10 Devonshire Road, Singapore. Tel: 6735 5014
Operating Hours: Lunch: Noon – 3pm Dinner: 6pm – Midnight

Here’s my top tip for Japanese restaurants – if they have a counter or a bar, sit at it. And that’s exactly what I did at Sushi Yoshida: not only do you get to dine cheek by jowl with the jovial regulars, and watch the just-as-jovial culinary director Hideaki Yoshida direct his team (at times, while happily chugging down a frothy mug of beer!), but it also allows you to talk directly to the chef (there’ll be no one better to ask for recommendations), it is always fascinating to watch skilled chefs at work making your food, and it keeps them on their toes! While the decor here is rather confusingly eclectic, the food is decidedly Japanese, with an emphasis on seasonal ingredients. I went for some great aji sashimi, really fresh (it’d better be – they fly fish in four times a week) and served with its own deep-fried skeleton – yummy. Then I went for the pacific snow crab with sea urchin served in a clam shell bubbling in butter sauce – not very authentic perhaps, but one of the most stellar dishes I’ve ever eaten – combining two of my favourite foods. A piping hot bowl of thin, silky hiyamugi (wheat noodles) was also good – but not particularly mind-blowing after the crab and urchin.

Wine: A commendable selection of wines, I recommend going for one of there good sparkling wines or an interesting sake.