White Dog Cafe Address

#02-131/132, 1 HarbourFront Centre Walk, VivoCity
Singapore 098585

Reservations

63769970

Opening hours

11.30am to 10.30pm Daily

Hanabi, situated in the chic Odean towers gets by with a simple yet contemporary décor. Though small in seating capacity, the buffet ($33) menu lists over 100 Japanese dishes that come at a snap of the finger, from your standard sashimi platter, fresh crispy breaded tempura, gooey sweet yakitori, savoury curry udon, to the fabled chawanmushi, Hanabi makes sure your gut is kimochi-ly satisfied. Good food, Japanese beer and conscientious service makes a great dining experience. There are few frills dining at such restaurants and prices are comfortably within everyone’s budget. Bring it on!

Hanabi Locations

Odeon Towers
#01-04, 331 North Bridge Road
Singapore 188720
Tel:63386626

VivoCity
#01-158, 1 Harbourfront Walk,Singapore
Tel:63769788

King’s Arcade
#01-03, 559 Bukit Timah Road
Singapore 269695
Tel: 6465 5525

Flavor.sg brings you a lists of the best chinese restaurants in Singapore, ranked by user reviews on flavor.sg

Feel free to write your own reviews and discuss your favourite chinese restaurants on our discussion boards.

Click here for the 50 best chinese restaurants in Singapore

Here is another list ranked by user searches on www.flavor.sg blog
Feel free to comment on your favourite chinese restaurants and tell us which deserves to be on top!

The List: Best Chinese Restaurants in Singapore

• Summer Pavilion
  “While nothing is perfect, a dining experience at Summer Pavilion can come close to it…”
  
• Golden Peony Chinese Restaurant
  “The roll was wonderfully crispy – it just disintegrated into shards when you bit into it…”
  
• Hai Tien Lo Chinese Restaurant
  “Definitely one of the best restaurants in Singapore, ever.”
  
• Wah Lok Cantonese Restaurant
  “If there is one Cantonese restaurant in Singapore that can truly claim to be authentic, the one that serves food that would melt the cockles of a triad mobster’s heart, then it is probably Wah Lok”
  
• Lei Garden Chinese Restaurant
  “I absolutely love their special double-boiled soup of fish maw, sea cucumber and various herbs – the unusual jelly-ish textures from the maw and sea cucumber absorb the flavours of the broths and herbs fantastically”
  
• Summer Palace Chinese Restaurant
  “A landmark in the local Chinese dining scene”
  
• Jade Chinese Restaurant
  “The foie gras-infused chicken consommé with fresh crabmeat was a hit: a creamy dream of subtle flavours and a silky consistency”
  
• Taste Paradise Chinese Restaurant
  “Sometimes paradise is to be found in the unlikeliest of places, as is the case for this upmarket Chinese outfit, smack in the heart of Chinatown”
  
• Hua Ting Chinese Restaurant
  “every dish in Hua Ting is well thought out and expertly cooked”
  
• Imperial Herbal Chinese Restaurant
  “Put aside the eclectic decor and the waiting time, focus on the food, and you will definitely emerge satisfied, and perhaps a little healthier.”
  
• Li Bai Cantonese Restaurant
  “rather than the usual minced meat ball of indiscernible flavour, each little parcel was stuffed with succulent chunks of moist meat”
  
• My Humble House
  “the wok-grilled pork rib in champagne reduction was stunning, a really chewy, manly, knaw-it-off the bone dish.”
  
• Cherry Garden Chinese Restaurant
  “While Cherry Garden’s elegant and modern Oriental decor attracts suited executives at lunch and couples looking for a Chinese restaurant with a romantic ambience for dinner, it is its authentic Cantonese fare that keeps me coming back.”
  
• Club Chinois
  “Elegant brush paintings, beautiful waitresses in graceful qipaosa concept which I absolutely love”
  
• Majestic Restaurant
  “Normally whenever I see that perfectly good food has been given the ‘modern twist’ or ‘fusion’ treatment I recoil in horror, but I have to admit that Majestic almost won me over”
  
• Dragon City Sichuan Chinese Restaurant
  “I love food that has an element of tradition and authenticity about it”
  
• Grand Shanghai Chinese Restaurant
  “Hangzhou duck soup is dark, forbidding and rich, while the quintessentially Shanghainese xiao long bao were soft, dense and meaty.”
  
• Hai Xiang Chinese Restaurant
  “It is always wonderful to discover a restaurant that far exceeds my expectations”
  
• Pine Court Chinese Restaurant
  “Situated as it is on the 35th floor of the Meritus Mandarin, the Pine Court Chinese Restaurant commands fantastic views over the city”
  
• Hung Kang Teo Chew Restaurant
  “This is a restaurant that is consistently good, and three generations of Hung Kang diners can testify to this”
  
• Jiang Nan Chinese Cuisine
  “A dish of eel (one of my favourite fish) was grilled until crisp and drizzled with black bean sauce in a yam basket: firm, rich, gelatinous and fatty – absolutely superb”
  
• Kippo
• Space @ My Humble House
• Lao Beijing Chinese Restaurant
• Legends Garden Chinese Restaurant
• Ling Zhi Vegetarian Restaurant
• Long Beach Marina Seafood
• Madame Butterfly
• Made in China – Chinese Cuisine
• Man Fu Yuan Chinese Restaurant
• Min Jiang Chinese Restaurant
• Min Jiang @ One North Chinese Restaurant
• Noble House
• Peach Blossoms
• Peach Garden Chinese Restaurant
• Peony Jade Chinese Restaurant
• Prima Tower Revolving Chinese Restaurant
• Princess Terrace Cafe
• Crystal Jade Golden
• Crystal Jade Jiang Nan
• Crystal Jade La Mien Xiao Long Bao
• Crystal Jade Macau Cafe
• Crystal Jade Palace
• Din Tai Fung
• Quayside Seafood Restaurant
• Shang Palace
• Si Chuan Dou Hua
• Silk Road
• Soup Restaurant
• Sze Chuan Court Chinese Restaurant
• Teahouse @ China Square
• Teochew City Seafood
• The Paramount Chinese Restaurant
• Tien Court Chinese Restaurant
• Tung Lok Restaurant
• Tung Lok Seafood Restaurant

#01-02 National Museum, 93 Stamford Road, Singapore 178897
Tel: 6336-8770

Novus is an example of a splendidly stylish restaurant. Set amidst the grandeur of Singapore’s very own national museum, Novus boasts private dining areas, a 14 foot bar and an adjoining outdoor courtyard. Diners can enjoy pre and post dinner drinks to accompany the fine culinary excellence they can expect, in an ambience best described as classy. www.novus.sg

Tatsuya Japanese Restaurant

#01-05 Crown Prince Hotel, 270 Orchard Road
Tel: 6737 1160
Operating Hours: Lunch: Noon – 3pm Dinner: 6.30pm – 11 pm

A name synonymous with beautifully fresh sushi and sashimi, Tatsuya has been the choice destination for local Japanese cuisine devotees since its opening. Helmed by chef and owner Ronnie Chia, the cosy restaurant boasts excellent, helpful service; restrained, beautiful décor; and some very exclusive ingredients – including fugu and Hokkaido King Crab. Truly passionate about the cuisine, Chia ensures that his restaurant consistently features a good spectrum of the season’s best, direct from Japan. We went for a delicious yuba (beancurd skin) and tuna salad, some crispy-soft deep fried baby trout, seared swordfish sashimi – taut and unblemished, and accompanied by just a light ponzu sauce -, and a grilled needlefish. The freshness really shined through in each dish – the tuna and swordfish in particular had that distinctive firmness of a pre-rigor mortis piece of fish – as did the sea urchin, although this was no great surprise as it was served straight out of its shell, and tasted like mussel-y pats of butter. A dish of sweet potato with crabmeat and shark’s fin was thick, generous and flavoursome, but not really for me in a Japanese restaurant. Besides, my endangered fish quota for the night was just about to be exceeded by the southern bluefin tuna toro sashimi(about $600 a kg) – my not-so-secret vice. There really is no other food in the world that does what toro does to me: for me it’s the perfect food – it has an unctuous, velvety texture and rich, deep, meat-y flavour. Just wonderful. If you get stuck (and don’t have deep enough pockets for the toro), then the staff are attentive, patient and brilliant at recommendations: just let them know your budget and leave the rest up to them.

Wine: If you must have wine then bring your own: sake is the order of the day here.

Nadaman Japanese Restaurant

Lobby Level, Shangri-La Hotel, 22 Orange Grove Road
Tel: 6213 4571
Operating Hours: Lunch: Noon – 2.30pm Dinner: 6.30pm – 10.30pm

One of the premier fine dining Japanese restaurants in Singapore, Nadaman is renowned as one of the best Japanese restaurants in Singapore where you’ll find zen amidst the bustle of the busy city.  Food-wise the top pick is undoubtedly the kaiseki set menu. Comprising seven courses that change with the seasons – appetiser, soup, sashimi, simmered dish, grilled dish, noodles and dessert – all bite sized and beautifully presented, this is for those seeking serious luxury. This time, however, I thought I would try some dishes from the a la carte menu: a delicious halved sea bream head simmered in sweet soy sauce was outstanding – gelatinous, sticky and delicious; some tempura seafood and vegetables was also brilliant – incredibly spiky, fragile and light; and the chawan mushi was just perfect – silky smooth and packed with top ingredients. For something more substantial, I recommend the classic shabu shabu, which comprises finely-sliced beef and seasonal vegetables which you can cook yourself in a pork and kombu broth – the best way, I think, to really appreciate top-quality beef. Or the sukiyaki set of sliced beef and vegetables – similar to the shabu shabu, but sweeter, richer, and perhaps a touch less intimidating. Whatever it is that you order, take it from me – this is one of the best and most authentically Japanese meals you can get in Singapore.

WINE: An extensive selection of Old and New World favourites. However, for a more authentic experience, I recommend asking the sommelier to choose a good sakefor you.

Inagiku Japanese Restaurant

Level 3, Raffles The Plaza, 80 Bras Basah Road
Tel: 6431 6156/ 6339 7777
Operating Hours: Lunch: Noon – 2pm Dinner: 6pm – 10pm

While Inagiku is revered for its emphasis on seasonal ingredients, dining here can be a bit of a hit-and-miss affair. Perhaps the most successful hit our evening there was the lovely $90 sushi plate: a generous platter of assorted Piscean delights topped off with a glistening, pearlescent, womb-like sac of gooey salmon roe. How often you are you presented with a ikura whole rather than as pearls? Glossy and nourished with the embryonic fluid of a thousand unborn salmon, we moved on to the tempura moriawase, which included some beautiful fresh flatfish fillets and an assortment of unusual fresh Japanese vegetables, all covered in a light, crispy-soft batter and served with an excellent smoky tentsuyu. The perfectly grilled hamachi cheek was also wonderful – the fresh sweet meat shining through the smoky flavors imbedded in the surface – and the house speciality of kurobuta tonkatsu came with a homemade sauce, which, frankly, put the commercial varieties offered elsewhere to shame. Less successful was the $75 executive set lunch which offered Japanese “fusion” food; cream soup and other such disasters. Chefs take note, dairy has no place in Japanese food (apart from, grudgingly, in the dessert course: there’s just something that works about ice cream after Japanese food). All that being said, stick to the classics at Inagiku and you won’t regret your visit.

Wine: An extensive selection of Old and New World from the hotel’s list. Some great (and pricey) sakes are also available.

KO Japanese Restaurant

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.

Keyaki Japanese Restaurant

Level 4, Pan Pacific Singapore, 7 Raffles Boulevard Marina Square
Tel: 6826 8335/ 6339 1861
Operating Hours: Lunch: Noon – 2.15pm Dinner: 6.30pm – 10.15pm

The interior of Keyaki seemed to be designed to represent an inn such as one that would have been frequented by lords sometime back in Japan’s dark feudal history, and the meticulously manicured garden that surrounded the restaurant – looking like it was lifted wholesale from a Kyoto temple – did nothing but help this image . Housed within were teppanyaki, robata grill and sushi counters. We sat at the sushi counter but were free to sample fare from any of the counters: and we did. Dainty dishes of firefly squid marinated in thick soy sauce came from the grill – the skin blistering, the flesh melt-in-the-mouth. Wonderful sushi came from our counter; salmon, tuna, shrimp and amberjack, all of which was so good we ordered the same as unadorned sashimi. Unbelievable; it had the firmness of a just caught fish and a taste that brought to mind the ringing of clear, crystal glass. If we had been in the mood to splurge (more), we could have chosen any one of four seasonal multi-course kaiseki menus, one of which is a special customized version that has to be ordered four days in advance.

WINE: A choice of nine cold and two hot sake, or choose wines from the hotel’s list.

KURIYA JAPANESE RESTAURANT

#05-01 Shaw Centre, 1 Scott’s Road
Tel: 6735 5300
Operating Hours: Lunch: 11.30am – 2.30pm Dinner: 6pm – 10.30pm

Kuriya is just the kind of noisy, cheerful place that salarymen – and women – would happily call their favourite watering hole. Of course, apart from the ambience, it also has a lengthy list of Japanese sake and beer, traditional bar food like edamame and yakitori, and an extensive menu for lunch and dinner – making this a great place to go and hang out with some good company, whether or not you’re eating. Dishes range from sashimi and nabe (hotpot with noodles and seafood) to yakiniku, (grilled meat skewers), tempura and rice dishes. We recommend the well-marinated beef tongue skewer – with its smoky flavours and a pleasantly springy texture – as well as the dobinmushi – a clear, light broth served in a small teapot with a tiny cup perched on top – as appetite-teasers. For mains, I went for the gyu tataki, well-marbled beef grilled and served with zingy ponzu (citrus-soy sauce), which cut through the delicious fat beautifully. The staff’s recommendation, isaki (grunt fish) done three ways – sashimi, raw with a vinegary ponzu sauce, and grilled – was also a delight. The meat was unbelievably fresh and sweet, and each rendition of it gave a very different taste experience. Those in the know book their table on Tuesday or Friday, because that is when all the fish arrive fresh from Tokyo’s seafood markets.

WINE: Don’t make me laugh – this is a place for Japanese sake, shochu, and beer.

Kuriya Dining

#02-42 Great World City, 1 Kim Seng Promenade
Tel: 6736 0888
Operating Hours: Lunch: 11.30am – 2.30pm Dinner: 6pm – 11 pm

Kuriya Dining takes pride that their fish – such as tuna, kanpachi (amberjack), ayu (Japanese trout) and flounder – are some of the freshest in town, being air freighted in twice weekly from Japan (that can’t be very eco-friendly). Service is unobtrusive and efficient, and there is not a single fishy smell in the place – despite the open food preparation counters. The menu was so broad and impressive that it was mind-boggling trying to decide what to eat: in the end I went for the kaiseki set – all the best stuff in one. Wonderfully fresh sashimi served on classy, chilled plates. Clear soups with the purest flavour and yet more ringingly fresh seafood. Dainty portions of sushi, tempura, grilled meats and stews: all of it was just great. If you still have appetite for more after this degustation meal, or you want a quick bite to eat at lunch, go for the uni gohan: rice topped with fresh, creamy-sweet sea urchin and dried seaweed, one of my very favourites..

WINE: The sake selection is quite large and there is an interesting selection of sweet potato, brown sugar, and barley shochu (vodka-like spirits), all of which, to me, taste much the same – but don’t let me make up your mind. Wine selection is limited but there is a dry Japanese wine called Avrga Branca Clareza Distinctamente (2003) made from the koshu grape, which is pretty good, and matches well with the cuisine.

Restaurant J-Toshi ( Best Japanese buffet )

#09-00 M Hotel, 81 Anson Road
Tel: 6421 6232
Operating Hours: Lunch: Noon – 2.30pm (Mon – Sat) Dinner: 6pm – 10.30pm

This fledgling restaurant, just past its first birthday, is large and well-spaced – a necessity to cater to the massive CBD lunch crowd which comes in for the well­-priced bento lunchboxes. However, I had time for a longer meal, so I went for some of the dinner buffet dishes – and had some great sashimi, sushi, yakitori and teppanyaki. While the ingredients are not quite the epitome of freshness, they aren’t bad, and the sheer quantity of food makes this a good place to come and fill up on the cheap.

Wine: Just like the food the quality isn’t outstanding – bring your own if you are fussy about your wine.

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SAINT PIERRE

#01 -01 Central Mall, 3 Magazine Road, Singapore Tel: 6438 0887
Operating Hours: Lunch: Noon – 2pm (Mon – Fri) Dinner: 7pm – 10pm (Mon – Sat)

From the minute I arrived at Saint Pierre, it was clear that everything, from the table settings and the service to the food and wine, is thoroughly thought out, perfected, and scrutinized from all angles. And all of this pays off – dining at Saint Pierre was like listening to a well orchestrated gastronomic symphony: my only gripe would be that the service is perhaps a little stiff at times. A wonderful foie gras/mushroom combo came in the form of a terrine infused with porcini oil, in a warm salad of matsutake and shimeji mushrooms – I had never thought about the combination before, but warm juicy mushrooms combine extraordinarily well with the cold, buttery foie. A Flintstone-sized rib of black angus beef for 2 came with an olive, mustard, parsley and Xeres vinegar dressing, oxtail croquette and fresh almonds – and perfectly displayed Chef Emmanuel Stroobant’s flair for blending classical techniques and flavours with exciting modern twist. As perfect an end to a meal as I have ever had came in the form of “Grandma Stroobant’s flourless chocolate cake”, served with a jelly of Armagnac marinated cherries, cherry sorbet and an Oreo crumble, doubtless nothing like how Grandma Stroobant served it, but unbelievable beautiful nonetheless.WINE: The cellar is broad and innovative in with some very high quality Bordeaux and Pauillacs, a very good selection of half bottles, and a good selection by the glass, including the brilliant Krug Grand Cuvee that we sampled with our starters.

THE CLIFF @ SENTOSA

The Sentosa Resort & Spa, 2 Bukit Manis Road, Sentosa, Singapore
Tel: 6371 1425 / 6275 0331
Operating Hours: Dinner: 6.30pm – Midnight

For a classic night of oysters and romance, head to The Cliff on Sentosa island resort – possibly Singapore’s most beautiful restaurant. Commanding a terrific sea view over the winking harbour lights and crashing waves, The Cliff hooked me right from the minute I stepped into its uber chi chi designer dining room. And with the menu featuring at least 10 types of oysters, we knew that we were going to be in the mood for love tonight. We started with a dozen of the briny bivalves, and watched with perverse satisfaction as their edges cringed when we squeezed on lemon juice. Starters followed: of a delicious al dente black lentil salad scented with truffle – and of a velvety veloute of asparagus spiked with a piquant, slightly sour quenelle of goat’s cheese which set off the creaminess of the asparagus beautifully. Seafood is The Cliff’s forte, and they have an excellent white and bubbly-heavy wine list, by the glass and bottle, to match with it perfectly: me and the date went bubbly all the way. A terrific entrée of black cod – crispy skinned and melting as only black cod can – served on a pool of lemongrass and coconut enriched walnut and cauliflower puree, was an impressively competent blend of fusion flavours. The ocean trout with watercress and artichoke looked good, but my date went instead for the quirky dish of sea bream paired with green apple and bathed in a tomato and ginger tea – edible, but too much novelty value for me.

GRAZE @ Rochester Park

4 Rochester Park, Singapore
Tel: 6775 9000
Operating Hours: Brunch: 9am – 3pm (Sat – Sun) Dinner: 6pm – Midnight

Whilst the colonial style black-and-white house set amidst lush tropical foliage makes my twee radar go haywire, this is another example of that successful breed that we just can’t seem to get enough of these days – the contemporary Australian restaurant. It seems like the Australians, perhaps because they have a fantastic climate and no significant culinary history of their own to hold them back, have been able to take the very best of Eastern and Western food and combine it into something new, distinctive and very exciting. This was demonstrated very neatly by our starters – crispy pork salad – at a guess hand of pork, braised until soft and then fried until crispy with Asian spices and served with delicious baby leaves – and a soft, savoury lobster tortellini served with a sticky-sweet salmon roe reduction and a fried julienne of lemongrass, ginger and spring onion. King prawns done in three ways and paired with a cold cucumber sorbet simply made us very, very happy. Mains were equally good. A wide selection of plain grilled meat and seafood was on offer but we went for the signature dishes of the crab and citrus linguine – the orange, lime and lemon segments adding a jolting, shocking zestiness to the rich, sweet crab – and the crispy rolled pork hock, glazed with a light sweet and sour sauce – a million miles from the Chinese take-away version. Braised-then-roasted wagyu cheeks served on a bed of coconut-scented rice – its luscious crispy fattiness cut by the addition of fresh, crunchy vegetables – came close to knocking the pork hock off of its post as the best dish of the evening. A smooth, mild cheesecake served with a brown-sugar-glazed wedge of pineapple and a scattering of nut brittle led the pack for dessert, followed by a pair of dark and white chocolate puddings with matching ice-creams: Heaven. The only disappointment of the evening was the wine list – very limited with very few good bottle or glass offerings.

POPPI

Level 2, The Legends, Fort Canning Park, Singapore Tel: 6339 8977
Operating Hours: Lunch: Noon – 2pm (Mon – Fri) Dinner: 7pm – 10pm (Mon – Sat) Brunch: 11am – 3pm (Sun)

If you are looking for somewhere to take someone on a first date, then go to Poppi. The location is fantastic, the decor is hushed and sexy, and Chef Chris Millar’s stylish, classic cooking will ensure a return visit. Our appetizers – a warm pigeon tart. with pan-fried foie gras – crumbly, soft and luxurious – and a twice-baked gruyere soufflé – soft, fluffy and creamy – gave us the urge to order the full list of appetizers as our meal. Such urges were soon quelled by my main of duck confit – crispy skinned and meltingly tender – and her lamb shank – soft, yielding and sticky. Desserts were rather safe – a warm chocolate cake and a sticky date pudding – but still delightful. Coupled with the cracking, good value Australian wines on the list, all in all Poppi gave us a night to remember.

GARIBALDI ITALIAN RESTAURANT & BAR

#01 -02, 36 Purvis Street, Singapore
Tel: 6837 1468
Operating Hours: Lunch: Noon – 3pm Dinner: 6.30pm – 11 pm

In my view the best Italian restaurant in town, Garibaldi always exceeds my expectations in everything except the eponymous biscuit department. Its use of Italian seasonal ingredients is simply inspired; green and white asparagus, tomatoes, treviso, Sicilian citrus and white Alba truffles (but once a year) are all treated simply and respectfully. For starters this time, I went for the allo zafferano – Australian spanner crab, a bizarre looking creature I had only seen once before, in Japan, with avocado, orange and saffron sauce: light, refreshing and heady with the inimitable taste of saffron. My friend went for the moscardini in umido – baby Venetian octopus stewed with tomatoes and served on garlic bruschetta -, the octopus smooth as soft cheese, and the tomatoes rich and pulpy – a real bite of Italy. My main of pan-fried duck breast was served perfectly pink and well-rested with wonderful sweet, sticky and tart counterpoints provided by the balsamic vinegar and strawberries. The menu had nine desserts on that night — all of which prompted heavy breathing just upon reading— but I went for that ever-popular classic, the fondente al cioccolato – a molten chocolate fondant – paired with that great friend of chocolate, the hazelnut: in luscious, creamy gelato form. The practiced, attentive service left nothing to be desired, and the interesting Italian wine list had some wonderful Super Tuscans. If only they had served their namesake’s biscuits, it would have been perfect.

IL LIDO ITALIAN DINING & LOUNGE BAR

Sentosa Golf Club, 27 Bukit Minis Road, Singapore
Tel: 6866 1977
Operating Hours: Lunch: 11.30am – 2.30pm Dinner: 6.30pm – 11 pm

On the beautiful island resort of Sentosa, just 10 minutes’ drive from the heart of the financial district of Singapore, is the little gem of a restaurant Il Lido. Commanding a beautiful panoramic view over the Singapore Straits, Il Lido would be worth travelling to just for a relaxing drink at the bar whilst watching the postcard-perfect sunset, but luckily the food is worth travelling for too. The dining room is modern, elegant and sophisticated, the service is unstuffy and helpful, and the food is to die for. The Parma ham and beef carpaccio to start were the real deal: they don’t mind forking out for the good stuff here. My main of homemade tagliolini with lobster in a fresh tomato sauce had the perfect texture – pasta smooth and firm, lobster tender and moist – and was given a welcome twist with the addition of some pungent south-east Asian spices – ginger, coriander, lemongrass and chilli. The veal ravioli again showed a mastery of pasta, and the veal was rich, reduced and melting. But by far the highlight of the evening was beef fillet served with a wobbling, rich bone marrow sauce, spotted on the menu only after I had ordered my prawns, and so hastily tacked onto the end of our meal for us all to share. Bone marrow is such an incredible, and cheap, ingredient – a really clean, clear, jelly-like essence of beef, the perfect foil to the rare, lean, tender meat of the fillet – but sadly a real rarity on restaurant menus.WINE: A terrific list comprised mainly of superb Italian vintages and a short but sweet sampling of French (including some delicious crisp champagne, yum) and Australian wines.

BLU

24′” Level, Shangri-La Hotel Singapore, 22 Orange Grove Road
Tel: 6213 4598
Operating Hours: Dinner: 7pm – 10.30pm (Mon – Sun)

With its 24th floor views of the cityscape and refined French-rooted fine-dining menu, Blu is a popular place for a romantic rendezvous. The service is discreet, efficient and professional, and the wine list is comprehensive – we went for some sterling New World numbers. Some might complain that the menu is too simple for the price, but even though the ingredients are simple they are of the best quality and dealt with innovatively. My foie gras terrine was made with little else, allowing the foie gras to really shine through, and it was very generously portioned. My date’s braised pork belly with langoustine and truffle cream was another good example of what I like to call “indulgent ascesis” – the title ingredients could practically be the recipe, all of it radiant in its simplicity. A robust, fragrant soup of oysters, clams and mussels with crab ravioli was improved immeasurably by fistfuls of parsley and chervil. A lovely, zingy mid-meal palate freshener of peach sorbet was a welcome touch, one that would be followed up with a delightful home-made mousse after our mains. My wagyu beef tenderloin paired with an onion ice cream was surprisingly good, and my date’s interesting surf and turf option – lamb loin rubbed with cumin and served with delicious crab stuffed peppers -.was a resounding success. A tart gratin of summer berries and a pillow-y soft, warm chocolate cake, shared, brought to close a wonderful meal.

BROTH

21 Duxton Hill, Singapore
Tel: 6323 3353
Operating Hours: Lunch: Noon – 2.30pm (Mon – Fri)Dinner: 6.30pm – 10.30pm(Mon – Sat)

Broth could not be a more succinct name for this place, it just sums up everything this restaurant is about – light, clean, flavoursome food: everything the Aussies do best. Add to that the picturesque surrounds of Duxton Hill and friendly, attractive, learned staff, and you will have no trouble understanding why this restaurant continues to draw in the punters. Dishes display that mix of flavours and cooking styles from east and west that Australia has managed to cultivate so well, with standard sounding dishes like steaks, lamb chops and squid ink pasta that all tease with their innovative combinations of Chinese, Italian, Vietnamese, French, Indian and Malay flavours. The refreshing rice paper cone roll with prawns, mint, radish, mango and chilli-lime dressing presented another great example of this, while the pork cutlet in a rich red wine sauce with apple, prune and walnut salad disappointed simply because of its lack of imagination. The wine list showcased the best of the Australian range, including a brawny Barossa valley number, plus a few Old World picks for the snobs among us. A wonderfully alliterative dish, the Supernova Pavlova, was light as air, crisp and sweet, but for those of you not fussed about their food’s phonetic aesthetic, the dark chocolate and hazelnut liqueur crème brulee, served with home-made pear wine on the side, was probably better.

FLUTES AT THE FORT

21 Lewin Terrace, Fort Canning Park, Singapore
Tel: 6338 8770
Operating Hours: Lunch: Noon – 2.30pm, Dinner: 6.30pm – 10pm (Mon – Sun) Closed on Sun & PH

Situated in the former fire chief’s residence, behind the Central Fire Station, Flutes at the Fort makes an unexpectedly magical dinner location. Yet another one of those delightful modern Australian restaurants, Flutes at the Fort also has a wonderful outdoor bar, which is where we started, supping down an icy mojito in the balmy evening heat. Inside the dining room a strong selection New World wines by the glass tempted us away from the cocktails, and starters of seared scallops with shrimp stuffed egg rolls and a king crab salad got us off to a good start – the scallops soft, sweet and salty with an almost ringing clarity to them, something equally true of the king crab (always a favourite of mine). Seared foie gras, that dish so seemingly unavoidable in restaurants these days, was set apart from the rest by an impressive light and tangy sauce of Rosella flowers, a rare ingredient in these parts, being native to the blistering outback of Queensland. Mains of roast lamb rack, a crispy braised pork belly and succulent wagyu ribeye all looked wonderful, but we went for some of the appetizing array of seafood, all of it bright eyed and invigoratingly fresh – seared cod for me, steamed orange roughy for her, despite my tuts of disapproval because of dwindling roughy stocks. Sweets came on a communal platter enabling us to share four desserts – always a plus – including a stunning apricot crème brulee, with a whole, soft, fragrant apricot nestled at the bottom.

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.

#03-15 Wheelock Place, 501 Orchard Road, Singapore. Tel: 6733 6636
Operating Hours: Lunch: Noon – 3pm (Mon – Fri) 11 am – 3pm (Sat – Sun) Dinner: 6.30pm – 10pm (Mon – Thu, Sun) 6.30pm – Midnight (Fri – Sat) Tea: 2.30 – 6.30 (Mon – Fri) 3pm – 6.30pm (Sat – Sun)

Sun with Moon – the sister of Sun Dining at CHIJMES – boasts the same chic interior and enthusiastic wait staff. Similarly, quality of food here is up to the mark. The aburi sushi here was great – the briefest of licks from a blowtorch just gets the juices flowing. For mains, the comforting dish of yakiniku kamameshi (rice and beef served in a steel pot) – the rice having been soaked in the juices of the finely sliced and grilled beef,- was another hearty, delicious dish. Desserts such as the Tokyo tofu cheesecake and the delightful strawberry parfait topped with evaporated milk and strawberry jam are both light and satisfying options to end a meal – good enough to ignore their inauthenticity.

Wine: A succinct selection of wines and sake.

Lobby Level, Goodwood Park Hotel, 22 Scott’s Road, Singapore
Tel: 6734 6281/ 6835 0529
Operating Hours: Lunch: Noon – 2.30pm Dinner: 6.30pm – 10.30pm

While Shima continues to draw loyal customers and win new ones with its renowned teppanyaki dishes, the sushi, sashimi, tempura and shabu shabu items are worth a try also. The odd thing here is that ‘special’ actually means special, rather than the standard usage elsewhere, where it means ‘I’ve got some fish that’s rapidly going off’. This can be rather scary and confusing, but the chef’s special sashimi selection should calm your nerves: it includes only the best fish available on the day and is a real treat. My next dish, a classic hiya yakko (a block of cold tofu, served with a garnishing of onion flakes and soy sauce), I’m afraid to say, was so good it almost overshadowed my main – the USDA beef fillet cooked on the teppan. Where as the tofu was cold, creamy and satisfying, the beef wasn’t very well marbled, and became a little dry. A better option was the grilled saba (mackerel): very moist and very fresh – excellent. My dessert of fried mango with ice cream was an unexpectedly good end to the meal.

WINE: A French-dominant selection with a peppering of New World labels. Disappointing lack of Japanese drinks.

#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.

#09-00 M Hotel, 81 Anson Road, Singapore. Tel: 6421 6232
Operating Hours: Lunch: Noon – 2.30pm (Mon – Sat) Dinner: 6pm – 10.30pm

This fledgling restaurant, just past its first birthday, is large and well-spaced – a necessity to cater to the massive CBD lunch crowd which comes in for the well­-priced bento lunchboxes. However, I had time for a longer meal, so I went for some of the dinner buffet dishes – and had some great sashimi, sushi, yakitori and teppanyaki. While the ingredients are not quite the epitome of freshness, they aren’t bad, and the sheer quantity of food makes this a good place to come and fill up on the cheap.

Wine: Just like the food the quality isn’t outstanding – bring your own if you are fussy about your wine.

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.

#01-07 One Fullerton, 1 Fullerton Road, Singapore. Tel: 6536 3080
Operating Hours: Lunch: Noon – 3pm (closed weekends and PH) Dinner: 6pm – 11 pm

This place has marvellous aesthetics: the food is colourful, elegant and beautiful, the view across the bay is stunning, and the timber accented interior is bright, airy and refined. Expect classic Japanese cuisine, with mercifully few ‘fusions’. The gindara yuan-yaki – sablefish drizzled with lemon soy sauce – was simple and tasty, but the various maki rolls were more hit and miss: the ume shiso maki (salted plum and perilla roll) was terrific, while in the special Haru roll (prawn tempura inside and grilled eel on the outside) just didn’t work. Much, much better was the ishiyaki steak: slices of beef tenderloin (your choice of regular or Kobe beef) that you cook yourself on a hot stone to your own preferred degree of doneness – fun and delicious. And the signature Haru dessert more than made up for their crumby maki roll – sweet red beans, chewy tapioca, glorious fresh fruits and vanilla ice cream, all served in a beautiful ice bowl decorated with flowers.

Wine: While the wine selection is limited, the cocktail sake choices are extensive and interesting.

#01-18/19 UE Square, 81A Clemenceau Avenue, Singapore. Tel: 6733 4001
Operating Hours: Lunch: 11.30am – 2pm Dinner: 6pm – 11 pm

The wait staff at this excellent do-it-yourself barbecue restaurant are impeccably trained. Besides having a good knowledge of the menu, they are always smiling and ready to change the grill, plates and even advise on wine pairings: and the food is just fantastic. You choose what you want and then grill it yourself on your own barbecue – the smoked bacon is a good choice – being gloriously streaked with smoky fat – as is the wagyu oyster blade – a quick char on both sides over strong fire is all you need to get the juices running and make it delicious. The seasoned pork belly marinated with shoyu, miso and leek is also satisfying, especially with rice. If you have room for just one dessert, have the yuzu sorbet – it tastes a little like a blend of orange, lime and grapefruit – a great, refreshing dessert after all that meat.

Wine: A comprehensive selection of wines and sakes.

#01-57 UE Square, 207 River Valley Road, Singapore. Tel: 6735 2212
Operating Hours: Dinner: 6pm – Midnight (Sun – Thu) 6pm – 3am (Fri – Sat, eve of PH)

Hidden within the slightly careworn entrance is a casual izakaya that serves an amazing variety of delicious bar snacks and main meals. The best bets are the house specialities of braised Okinawan pork belly steeped in a clear flavourful broth and fresh Australian beef carpaccio served with a light dash of mirin and soya sauce. The grilled gindara (sablefish) in a mirin sauce also impressed on my last visit. Service is attentive but unobtrusive. Pair that with the faultless cuisine and a lively atmosphere and you get a dining experience worth repeating.

WINE: En take pride in their range of sake, shochu and awamori – traditional Okinawan tipple.

#01-05 Park Hotel, 270 Orchard Road, Singapore. Tel: 6737 1160
Operating Hours: Lunch: Noon – 3pm Dinner: 6.30pm – 11 pm

A name synonymous with beautifully fresh sushi and sashimi, Tatsuya has been the choice destination for local Japanese cuisine devotees since its opening. Helmed by chef and owner Ronnie Chia, the cosy restaurant boasts excellent, helpful service; restrained, beautiful décor; and some very exclusive ingredients – including fugu and Hokkaido King Crab. Truly passionate about the cuisine, Chia ensures that his restaurant consistently features a good spectrum of the season’s best, direct from Japan. We went for a delicious yuba (beancurd skin) and tuna salad, some crispy-soft deep fried baby trout, seared swordfish sashimi – taut and unblemished, and accompanied by just a light ponzu sauce -, and a grilled needlefish. The freshness really shined through in each dish – the tuna and swordfish in particular had that distinctive firmness of a pre-rigor mortis piece of fish – as did the sea urchin, although this was no great surprise as it was served straight out of its shell, and tasted like mussel-y pats of butter. A dish of sweet potato with crabmeat and shark’s fin was thick, generous and flavoursome, but not really for me in a Japanese restaurant. Besides, my endangered fish quota for the night was just about to be exceeded by the southern bluefin tuna toro sashimi(about $600 a kg) – my not-so-secret vice. There really is no other food in the world that does what toro does to me: for me it’s the perfect food – it has an unctuous, velvety texture and rich, deep, meat-y flavour. Just wonderful. If you get stuck (and don’t have deep enough pockets for the toro), then the staff are attentive, patient and brilliant at recommendations: just let them know your budget and leave the rest up to them.

Wine: If you must have wine then bring your own: sake is the order of the day here.

29A Cuppage Terrace, Cuppage Road Singapore, Tel: 835 3539
Operating Hours: Dinner: 6pm – 11 pm

The tag `Little Tokyo’ given to this Cuppage enclave is not just a marketing initiative. The area is packed with numerous little eateries, run – and patronised – by the Japanese: and the convivial atmosphere does indeed remind me of the bustling streets of Tokyo which are lined with restaurants and cafes with nondescript entrances. One such unpretentious entrance at Cuppage brings you into Tamaya, and those who find it will be duly rewarded with a charming dining experience in this izakaya. The menu is in Japanese, which can make ordering rather unnerving, but the service staff are very knowledgeable and glad to offer their assistance. I went for a deliciously soft eggplant gratin with miso paste – the strong miso complemented the subtle eggplant flavour perfectly – and a dish of spicy, simmered kurobuta pork wrapped in rice paper – not terribly authentic, but very good. The selection of yakitori items – including the ubiquitous chicken skin (yum) and chicken with leek – made good side dishes. For something more substantial, the cold buckwheat soba with tempura flakes is good, but avoid the spaghetti tossed with spicy mentaiko (cod roe). Desserts were not that great -, I went for another glass of chilled sake instead.

Wine: An extensive selection of both Old and New World wines available by the bottle, but we would go for their good selection of cold and warm sake.

#01-15 Riverside View, 30 Robertson Quay, Singapore
Tel: 6887 3577
Operating Hours: Lunch: Noon – 2.30pm Dinner: 6pm – 10.30pm (Sun – Wed) 6pm – 11 pm (Thu – Sat)

This restaurant’s feel is akin to that of an izakaya – a traditional Japanese bar – rustic, simple and cosy. Two things strike as you read the menu of the restaurant’s charcoal grilled specialities: its jaw­-dropping variety, and its novelty. In the mood to tempt fate, I went for the sweet and chewy fugu mirin boshi (grilled dried slivers of puffer fish steeped in mirin);a tender grilled beef skirt, seasoned with just salt and pepper and bursting with skirt’s natural chewy, kidney-ish richness, and some grilled pork neck – a cut rich with seams of fatty connective tissue that add flavour and keep it juicy -served with some lovely, ever­-so-slightly-charred garlic rice. The scallops and asparagus – rolled up separately with very thinly sliced lean pork – displayed the chef’s keen eye for novel combinations that work. The quality of the ingredients has a big part to play, and I’m told the sashimi of the day here is exquisitely fresh. Dessert items are limited but the black sesame and Japanese green tea ice cream, and the tofu with coconut cream and red bean paste, whilst not traditional by any means, are inimitably Japanese and a great way to round up your meal here.

Wine: A good choice of sake, from light and fruity, to medium bodied and heavy: we like the tasting portions that are also available.

#B1-41 Paragon, 290 Orchard Road, Singapore. Tel: 6735 9882

As the name suggests, handmade soba is this restaurant’s specialty. Passers-by can watch the process of making this from start to finish in the impressive glass-walled showcase kitchen – from the grinding of the buckwheat to the resulting flour being kneaded into a dough, then being deftly hand-cut into thousands of thin noodles. These noodles are firmer and richer tasting than what you may be used to, and delicious in whatever way they are served: plain and chilled as in the seiro soba, or in a hot soup base such as the mushroom and vegetable sansai soba. I went for the chilled – it’s really the best way to appreciate the quality of the soba. The atmosphere is convivial if slightly noisy when the restaurant is bustling, but the prompt service makes up for any shortcomings. Apart from soba, there are the usual hand rolls and sashimi but if you would like something different, order the kamoshio,a very tasty dish of grilled duck. And do leave room at the end for the uguisu kuzumochi:green tea-infused sticky kuzumochi dusted with finely ground peanut and served with vanilla ice cream – some find the fragile, jelly-ish texture of kuzumochi off-putting, but it’s one of those Japanese ingredients that it’s well worth acquiring a taste for. Another addictively toothsome sweet is the soba abekawa: tiny spheres moulded from the same buckwheat used for the noodles, and topped with matcha powder, peanut powder and mashed red bean paste – very authentic and very delicious. Wine: No wines served.