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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