Wakame is one of those restaurants that need to be in your list if you are looking for an Asian fine dining experience. A Japanese inspired restaurant that has a wide range of Asian inspired menu that comprises of all the favorites that you would want to try. Be it a dim sum, bao, taco, sandos, raw carpaccio, wok, maki, sashimi, nigiri or even salad has been mesmerizing for it’s unique presentation, flavor and quality of ingredients. It’s definitely a restaurant to visit for those special moments or to impress anyone. Located inside a cozy five star hotel Sofitel Downtown Dubai, expect nothing less than a luxury dine in(including the bill).
The moment you enter the restaurant you are impressed with it’s cozy, nature inspired interior decor. The restaurant has mainly 3 parts to it. A lounge, restaurant and a private dining hall. The lights were perfectly dimmed for that perfect moment. If you opt for a window seat then you have open views of the sheikh Zayed Road. Besides serving tantalizing cuisine, they also conduct cooking classes headed by their master chef of their signature dishes such as sushi and dim sum crafting, cocktail mixology, and even dessert creations.
We started of with their fancy drinks. Although taipei breakfast cocktail sounded interesting from the lot with ingredients such as jam, the real star was actually their signature Wakame colada. I think it’s a must try if you were to order a mocktail. The presentation itself was interesting where the drink came inside a tender coconut shell, you also could find tender coconut flesh on the inside. We got Edmame for starters. They had different flavors of Edmame and we went for the Truffle miso which added a nice flavor to Edmame. The salad was all about the giant burrata and super tasting eggplant, so well prepared that the egg plant never tasted so good before.
The yellowtail ceviche was simply addictive. Simple on a plate but the fish mixed with green apple, jalapeño, cilantro salad, shiso ponzu gives it a different experience altogether to your palate. An all new taste bursting in flavor and before we knew it was already over. The fried shrimps were like popcorns, it’s a good order if you want to kill time on a long tasting starter otherwise I prefer to eat king size  ones where they don’t finish on my first bite and I get to feel it in my mouth for a while. The accompanied spicy mayonnaise sauce is a must try with it.
Dishes came rolling better to our table with time. Surely my favorite dish at WAKAME has been the firecracker rose Maki, so beautiful but at the same time tastes wonderful. Loved the tuna in the the spicy tuna maki roll but not as spicy as it sounds, just in right levels. Didn’t actually find anything crunchy about the Crunchy Prawn Tempura. You also get the prettiest dim sums here. The dim sum in a curry was a first of a kind for us to try. It was more of a light creamy texture. The Wagyu beef truffle dim sum was definitely superior tasting and would be our recommendation to try.
For the mains came the BAO. The crispy chicken filling inside was pretty good and can’t disappoint. The Blackmore Wagyu striploin was stunning in taste and blew us away. It was presented impressive and along with the wagyu came this side called Truffle Teriyaki sauce which was outstanding. You pick that thinly sliced tender wagyu beef, dip it in that special truffle teriyaki sauce and you go like ‘wow’! Definitely one of the best wagyu that we’ve had. The beef hot pot was a show of it’s own. The beef comes on a bed rice in a hot pot. The server than starts mixing beef with rice. The rice is heavy and it’s definitely a dish to share. The rice had a nice flavor by itself, the beef in it was also delicious and it was even more cooked.
From the desserts, you definitely want to try their dark chocolate fondant with green tea along with their ice cream. It’s that green tea on the inside of the chocolate fondant that makes it a unique experience. The ice creams that accompany their desserts felt natural. The Nama Japanese chocolate cake was a little too thick to enjoy, I’d rather recommend to try their miso caramel cheesecake which was different and an irresistible cheese cake. Click here to visit their official website. Click pictures below to see them in full screen view:
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