TAO Group and Marina Bay Sands have officially opened Japanese restaurant KOMA on 26 July. Featuring sushi, robata and izakaya style dining, KOMA offers a menu that includes original creations from KOMA’s Executive Chef Kunihiro Moroi. The restaurant also boasts a bar and lounge that serves an extensive selection of over 30 types of sake sourced from across Japan.
Designed by renowned American design firm Rockwell Group, the 230-seat restaurant, bar and lounge is truly a one-of-a-kind work of art that is breathtaking in every way. Guests arrive through a striking 20 metre-long passageway that is inspired by the torii gates of the Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto. Once inside the bar and lounge, guests are greeted by glass owls which line both the bar and a large wood “grid” suspended from the ceiling. The owls represent wisdom, luck, and good fortune. The “WOW” moment however, is the 2.5 metre-high Japanese bell with 20 different faces that overlooks a traditional Japanese foot bridge and reflecting pool.
The soaring 7-metre high ceiling features decorative acoustic panels in the shape of lily pads and is designed to mimic the surface of a pond. Anchoring the dining room is the 15-seat sushi bar with a dazzling display of the day’s offerings.
On the mezzanine floor, a semi-private dining room caters to intimate group gatherings, while offering an expansive view of the action below.
The Many Faces of Japanese Cuisine
Adept in several styles of Japanese cuisine including sushi and sashimi, robotayaki and tempura, Chef Kunihiro draws inspiration from his nearly three decades of culinary experience and travels through Southeast Asia, to create adventurous dishes that aim to tantalise the taste buds.
KOMA’s stand out dishes include the Salmon Pillow, a crisp puff pastry shell filled with smoked avocado and topped with salmon sashimi and burnt jalapeño peppers. Another stunning dish is D.I.Y. Spicy Tuna (Do It Yourself) – warm, round, crispy rice “discs” adorn the fingers of a mannequin hand, before they are topped with spicy tuna tartare and sweet soy sauce dips. One of the highlights of the sushi bar is the Surf & Turf Roll which comprises wagyu beef, Hokkaido uni and caviar. Also not to be missed is the Wild Mushroom Fried Rice with shiitake, enoki, shimeji and maitake mushrooms with koshihikari rice.
No meal is complete without KOMA’s show-stopping Snow Aged Niigata Wagyu Beef, a decadent dish which features the best wagyu available. This A5 waygu beef is aged in an
Executive Chef Kunihiro said: “I am very excited to be part of KOMA, which has enabled me to combine two of my passions – food and travel. Through the dishes, I hope to capture the essence of my many adventures abroad and I hope these flavours will resonate with our guests.”
The opening of KOMA completes the final concept launched by TAO Group and Marina Bay Sands as part of a new dining and entertainment complex at the integrated resort, which includes LAVO Italian Restaurant & Rooftop Bar, MARQUEE Nightclub, and AVENUE Lounge.
For more information on KOMA Singapore, please visit www.KOMAsingapore.com or follow @KOMAsingapore.
About Marina Bay Sands Pte Ltd
Marina Bay Sands is the leading business, leisure and entertainment destination in Asia. It features large and flexible convention and exhibition facilities, 2,560 hotel rooms and suites, the rooftop Sands SkyPark, the best shopping mall in Asia, world-class celebrity chef restaurants, a theatre and an outdoor event plaza. Completing the line-up of attractions is ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands which plays host to permanent and marquee exhibitions. For more information, please visit www.marinabaysands.com
About TAO Group
TAO Group is a leading restaurant and nightlife company that develops, owns and operates many of the worlds most recognized restaurant and entertainment venues under various brands including but not limited to Tao, Marquee, Avenue, Lavo, Beauty & Essex, Vandal, The Highlight Room, Luchini and Koma in major markets across the world including New York City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Chicago, Sydney and Singapore. TAO Group operates all of the food and beverage outlets for Dream Hollywood in California and five hotels in New York which include Royalton Park Avenue, Dream Downtown, Dream Midtown, Moxy Times Square and Moxy Chelsea including brands PHD, Bodega Negra, The Rickey, Electric Room, Fishbowl, Legasea, Egghead, Magic Hour, Feroce and The Fleur Room. TAO Group’s corporate headquarters is located in New York City, with locally based managing partners and a full-time marketing and operations staff in every other market. For more information, please visit www.taogroup.com. intriguing process known as Yukimuro, or snow-aging, a traditional 200-year-old Japanese method of natural preservation. The beef is aged for 30 days to develop its umami flavour, yielding rich marbling and extremely tender textures for a melt-in-your-mouth experience.