A fine month for dining: New restaurants to try in July 2022

Boyutei

Expect the best of one Michelin-starred Whitegrass and matcha-tea specialists Hvala at the newly launched 48-seater, all day dining Japanese café Boyutei. Boyutei translates to ‘pavilion’ in Japanese, akin to a tranquil spot in the grand pavilions of the ancient palaces, where you can forget your troubles over tea.  engage in intellectual conversations.

Whitegrass head chef Takuya Yamashita crafts the savoury menu with a Japanese-French fusion slant, offering salads, soups, Japanese sandos, rice, noodles and crepes both sweet and savoury, while Hvala oversees the dessert and beverage list for the coming together of two masters of their crafts. 

The latter’s Matcha Goma Garden presents matcha farmed from Hvala’s exclusive partner tea garden in Kyoto, serving a handmade matcha warabi mochi and a freshly churned matcha ice cream alongside a goma chocolate cookie. On the savoury side, the Wagyu Sukiyaki Tamago Sando features prized Wagyu beef braised in sukiyaki broth piled atop a thick cut brioche, complete with an onsen egg and sliced red onions. A popular favourite from the selection of Japanese crepes is Unagi made creamy with kinshi tamago and onsen egg. A final sprinkling of shredded nori, spring onions and togarashi Japanese seven-spice powder complete the creation. 

Complete the indulgence with an impressive selection of Japanese tea concoctions such as The Sakura Smoked. Think black tea with a smoky profile complemented by the delicate sweetness of Sakura flowers and hints of sour cherry.

Boyutei is at 28 Ann Siang Rd, #01-02, Singapore 069708

Jinhonten

Omakase concept Jinhonten is the latest addition under the Les Amis Group at Shaw Centre. With only one prix-fixe menu each for lunch and dinner, head chef Issey Araki Chef Issey and his team focus on sourcing for and serving only the finest premium ingredients airflown mainly from Japan. On occasion, Yonezawa beef from Yamagata prefecture is also featured on the menu, and is widely-recognised as one of the top wagyu beef (Yonezawa beef is exclusively available in Singapore only at select Les Amis Group restaurants).

Menu highlights from the dinner menu include the chilled appetiser comprising a trinity of sweet botan ebi, gloriously Murasaki uni (both from Hokkaido), and briny Kristal caviar, brought together by a yuba sauce made with Japanese soybean sheets. In contrast, the second appetiser is preceded by a nourishing cup of piping-hot abalone dashi made with a palm-sized Kuro Awabi, or black abalone from Yamaguchi. Steamed for four hours, the tender shellfish is deftly-sliced at the counter and served with a rich sauce made with abalone liver sauce and fortified with uni.

Araki’s piece de resistance is his Donabe dish, prepared with kegani, or Hokkaido hairy crab. Indulge in each grain of rice being infused with the umami flavours of the prized crustacean and studded with a generous amount of crabmeat and pickled vegetables, served with a creamy homemade hairy crab miso served on the side.

$180++ for eight-course lunch, and $450++ for 10-course dinner. Jinhonten is at Shaw Centre, 1 Scotts Road, #01-11, 228208.

Osteria Mozza

Osteria Mozza by celebrated American chef Nancy Silverton is back in Singapore with her unique style of Cal-Italian cuisine. The new 120-seat Osteria Mozza is now located at Hilton Singapore Orchard, and features classics from the original one-Michelin-starred outpost in Los Angeles as well as a number of new dishes crafted exclusively for Singapore, such as Grilled Calamari and Whole Branzino alla piastra cooked in the josper grill. 

At the heart of the restaurant is the signature mozzarella bar, offering a selection of five different mozzarellas, burratas and fresh cheeses, and an impressive array of imported Italian cured meats. Antipasti selections include the Singapore-exclusive Affettati Misti (with trotter fritti in a nod to the local popularity of trotter meat ); Silverton’s Favorite Trio of Mozzarella di Bufala; Smoked Burrata & Peas; and Nancy’s Caesar. 

Almost all of the 10 pastas on the menu are handmade in-house daily. A unique new pasta on the menu and one created specially for Singapore is the Cencioni with Dungeness crab and saffron, inspired by Silverton experiencing the wide array of seafood in Singapore. Finally, Osteria Mozza’s pizzas – we are glad to report that they are as good as before. They boast a fine crisp base and ultra-high airy and puffy cornicione with a deep sourdough flavour, each handcrafted by a master bread baker.

Osteria Mozza is at Hilton Orchard Singapore, 333 Orchard Road, Level 5, Singapore 238867

Pangium

Getting to the location of the restaurant may be troublesome, but trust us, it’s worth the effort. Located within The Orangery at the Gallop Extension of the Singapore Botanic Gardens, Pangium offers diners 180-degree views of the 163-year-old UNESCO World Heritage Site. The restaurant is named after the pangium tree that springs from the buah keluak seed, which happens to be chef-owner Malcolm Lee’s favourite ingredient. This is hissecond restaurant with the Como Group (the first being Candlenut).

The contemporary Straits menu begins with a series of snacks followed by bread, dumpling, soup and seafood dishes, culminating in a signature nasi ulam (mixed herb rice) course. Interestingly, the nasi ulam is an evolving showcase of lesser known vegetables and herbs that is accompanied by an array of side dishes that explore forgotten recipes and flavours. For example, the chefs have translated tempoyak (typically a whole patin cooked in a fermented durian curry) into an invitingly diminutive sambal tempoyak, presenting a fermented durian sambal with fried fish. 

Other highlights include the buah keluak sambal with oxtail and serunding daging (beef floss with roasted coconut), achar with rose apple, lotus root, star fruit and guava, and the hand-minced duck satay wrapped in caul fat, glazed with kicap manis and grilled over charcoal. It is served with a bowl of sayur lodeh prepared using Japanese vegetables and an ikan bilis sambal 

$198++ for lunch; $258++ for dinner. Pangium is at 11 Gallop Road, Gallop Entrance, Singapore Botanic Gardens, Singapore 259015.

Poise

Poise is a new entrant in the local modern European dining scene. Helmed by chef Steve Lancaster, he reimagines comforting European classics with Nordic fermentation techniques in his produce-led menu. The 33-year-old Lancaster is an alumnus of various Michelin-starred establishments including The Fat Duck and Oaxen Krog by Magnus Ek in Stockholm, so it’s surprise that his culinary inspirations are global, but his identity is distinctly European. 

Iconic dishes to look out for include the rustic Coq au Vin, featuring a deboned chicken mid-wing stuffed with a thyme-chicken mousse and braised with red wine. Bacon and mushrooms are served with a lacto-fermented white onion stock. Don’t miss the Caviar and Potato prepared tableside. It comprises an espuma of potato, puffed Japanese buckwheat, dill powder and a dollop of N25 Schrenckii caviar. The dish comes together beautifully with just a hint of yeasty sweetness from the potato puree mixed with a house-fermented potato miso made from steamed pearl barley koji.

$118++ and $258++ for four- and seven-course lunch respectively; $258++ for seven-course tasting dinner menu. Poise is at 6 Teck Lim Road, Singapore 088384