#02-26 Amara Hotel, 165 Tanjong Pagar Road, Singapore.
Tel: 6324 8388 / 6324 5188
Operating Hours: Lunch: 11.30am – 2.30pm Dinner: 6.30pm – 11 pm

Santaro is a good all-round Japanese restaurant – with top-notch service and a wide range of food.The emphasis is on top quality seasonal produce and what one should order really depends on when the visit is made. Come with an empty stomach and an open mind: whilst some of the classic Japanese dishes are available all year round, it is the exquisite seasonal specials that make a meal here memorable. To start this time I went for some excellent sashimi and an exquisite tuna consommé delicately perfumed with earthy mushrooms, followed by one of my favourites – uni wrapped in one of its foods, kombu (if you think about it, it’s a little like a play on a roast pig with an apple in its mouth). Uni (sea urchin) is a really good watermark of freshness in a restaurant because it degrades extremely rapidly once dead: this stuff was pretty damn good, with a mild, creamy iodine taste, and the firm, umami-laden kombu made a perfect partner to it.

Wine: Very limited, but there is a good range of sake and shochu. My advice is don’t bother – go for the chef’s home brewed plum wine (you have to ask) – absolute heaven.