Triple Three – Freshest Hokkaido Seafood at Mandarin Orchard Hotel

Japanese cuisine has been influenced by food customs of other nations but has adopted and refined them to create its own unique cooking style and eating habits. Located at the North end of Japan lies Hokkaido, well-known for the finest quality and freshness of its seafood caught in its cold waters, as well as agricultural products grown on its farmlands. You can’t miss out on sampling their high standard seafood products such as kani (crab), ikura (salmon roe), hotate (scallops) and many more at Hokkaido’s fish markets but for those of you who are tied down by work and commitments in Singapore, Triple Three at Mandarin Orchard Singapore proudly presents Hokkaido Harvests buffet promotion. Tickle your tastebuds with a wide array of Hokkaido’s exquisite delicacies and local favourites from 19 October to 30 October 2016.

Have a light lunch and save stomach space for a dinner feast with Triple Three for you’ll be taken on a gastronomic journey of the freshest sushi and sashimi specially flown in from Hokkaido. The Japanese are fond of the idea of the ebi being presented looking something like it did in nature, which is why the tail is left on when it’s served as sushi. We also had the Hotate which gave a rich, sweet taste and soft consistency. These large Hokkaido scallops are generally the most sought after in the sushi world.

Between salmon, tuna and hamachi (yellowtail) sashimi, we enjoyed tuna sashimi the most as we heard that the fishing technique differs for tuna in Hokkaido. A “longline” fishing technique is applied and once the tuna are on deck, they are processed extremely fast. The blood is drained, the nerves are removed, and the internal organs are disposed off before the fish is dropped into a hold filled with ice. This extreme speed at which the task is completed contributes to the great tasting tuna sashimi as it ensures that the lean meat stays firm. We found the tuna sashimi more delicious, with a good mix of fatty portions.

If you want to experience the ultimate taste of each sashimi, go for the luscious bowl of Hokkaido Chirashi, a bite-sized sashimi and creamy avocado on a bed of premium Japanese rice that the chef has curated. Apart from the freshness of the sashimi, the star of this dish is the salmon ikura (roe). Those tiny pops of flavours whets your appetite for more! We really like this bite-sized idea as the tasting portion gave us enough stomach space to try other food.

On the direct opposite of the sushi and sashimi counter, a plethora of seafood awaits! Look forward to savouring succulent taraba-kani (king crab), shirotsubu sakamushi (white top shell), zuwai kani (snow crab) and shucked oysters.

One of the largest of its kind, the Taraba-Kani king crab leg weighs up to 1.5kg and measures up to 45cm long. Caught from the cold waters off the shores of Hokkaido, these king crab legs are first boiled and blast frozen quickly to preserve the juicy and succulent taste of its meat. Triple Three carefully selects each crab leg for its thickness and juiciness for your maximum enjoyment. We challenge you to try pulling out the entire crab meat from its shell. If you succeed, that sense of satisfaction is supreme!

We also enjoyed the Zuwai Kani snow crab, which is nicknamed in Japan as the “queen of the winter taste”. It’s amazing how the meat of snow crab legs change when placed in cold water. The shape sort of resembles a flower, which entice you to try. Of course, it tastes as good as it looks. White, shiny crabmeat peeks out from the legs and your mouth would start watering as you imagine the taste of juicy crab meat spreading across your tongue.

One can never give Hokkaido oysters a miss as Hokkaido’s harsh cold temperatures produce great tasting oysters. In Lake Akkeshi and Lake Saroma, young oysters that have reached a certain stage of maturity are placed in the water as part of an aquaculture method that uses suspended lines to mature the oysters over a longer period of time in a natural environment. In winter time when both lakes are covered by a thick sheet of ice, holes are drilled in the ice to harvest the oysters suspended below the water. It is believed that the oysters are able to absorb a larger amount of glycogen, one of the elements of taste in harshly cold environments. Overtime, these young oysters mature and carry a wealth of minerals, while the edible parts have a springy and supple texture to go along with a rich, savoury taste. We recommend heading to the oysters counter first as they are often so popular and up for grabs that you might miss your chance if you decide to try other dishes first.

Moving on to the robatayaki station, you’ll be tempted by the fragrance of fresh meat, seafood and vegetables grilled to tender, juicy perfection over aromatic charcoal in front of your eyes. Hokkaido Harvests buffet promotion also includes other highlights such as Triple Three’s signature Japanese Wagyu Beef, Hokkaido Beef Curry, Madara Agedashi Shirako (deep fried codfish sperm), Sapporo-originated Ramen noodles, sizzling teppanyaki and croquets.

End your night on a perfect note with Triple Three’s extensive selection of gorgeously decorated Hokkaido desserts, with the limelight shining on the Hokkaido Cheese Tart that Singaporeans are crazy about recently. Originating from Hokkaido, these cheese tarts are made with three types of cream cheese, mainly cheese with a mild flavour from Hakodate in Hokkaido, full-bodied cheese made in Betsukai and a saltier French cheese. The tart pastry is baked twice to make it crunchier so what you get is a good textural difference between the fragrant crunch from the tart pastry, as well as, the creamy filling that wasn’t too overwhelming. We took one bite after another and in no time, one tart was gone. If it wasn’t a buffet dinner, we would’ve devoured so many more cheese tarts.

Besides crowd-pleasers like Hokkaido Yuzu Cheesecake, mocha and red bean green tea roll, we went ecstatic upon trying the unique passionfruit brownie which has a good balance of tanginess and sweetness. We were also amazed by their blackforest cake, which was shaped into an oval and got many people curious about what it is. The gelato ice cream served at Triple Three for this promotional period is also made from fresh ingredients imported from Japan.

The Hokkaido Harvests buffet promotion is available from 19 October to 30 October 2016 only during dinner from 6.30pm to 10pm daily. The pricing is as follows:

• Sun-Wed $118++ (adult); $48++ (child between 6 to 12 years old)
• Thu-Sat $128++ (adult); $48++ (child between 6 to 12 years old)

You also get to enjoy Kirin Draught Beer at only $5++ per glass during this promotion. DBS/POSB card members enjoy 50% for every second adult diner (up to 8 diners per card).

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