The friend wanted to eat Japanese and after 10 minutes of googling, we decided on Akira Back for her birthday. Located at JW Marriott, you can find the restaurants among the rows of F&B dining options that are available there

Located opposite Starbucks for easy reference

It was still quiet when I arrived but the restaurant was soon filled up with diners close to lunch time

There was a Flowing Brunch menu ($88/pax) being served from 12pm to 230pm, which essentially meant ala carte buffet. Diners can also add on alcohol to their brunch and the drinks are classified into Suntory cocktail (free-flow) at $58/pax and sake (just a flight of 4 different types, NOT free-flow) at $48/pax. Well, we went for the free-flow one

So apparently, the sake flight will be served in 4 small cups which anyone will know it’s really not worth the money, unless you are really interested to try their sakes here

Menu for the Suntory cocktails which looked a little bit more interesting

Moving on to the food, which I find the menu a little confusing

Tuna Pizza

Umami Aioli, Truffle Oil, Micro Shiso

The tuna pizza was complimentary and would be served regardless you ordered it or not. We didn’t, and it came in 2 big portions. It’s a nice gesture though but honestly, one plate will be enough for the 4 of us. The pizza felt like thin pieces of tuna on top a crispy biscuit. You would finish them in no time. It’s a good starter and especially if you are hungry while waiting for the rest of the food to come

Tuna Tataki Salad

Shaved Root Veggies, Onsen Tamago, Ginger Balsamic Dressing

Well, presentation could be better and portion was generous enough

Seaweed

Tosaka, Wakame

Again, generous portion. For ala-carte buffet, we thought it could be served smaller since diners would probably want to try many dishes. It was honestly quite a waste of stomach space

Clear Soup

Shrimp, Mitsuba, Shitake

Pretty decent. Just a warm bowl of soup to warm the stomach

Spicy King Crab Miso

The friends ordered the spicy miso which you could taste a little bit of spice in it. They really like it

Drink Like A Fish

And for my first cocktail, I had the Roku Gin based cocktail which tasted so sweet I thought I was just drinking syrup. I thought mine was bad until I tried the friend’s highball and it just tasted like water with a touch of alcohol. The other 2 were equally diluted

So we feedback and requested for the drinks to be made stronger. The staff told us the drinks were kept light so that it’s easier to go with the brunch. Yeah, we could understand but there’s a difference between light and diluted. The flavour of the alcohol can be kept light, but there’s still a decent amount of alcohol in it. This, was a complete waste of money. You got to let the customer feel like at least their $58 spent was worthwhile right?

Sashimi Platter

Moving on, the sashimi platter came for each table as well which we didn’t know. We thought it was just a header for their menu. lol. Preferred the lighter coloured fish slices. I thought those were better

Hokkaido Scallop w Kiwi & Truffle Yuzu (Bottom)

Jeju Red Snapper w Chojang & Orange Tobiko

In all honesty, skip these 2. They made it really presentable but I felt there was nothing worth remembering

Hirame Carpaccio w Shiso & Nanbanzu (Left)

The hirame was slightly better and I felt it was a refreshing dish

Soul Mate

Amaebi, Uni, Toga Jelly

And so were these. Wished we ordered extras of these

Kakubin Winter Highball

Came our second rounds of cocktails. There was a slight difference and we could taste more of the alcohol now but we decided to remove all the ice so it would not be made worse. Honestly, I could make a better highball at home

Rock Shrimp Tempura w Sriracha Ranch

We like the tempura. I think the sauce made it better. It was a fusion take on the classic tempura and a good dish to go with the alcohol

Crispy Tofu w Gochujang Soy, Finger Lime

The tofu tasted decent though nothing much to rave about

Line Caught Pacific Halibut w Soy Beurre Blanc, Sea Beans

This was good. Love the sear on the fish and how well-cooked it was

Pan-Seared Yellowtail w Wasabi Brussels, Mustard Miso

Honestly, I like the Brussels more than the fish. lol

Holy Cow (Left)

‘Tahima’ Striploin, Shrimp Tempura, Kimchi Peach Emulsion

Perfect Storm

Shrimp Tempura, Spicy Tuna, Salmon Jelly Aburi, Chipotle Mayo

Pop Rockin

Spicy King Crab, Cucumber, Asparagus, Pop Rockin Candy

Moving on to the rolls, the perfect storm was our favourite. The Pop Rockin was not bad too though the white skin did felt a little strange

Handrolls – Baked Crab, Uni-Q, Rock Shrimp

We soon realised it was like a substitute for the seaweed wrap. I think, they should have just stick with seaweed wrap. It was a little bit too funky. And skip the handrolls, it was just too much rice

Wagyu Fried Rice

King Crab Fried Rice

The wagyu was better than the king crab. At least you could see and taste the meat in it. The fried rice was actually tasty. If you are still not full by then, rest assured you will be after finishing the fried rice

The friends did a last round of cocktail and exclaimed oh wow, this finally felt like a normal cocktail. I took a taste and agreed. Not sure if they finally realised we could drink or they only increased the dosage of alcohol at the last round. But at the very least, we could leave the restaurant a little happier

Chocolate Ice cream

Finishing the meal with some chocolate icecream which was a sweet ending to the meal

Overall, the food at Akira Back was decent. The menu was fusion Japanese and there’s a variety of food. They do serve many sashimi dishes for those who are fans of sashimi. And you would leave the restaurant very full. It’s a good place to catch up with friends too for its quiet environment if you want somewhere that is not too noisy. Though drinks-wise, I would not highly recommend them

Akira Back

JW Marriott Hotel

30 Beach Road, Level B1M, S(189763)