It is a beautiful irony in Japanese cuisine that the more skilled the chef becomes, the further he fades into the background, and the simpler his food grows.
This is the sweet paradox that runs through the traditions of Japanese cuisine. It often goes unnoticed—but as soon as the diner gets a taste of master chef’s dish, they know they’ve stumbled upon this profound truth. As the chef fades into the background, the essence of the dish emerges.
Japanese chefs spend years apprenticing with masters. They start with menial tasks like washing and preparing ingredients in the kitchen, patiently climbing each rung until they are deemed ready for the next level, like handling the fish.
After hundreds of hours of training, they can now start slicing fish for sashimi unsupervised—their long knives cutting smoothly without tearing or damaging the flesh. Their sauces become lighter or sometimes there is no need for it at all.
When his mastery is second nature, he is then entrusted to offer diners the omakase experience to show off his skills.
These thoughts run through my head as the second dish in a seven-course dinner is placed in front of me on a tasting weekend at Omakase by Naoki Eguchi in Crimson Resort & Spa Cebu, which was recently included in the Michelin Guide Hotels’ list of recommended hotels and resorts in the Philippines.
Omakase by Naoki Eguchi—or simply AKA—is Eguchi and chef Masahiro Kinoshita’s culinary haven. With ingredients imported from Japan, you can expect a menu that highlights seasonal offerings. The restaurant also boasts an impressive selection of sake from various prefectures, along with small-batch spirits that complement the dining experience.
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The first appetizer being edamame, what follows is scallops from Hokkaido with tosa vinegar (made from fermented rice and often includes a blend of sake, mirin, and other ingredients to enhance its flavor), spinach, and yuzu. Plump scallops by themselves are a treat, but with the light sauce drizzled on them, the taste of the sea is even more enhanced.
Then comes the chef’s selection of fresh sashimi, sushi nigiri and maki roll plater. The sashimi offers a delicate experience in your mouth, with the natural sweetness of the fish enhanced by a subtle hint of wasabi or soy sauce. The sushi nigiri features perfectly seasoned rice that complements the freshness of the fish.
Next comes the grilled gindara. For many Japanese cuisine lovers, there was a period in the Noughties when Japanese restaurants in Manila were judged by their gindara. There was Sugi at Greenbelt 2 with executive chef Masahiko Nakamura from Kanazawa; then came Kai with chef Gilbert Pangilinan, who trained in Nobu Matsuhita and Robert DeNiro’s Nobu New York; and, of course, Shangri-La Makati’s Inagiku, which infused artistic twists to classic flavors.
I haven’t had gindara in a while. So at first bite of chef Naoki Eguchi’s gindara, the rich flavors and buttery texture of the fish made me remember why this seemingly simple dish is often used as the benchmark for culinary excellence. First, of course, is the grilling method. The skin should be charred while the flesh remains tender and flaky on the inside. It’s served not raw but not cooked cooked either. Rather it is taken off the heat the second the flesh turns from translucent raw to an almost pearly hue to retain its buttery softness.
The charcoal grilled US prime beef, which comes with AKA’s original sauce, is another example of the grill demanding a chef’s precision. It came less than pink than I would have liked, but for a table of 10 or more people, not everyone likes it that way.
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Next up are prawn tempura and udon noodles, which are plated separately. The tempura is very good, with the light batter not distracting from the taste of the prawn, and the udon is flatter and thinner than usual. The latter is good for me because I have an irrational aversion for round, fat noodles and it has nothing to do with the taste. I can eat wide flat noodles like pappardelle or fettucine but not the usual big udon. It’s a strange quirk, I know, but we must forgive ourselves for such discriminations.
For dessert, we have green tea pudding with red bean paste. The texture is almost like panna cotta with its silky-smooth consistency that’s both rich and light. To be honest, even without the red beans, the green tea pudding is delightful enough.
Then of course there are the drinks. There is the matcha mojito, which two of us at the table thought was called “macho mojito” (it wasn’t too macho if you want more white rum in your mojito). But the real winners are the sake—excuse me, “premium” sake. They go down so smooth you know the rice was polished so many times, and there is a subtle tinge of floral and earthy flavor to it.
As omakases go, leaving it up to chef Naoki Eguchi’s masterful hands leads to a quietly brilliant dinner—and a fantastic introduction to the four signature restaurants of Crimson Mactan, which we all tried that weekend. Between the deep blue sea and the sumptuous food, you couldn’t ask for a more indulgent time.
For more information, visit Crimson Resort & Spa Mactan’s website.
