Lobby Level, Hotel InterContinental Singapore, 80 Middle Road
Tel: 6825 1064/ 6338 7600
Operating Hours: Lunch: Noon – 2.30pm (Mon – Sat) Dinner: 6pm – 10.30pm (Mon – Sat)

Hidden away inside the Hotel InterContinental, this restaurant is little-known gem. A dish of unagi dōfu (grilled eel and tofu) instantly showed an attention to detail and a flair for innovative combinations that is so often lacking in other Japanese places in town – the sweet, fatty eel and the subtle, creamy tofu combined to make a dish that was at once robust and elegant, tasty and subtle. The relatively large vegetarian selection also stood out: particularly the ume soba (plum buckwheat noodles) that was uniquely sweet and savoury with a floral note, and made for a refreshing way to lead into dessert: which was actually a little disappointing. Perhaps it was because the plum noodles set the standard so high – the platter of assorted desserts with three decent ice creams and assortment of other ‘goodies’ just seemed incredibly boring.

Wine: The sake menu is surprisingly limited: this is one Japanese place where the wine list is actually better.