One of the most unique restaurant settings in Singapore has to be the OUE Tower, right next to its much larger sibling, OUE Bayfront on Marina Bay. While the nearby, Kinki I reviewed earlier, also at the heart of the CBD, benefits from a roof-top bar, Sushi Mieda’s seating in Tung Luk’s Tong Le Private Dinning offers panoramic revolving views – all without leaving your seat!
The OUE Tower is one of only two revolving restaurants in Singapore, with diners completing a panoramic tour of Marina Bay every two hours. Underneath the 10th floor housing Tong Le and Sushi Mieda is a state-of-the-art karaoke facility with three private rooms on the 8th floor.
You have two Sushi Mieda dining options on the 10th floor of OUE Tower, Tong Luk private dining with the Sushi Mieda menu (and the Tong Le a la carte Chinese menu if you want) on the revolving part of the restaurant next to the windows or the enclosed sushi counter near the lift entrance. While we usually like interacting with the sushi chef at the counter, the revolving view of the CBD and Marina Bay was the clear choice.
We quickly assessed that we should stick with the Sushi Mieda menu as opposed to adding in the Chinese New Year set menu or a la’carte menu from Tung Luck. However, from a beverage standpoint we’d have an extensive international wine cellar at our disposal in addition to Sushi Mieda’s hidden sake refrigerator.
The first thing that struck us, besides the revolving view, was our table area which, though not enclosed, was larger than our dining room at home and included a couch – definitely a first in our dining experience!
Unfortunately, the isolation and lack of a dedicated private dining waiter given we were eating with Sushi Mieda meant it was often rather difficult to get the service we required. There was one sommelier on the entire floor covering both restaurants who took a while to secure attention from as well.
Sushi Mieda is the first international brainchild of Hokkaido-based one-Michelin star Kaiseki Master Chef Nobumasa Mieda and helmed in Singapore by Chef Ohno. Sushi Mieda’s self-proclaimed philosophy is to bring “exquisite pleasures and surprised” through every meal so, needless-to-say, we had high expectations!
We started out with hot Kuzuryu Ippin sake from Fukui, which was the only one offered and thus didn’t require the sommelier, thankfully, although we had to send it back for being too cold.
We ordered to Sushi Mieda set menus at the recommendation of the helpful restaurant manager who finally found we were in need of attention. The two slightly different sets, mine more extensive than my wife’s, allowed us to sample a marginally greater variety of dishes.
We were surprised with an amuse-bouche of picked fish, jelly and tempura accompanied with a wasabi leaf garnish before the sommelier arrived. Once introduced to the distinguished Yeo Guosheng with enough beverage certification pins as to qualify as a alcohol general, we got down to the business of sake pairing.
Our first selection of the decent-sized sake list was the Katsuyama Sensho Masamune Jyunmai Daiginjyo from Miyagi. We were surprised that, for the first time in our sake tasting experience, it came with its own specially designed glass from the brewery itself. I can’t say it necessarily enhanced the drinking experience beyond a normal white wine glass, but it was cool to try and my wife’s favourite of the evening!
We next moved onto the Iki Jyunmai Daiginjyo from Hokkaido which I enjoyed just as much as the Katsuyama. However, my favourite was the fresh-tasting Hakurakusei Jyunmai Daiginjyo and not just because we were enjoying the “love” brand sake on Valentine’s Day.
We finished up with something the sommelier didn’t recommend but we thought would be fun with dessert, the Ugonotsuki Rose Sparkling sake which was indeed rather sweet.
As for the food, one of our favourite dishes was definitely the red snapper, which was likely the best dish with this fish we’ve ever had. The amberjack, golden eye snapper and flounder were also good, but still couldn’t compare to the snapper.
As for the sushi, the standout was the eel with sweet sauce very good. The clam sushi was also surprisingly good and tasted like a rose smells – quite a unique in my experience. However, in terms of uniqueness, nothing compared to what was on the menu next!
For the first time, I sampled monk fish liver, which was like for gras and cod milt, the seasonal steamed seminal fluid sack of the cod. It took a bit of mental preparation to sample the later, as I’d never tried Prairie Oysters in the US, but it was surprisingly sweet with no particular smell and a soft texture comparable to an egg custard.
I’d definitely rate it above the Filipino balut, the most unusual thing I’ve eaten so far.
Overall, I would say, just like Kinki, that the restaurant is worth trying at least once given the unique ambiance and presents a relatively good value given you can order the sake by the carafe to try a variety.
The service provided by the manager, once secured, was excellent and the sommelier was extremely knowledgeable and helpful – one of the best cross-trained in Singapore I’d argue.
Sushi Mieda
Tong Le Private Dining, 60 Collyer Quay, Level 10 OUE Tower, Singapore 049322
Tel: +65-8425-7835
Email: enquiries@ippudo.com.sg
Operating Hours
Mon – Sat 12.00pm – 3.00 pm, 6.00pm – 10.30pm