NOKA by Tippling Club has $80++ lunch omakase at City Hall
Think of omakase, and you’ll probably shudder at the thought of blowing a significant sum of money on the meal. Here to change that notion is NOKA by Tippling Club, a modern Japanese restaurant that’s little known, and hidden on the seventh floor of Funan.
If Tippling Club sounds familiar, it’s because the Tanjong Pagar restaurant holds, amongst its many accolades, recognition by the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, Asia’s 50 Best Bars, and many, many more.
An omakase lunch at NOKA is priced at $80++ a diner, and is a full seven-course shebang served on Tuesdays to Fridays—great for short business lunches. The meal here is ingredient-focused, with a minimalist approach that is meant to elevate their flavours.
When we were there, our meal started with Scallop Snow Crab, an appetiser that stars seared hotate and snow crab meat, wrapped with chrysanthemum greens in fresh beancurd skin, AKA yuba. It’s all served on a light vinegar jelly that prepares your appetite for the courses to come.
Next up is a double course of sashimi: fresh Amaebi, or sweet shrimp, served with its head on for those who love what’s in it. Add a splash of sudachi to balance out the briny flavour of the ikura, and have it with the Hirame slices, as well as myoga and fresh greens from NOKA’s very own edible garden.
After the cold dishes come the warm: Gindara Saikyo Miso is a sure winner in my books. Oven-roasted black cod is served atop bok choy, with wild rice and nori. The finishing touch is crispy fried enoki mushrooms, and a milky deep-fried cod-bone reduction—boiled for more than seven hours—that’s poured over the dish tableside.
Moving on, the next course is Unagi Rice Cracker: a handroll of sorts served on a sheet of nori. Roll it up to bite into this, and here’s your warning that the rice cracker beneath the unagi is extremely crunchy.
Your last main is the Negitoro Monaka, which if you sit at the counter you’ll see the chef preparing. He takes cuts of premium bluefin tuna and minces it, then serves it in a wafer with sushi rice, avocado, and wasabi.
The meal ends with a serving of Japanese Seasonal Fruit—we had ichigo, but you can also expect umeshu-compressed melon, Japanese persimmon and more.
For more omakase options, we’ve got a list of where to eat omakase in Singapore, sorted by budget. There’s also Elfuego at Jewel, which serves Singapore’s first halal omakase!
Address: 109 North Bridge Road, #07-38, Funan, Singapore 179105
Opening hours: Tue-Sun 11:30am to 2:30pm, 6pm to 10pm
Tel: 6877 4878
Website
NOKA is not a halal-certified eatery
Photos taken by John Lery Villanueva
This was a media tasting at NOKA
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