Sen of Japan @ MBS

Princess and I just went to Star Wars exhibition at the museum and we decided to have Japanese for lunch. Located at Level 1 of the Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, near the Promenade Exit to the Arts Science Museum, this place is all too-easy to miss. 

Overlooking the picturesque bay front of Marina Bay Sands, Sen of Japan is a modern Japanese restaurant and bar serving traditional Japanese cuisine with a contemporary touch. Crafted with the concept of freshness or “Sen” in mind, our menu features mouthwatering creations including donburi, sashimi, sushi and more made using a medley of the finest quality Japanese ingredients.

It has the right pedigree – the menu was put together by Head Chef of Nobu Las Vegas, Nagano Hiromi. I have been to Nobu in Melbourne and it was a mixed experience – good, fresh ingredient but fusion treatment that’s vaguely Japanese.

Salmon Carpaccio サーモンのカルパッチョ

Sliced salmon with spicy saikyo miso dressing

Saikyo miso is crucial to Nobu’s famous black cod signature dish. The sweet white miso was used this salad dressing as a nod to their Nobu roots. It was really tasty and went very well with this farmed salmon sashimi.

Sen Sashimi Moriawase 鮮刺し身盛り合わせ

Selection of assorted premium sashimi 14 pieces

The 7 kinds of sashimi presented to us were: Maguro (tuna), Chutoro (tuna belly) Sake (salmon), Hamachi (yellow tail), Hotate (scallop), Tai (red snapper) and Uni (sea urchin). The fish were all fresh and delicious, and the thickness of each slice was quite generous. The disappointment was the sea urchin – it had weird coffee taste that I did not enjoy.

Premium Chirashi Don 特選ちらし丼

Chef’s selection of premium sashimi over sushi rice

Their premium chirashi don feature premium ingredients like uni (sea urchin), yellowtail, swordfish, ikura (salmon roe) and varying cuts of toro (fatty tuna), with salmon, tuna and tamago (sweet egg omelette). Again the fish were outstanding and generous. The shari used was seasoned with too much sauce, which drowned the natural sweetness of the fish.

Hamachi Kama はまちのカマ

Salt-grilled yellowtail cheek served with ponzu sauce

The grilled cheek came quite late – it was the last to be served, and when we almost finished all the food. It was not as salted as I wished, and they forgot the compulsory grated radish. But it was a large piece of fish.

Would I Recommend It

When one cannot travel to Japan, where can one go to get proper Japanese food? The quality in Singapore varies, with the best commanding prices that are 2~3x more than Japan. I was hoping Sen to be an exception.

No, they did not pay me to write this review. But the service I got was good and the food was good.

The price was not out of this world, but pricey for a mid-range Japanese restaurant. However, if you have an AMEX platinum card, you may qualify for Love Dining privileges and enjoy cardholder dine free discount. So for the two of us, the bill for food was 50% off. That made this meal around the same as those family restaurants. Now, that’s value for money.

Sen of Japan
2 Bayfront Avenue, #01-86 The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore 018972
Tel : +65 6688 7426

Date Visited : Feb 2021