nakahara approaches his food with a precise and restrained hand, preferring to coax maximum flavour out of the ingredients with minimum intervention and embellishment. Expect the subtle, refined, and elegant as opposed to the big, bold, and punchy. The omakase menu – there are three price points to choose from — changes regularly, depending on what is in season, which can mean sakura ebi (a translucent pink shrimp) during springtime and kegani (horsehair crab, found in the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan) in autumn.

Our evening begins with focaccia accompanied by the earthy fragrance of the homemade porcini butter. The starter of crispy bruschetta adorned with scrambled eggs and briny caviar, a variation on his signature uni bruschetta, is textbook, and absolutely delicious. Next up, is grilled Hokkaido king crab leg paired with a nutty and toasty brown butter sauce and topped with pine nuts for added texture.

Terra’s signature uni bruschetta.

We are then served the signature sea urchin pasta – homemade and cut into strands using a chitarra, which has strings like a guitar – with home-cured bottarga and lightly scented with yuzu. We relish every rich, sea urchin-infused al dente bite and wish for more. Flounder from Hokkaido is executed impeccably with perfectly burnished crispy skin and white tender, flaky flesh. Intensely marbled wagyu from Iwate prefecture in Tohoku, lightly seared and still pink in the centre, is superbly buttery – the portion, gone in six to eight bites, may be small for some, but at that level of fattiness, less is more.

Before we know it, it is time for dessert. The fresh, juicy persimmons with persimmon mousse and a delicate pear ice cream serve as a perfect counter-balance to the beef dish and ends the understatedly luxurious meal on a refreshing note.


TERRA

54 Tras Street, S(078993)
T 6221-5159

The full list of Singapore’s Best at
G Restaurant Awards 2018.

All tastings conducted incognito with esteemed members of G’s Food Panel.