TANOKE
TANOKE was one of those dinners that felt quite different from the other restaurants we have tried under the American Express Platinum Table for Two programme.
Located on the second floor of a Purvis Street shophouse, the setting is casual and relaxed. Ordering is done by scanning a QR code at the table, and the whole experience feels more like a casual Japanese dining joint than the more polished, refined restaurants I usually associate with this dining programme. Nothing wrong with that, just a different style.
The Table for Two menu started with Hamachi Crudo with ikura, Hanasaki crab oil, ginger ponzu and leek. Fresh, appetising and a nice way to start the meal.
For mains, we chose the Grilled Koji Chicken Thigh and F1 Wagyu Striploin. Each came with Niigata rice, onsen egg, furikake and truffle shoyu. The chicken was juicy with a good char, while the Wagyu was nicely cooked, tender and satisfying. That said, the presentation and format reminded me more of an elevated bento set. Choose your protein, add rice and egg, and dinner is pretty much sorted.
We also tried something interesting, Utama Classic Junmai Daiginjo, brewed completely from scratch right here in Singapore by Orchid Sake Brewery. I am certainly no sake expert, but I enjoyed this one. Clean, easy drinking and very pleasant alongside the food. A locally brewed Junmai Daiginjo was also a nice little discovery for the evening.
Dessert was a refreshing açaí sorbet with yuzu jelly, light enough after the rice and meat.
Overall, the food was enjoyable and the meal was pleasant, but compared with the other restaurants we have tried under the AMEX Platinum Table for Two programme, TANOKE probably offers the least value in terms of the complimentary dining benefit, simply because the menu itself is priced more modestly. We were also in and out in less than an hour, which pretty much sums up the experience. Casual, straightforward and enjoyable, but not quite as special an outing as some of the other Table for Two meals we have had.
