[Singapore] Mio Fine Foods | Traditional, Artisanal Fine Japanese Cuisine At Neil Road
By Elin Chow - Sunday, March 03, 2024
Photo By: Elin Chow
Located at Neil Road, about 3 minutes walk from Maxwell MRT Station is Mio Fine Foods, a fairly new Japanese restaurant serving stunning artisanal Japanese food. Its name, Mio, literally means "beauty" in Japanese.
Mio serves traditional yet artisanal fine Japanese cuisine. Every dish on the menu is thoughtfully curated with quality ingredients air flown from Japan into Singapore every week. Thus, you can expect to be served with only the freshest and finest fares. The menu is seasonal and rotates throughout the year. You can check out their menu on their website.
MIO SASHIMI
Price: $42 (12 Pieces)
We ordered their 12 pieces Mio Sashimi Platter, which includes a fresh selection of Akami (Tuna), Hamachi (Yellowtail), Mekajiki (Swordfish) and Salmon. Each types of Sashimi comes with 3 pieces. If you prefer a larger mix of Sashimi, you can order their 15 pieces Sashimi Platter which comes with 6 types of raw seafood - 3 each of premium Chutoro (Tuna), Akami (Tuna), Mekajiki (Swordfish), Salmon Belly, Nama Hotate (Scallop) and Nama Uni (Sea Urchin).
Each kind of Sashimi can also be ordered ala carte. However, if you are a lover of Sashimi, I would highly recommend you to order their Mio Sashimi platter. This will allow you to enjoy different kinds of Sashimi in one dish. Each slice of Sashimi was fresh and clean, with a slightly sweet, delicate flavor. They are smooth and tender, providing a delightful melt-in-your-mouth experience that will leave you wanting more. This is definitely one of the best Sashimi I have ever had.
One of the less common type of Sashimi I have tried was Mekajiki. In fact, this was the first time I had Mekajiki Sashimi. The taste of Mekajiki is very interesting. It has a soft yet slightly firm texture with sweet buttery flavor and subtle umami undertones.
SAKE MENTAIKO MAKI
Price: $22
The Salmon Mentaiko Maki is made with torched Salmon, Japanese Sweet Egg, Japanese Cucumber, and Avocado, and generously topped with Tobiko (Flying Fish Roe). The portion is quite huge, consisting of 8 sushi pieces.
The lightly torched salmon are partially cooked on the outside but remain raw inside. It is melt-in-mouth, with a rich and smoky flavor. The buttery texture of the avocado and the refreshing taste of the cucumber adds a smooth contrast to the smoky flavor. The generous amount of Tobiko adds a crunch burst of umami flavor to the sushi roll. Mmm, so delicious!
WAGYU TEPPANYAKI
We also enjoyed premium cuts of A5 Japanese Wagyu in Teppanyaki style. The Wagyu beef is cooked to medium rare and served with fried garlic.
A5 Wagyu is a true culinary indulgence. Its intense marbling and high-fat content gives it a melt-in-you-mouth texture and a rich, buttery flavor that is hard to resist. The rich flavor of the meat shine through with minimal seasoning. It is incredibly tender, buttery and umami-packed. The fried garlic adds subtle aromatic crunch that perfectly complements the rich flavor of the meat.
HOTATE SALMON ZARU SOBA
We also ordered their bestselling Hotate Salmon Zaru Soba to try. The buckwheat noodle are served cold with torched fresh Hokkaido scallop, torched salmon, sous vide egg yolk and a Japanese dressing sauce on the side.
The tender salmon slices are flamed to absolute perfection and melts in your mouth. Scallops are plump, juicy and sweet. The dressing sauce is mildly sweet, but I prefer the regular soba dipping sauce to this. It tastes a bit bland and boring. To be honest, this was my least favorite dish of all the food we had ordered.
KIRINZAN "CLASSIC"
Price: $40
We decided to order a bottle of Niigata Kirinzan Sake to accompany our meal. Served chilled, the sake is light and dry with a super clean finish. It pairs perfectly well with our meal.
MOCHI AND BERRIES
Price: $15
For dessert, we ordered Mochi and Berries to share. This delightful treat is made up of handmade Japanese Mochi, summer strawberry ice cream, fresh strawberries and blue berries, and drizzled with maple syrup.
The natural sweetness and juiciness of the fresh strawberries and blue berries blend in with the taste of the ice cream, offering a great contrast to the creaminess and softness of the ice cream. But the real highlight of the dessert are the fried mochi. Slowly fried to golden brown, the mochi were slightly crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. They pairs surprisingly well with the strawberry ice cream.
Other than Mochi and Berries, we also ordered their signature black sesame dessert - Goma Goma. It comes with black sesame cake, house made black sesame ice cream and Speculoos Crumble The black sesame ice cream is velvety smooth and decadent while the black sesame cake is airy, moist and spongy. Both the ice cream and cake are not overly sweet. The Speculoos Crumble add crunchiness and flavor to the ice cream and cake.
CONCLUSION
Dining at Mio Fine Foods is a symphony of flavors, texures, presentations and service that leaves a lasting impression. Each dish is meticulously prepared with high quality ingredients and exquisitely presented as a work of art. Service was very attentive and very friendly as well. This is simply one of the best Japanese food we've eaten in a long time!
Reservations are highly recommended. You can make your reservations here.
MIO FINE FOODS
Website: Mio Fine Foods
82 Neil Road
Singapore 088843
Hours: 12pm - 3pm, 6pm - 9.30pm (Sunday-Thursday) | 12pm - 4pm, 6pm - 10pm (Friday - Saturday)
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