Ooomahmee at Chef X serves up comforting Japanese favourites from S$14 nett

If you read out the name “Ooomahmee” and thought it sounds vaguely familiar, you’re right: It’s a playful take on the way we Singaporeans pronounce the word “umami”.

And at Ooomahmee, owner Benjamin Lai, 42, adopts a similar approach to Japanese fare — serving up Japanese classics Singaporeans love, such as barachirashi (S$22), while having fun with unique creations, such as his soy yuzu tori don (S$14) and the titular Ooomahmee (truffle capellini with scallops and ikura, S$27). 

Ooomahmee is the newest brand to take centre-stage at Chef X at Clarke Quay Central, an incubation space by Far East Organization, which allows budding chefs and business owners to try their hand at running a restaurant for one or two months at a time. 

The space opened in April last year and has so far housed brands such as Royaleys Smoky Boat and Wanting Kimchi. Benjamin is its latest resident and will be there until February 10. 

How Ooomahmee began

Dishing out aesthetically pleasing Japanese fare wasn’t always what Ben (as he prefers to go by), who has 15 years of design experience, set out to do.  

The industrial design graduate started out designing mobile phones for Sony Ericsson before joining the in-house design team at local company BreadTalk.

Calling his time at the F&B giant one of his “most formative years in the creative industry”, Ben recalls that he was always pushed to try new things at the company.

He adds: “The fruition of Ooomahmee is in some sense, because of their guidance (in guiding one to think differently), that I managed to innovate and create a brand of my own.” 

Ben didn’t make the jump to entrepreneurship immediately after leaving BreadTalk, though. It took a combination of the Covid-19 pandemic, an encouraging friend, and burnout at a subsequent role before he made the leap in mid-2020.

His friend, KT,  began selling prawn noodles during the pandemic and had asked him for help with food photography. It was also around this time that he began cooking more at home, specifically honing a scallop and ikura truffle capellini dish that his wife really enjoyed. 

The friend in question then asked him: “You can cook, you can design, you can take photos. Why don’t you start something of your own?” 

Since KT had adopted the moniker “KT Mee” for her hae mee, Ben, who wanted to do something Japanese and noodle-related, decided to come up with a name in the same vein — Ooomahmee.

Today, besides Ooomahmee’s ongoing two-month pop-up at Chef X, it operates as a home-based and private dining business that specialises in Japanese-style dishes. 

Weaving visuals into Japanese fare

When we learnt of Ben’s brand, it wasn’t the food that caught our attention at first. 

Rather, it was the series of visuals that he used to depict his menu items, as well as his uniquely crafted serving dishes, which he makes himself.

“The graphics were literally the first thing I did once I decided to set up Ooomahmee. I started drawing and designing,” Ben tells us. “I knew, from the onset, I didn’t want regular photos.”

Even today, he’s not too sure if using illustrations instead of professional shot photos — the industry norm — has worked in his favour.

But a number of new customers found them a cute novelty and he’s now considering a line of merchandise around these graphics, somewhere in the future.

He adds: “It has helped build a stronger, more consistent brand that is not so easily replicated.”

Visuals we get, but why his own wares, too?

Ben started pottery classes at a friend’s place two years ago. (It was on an off-day, but Ben admits he gets “itchy fingers”)

He began crafting items such as chopstick holders, but the thought of having his customers dine off his handmade ceramic pieces crossed his mind.

“It’s somewhat a dream come true, now,” Ben says. 

For practical reasons, most of his dishes at Chef X are served in regular plates and bowls. But for Ben’s private dining menu at dinner, his own ceramic creations come out to play in its oyster and chawanmushi courses.

The private dining menu, which is available with reservations only at Chef X, starts at S$100 per person for a six-course meal, and goes up to S$180 for an indulgent nine-course spread. 

Ben hopes to raise awareness and support for local ceramic artists, too — you’ll find some pieces from other makers on display at Chef X during his residency. 

If any catch your eye, you’re welcome to purchase them — you’ll also enjoy 10% off Ooomahmee’s a la carte menu and can even choose to dine off your chosen pieces.

Trying out Ooomahmee’s menu at Chef X

Singaporeans love their barachirashi, a Japanese rice bowl with chopped-up chunks of marinated sashimi, so we knew we had to give Ooomahmee’s version (S$22) a go.

At S$22 nett, it’s a decent serving of “salmon” trout (Ben is quick to clarify that it is not salmon, which differs in size and taste), tamago, octopus, ikura, and scallops. 

While I would have preferred a greater variety of sashimi, the beauty (or the reality, really) of such bowls is that the mix is curated by the chef. Thankfully, this chef serves up sizable chunks of sashimi, so the bowl is hearty and makes for a pretty worth-it meal. 

If you’re like me and want more sashimi or sides to amp up your bowl, Ooomahmee has a la carte add ons, starting from S$4 for a piece of aka ebi (red shrimp),  to S$6 for three pieces of trout.

But if you must get more trout, the mentaimayo version (from S$7 for three slices), which comes with a generous topping of decadent, blow-torched mentaiko-mayo. 

Its titular Ooomahmee (S$27), a bowl of truffle-infused capellini pasta with ikura and thinly-sliced scallops, is downright delicious and lives up to its hype — we only wish there was more of those soft and sweet scallop slices to go around.

If its regular portion is too much, you have the choice of a mini mee at S$15, which is essentially a halved portion of the former. 

While Ben has never been to culinary school, it’s clear that this self-taught chef (who even credits YouTube as one of his learning resources), knows what tastes and looks good. 

But he isn’t content with just dishing up items that are already easily available in the market — for example, the soy yuzu tori don ($14), is his own invention, as he felt the current options for chicken-topped Japanese rice dishes were quite limited. 

Served atop a fragrant seaweed rice mix, the chicken — marinated with yuzu and soya sauce — is tender, lightly aromatic and flavoured just right. In fact, it’s such a refreshingly light bowl, you could have the whole thing for a workday lunch and not get that post-meal brain fog afterwards. 

My only gripe was that the protein could be juicier, though this can somewhat be mitigated by just breaking the accompanying onsen egg and mixing everything up — rice, edamame, and chicken, altogether. 

When we visited Ben, he was just a week into his residency — his first brush with a commercial kitchen — so while there were minor shortcomings with the food, it could also be chalked up to teething issues.

If anything, the affable creative chef is always open to feedback or even a chat if the time allows. 

As he tells us: “You just keep practising till you progress. Practice doesn’t make you perfect, it gives you progress.” 

In fact, Ben is such a firm believer in this, that he’s signed up for a five-week sushi-making course in Tokyo and will jet off, right after the pop-up ends, for it. 

If you’re interested to catch a glimpse of how much this self-taught, home-based chef has progressed over the years, or even just check out the unique visuals of this space (whether in the form of its artwork, food or ceramics), remember to swing by Chef X at Clarke Quay Central before February 10!

This was an invited tasting.

For more eats around Clarke Quay, check out Salted Plum, the popular Taiwanese diner that’s recently reopened after a three-year hiatus, as well as Coffeehouse by Kobashi, a famous sourdough bakery’s first dine-in space.   

Enjoy up to 50% off when you dine with GrabFood Dine Out.

You can also book a ride to Ooomahmee at Chef X.