Review: Hinoki Japanese Restaurant

One of my favourite cuisines is Japanese, I don't always need to eat it and often, I can subsist on the occasional ramen, udon or perhaps even tonkatsu, but once in awhile, I get the pangs for some serious sushi and sashimi. When I do, I try to head to a Japanese restaurant, rather than just a Japanese joint, some place where I can be assured that the fish is fresh and the turnover is high. The worst thing, I feel, is to pay sushi prices and get a mouthful of briny, limey, slightly off raw seafood. Hinoki has been my go-to place for the sashimi fix, since M. introduced me to the place some time ago.

I've never had an affinity to a particular place for very long. For awhile it was Akashi, but have you seen the queues coming out of that place? For awhile, it was Sushi Yoshida because of it's incredible $30 set lunch and it's wonderful swoony In the Mood for Love atmosphere at the brick counter late at night. Unfortunately the standards started to fall and eventually the place was shut because the building was torn down. It's hard to find a Japanese place that is consistently good and also decent value.

So far, Hinoki ticks the right boxes. Friendly chef and staff (look for Gary, who remembers each of his customers by name), clean and roomy seating, fresh and generous cuts of fish and good prices, particularly at lunch and for sets. We usually let Gary choose a selection of sashimi and sushi, which typically includes seared salmon belly, otoro, uni, ikura and depending on what is fresh, white fish, flounder, or striped bass. He has also some creative twists like ebi (sweet prawn) with foie gras and spicy tuna.

Some of the items that I really enjoy are the initial appetizers, they serve a plated dish of grilled puffer fish and a light shredded-fish wafer (with cod roe and mayo) that goes well with a drink and imported pickles, in particular, a dried persimmon-yuzu that would appeal to those who like sour plums. I also appreciate his seriousness toward cooked food, braised radish, for example, is chock-full of flavour, yet turgid and soothing, like the most savoury kind of yam you've ever tried. There is also grilled kinki fish, or you can have tempura or fried fish, steamed seasonal crab or chawamushi steamed with a small dash of broth, truffle and lime.

I find dinner to be the most expensive at Hinoki, often, for some reason, double the price of lunch (despite having had the same items), which is about $28-32 for sets and $68 if you splurge on sushi and sashimi. For the kind of quality of their fresh seafood, I think the prices aren't bad but it's not cheap. I suspect that dinner in particular, is more expensive, to make up for the liquor that I don't usually order. For the best deal, I would definitely go for lunch but remember to call in beforehand as they do a brisk trade with the CBD crowd.

Hinoki

22 Cross Street, #01-50/53
China Square Central, South Bridge Court

Tel: +65 6536 7746

Review: Esquina Tapas Bar

Esquina had been around a good many months before I’d heard of it and for awhile, I avoided the place because I’m not a fan of tapas, particularly cold tapas. What a mistake! While it advertises itself as a modern tapas bar, the food is much more in the style of small plates, inspired by Spanish cuisine. The restaurant is helmed by Jason Atherton, a protégé of Gordon Ramsey, but I have never seen him at the restaurant, it is usually headed by striking but moody executive chef Andrew Welsh.

There is a deceptively curated menu, with many choices in the starters, entrees and seafoods sections. Over the times that I’ve been there, there have been numerous changes to the menu of select items but some of the signature items like the heirloom tomatoes and salt and pepper squid remain the same.

The bar itself is tiny, about 18 seats along a narrow counter and a few single high tables. The atmosphere is hot and languishing, in a rather cool, evocative way. Just stepping in, I could see that this place was going to do well. It had that indescribable joie de vivre of places that ooze confidence, consistent style and ‘done-ness’, the kind of places that people enjoy to see and be seen at. The décor was simple and yet deliberate, the bar stools are uncomfortable steel bike seats, welded in beautifully heavy, industrial plate and bolts. The bar was set with simple paper placemat menus and water was free; they hardly push you to buy any drinks (but in the evenings, the drinks flow freely and the bar is stacked three-deep with a 45 minute wait). This is food at its finest but not by any stretch of the imagination, a fine-dining establishment.

On the first visit, I ordered the tuna tartar and the salt and pepper squid as two of the starters. The tartar was fresh but not extraordinary, the squid was one of the best I’ve had, tart, crisp, juicy and bursting with the flavour of the lime and crushed, dehydrated black beans. Over subsequent visits, I also had the heirloom tomatoes, which I really enjoyed. On one occasion, they were the multi-coloured hue of those expensive tri-coloured tomatoes, all green with watermelon stripes and yellow and dark kumatos, those were amazing. The second time, they were regular albeit premium juicy tomatoes and still good, drizzled with a simple white wine vinegar, olive oil and served cold.

The other starters I’ve had are the Scallop and radish cerviche, a soothing mix of briney freshness and translucent radish and a salad of warm romaine lettuce, anchovies and hard cheese, wilted through with balsamic vinegar.

For the mains, I’ve tried the bone marrow which was delicious and their two specialties, which are the crispy pork belly and wagyu beef sliders. My opinion was that they were good, but not out of this world, the crispy pork belly didn’t have much on the Asian version and it wasn’t large, the sliders were juicy but tasted blander than I would have expected for wagyu. In terms of prettiness and delicacy or unexpectedness of tastes, they definitely lost out to their entrée cousins. Another restaurant specialty is the slow cooked egg, this is a bit like the 2 minute, soft-boiled egg, on one of the visits, it was served with toast and black bean paste and brie, on another, it was served atop crispy potato bravas and a rich tomato cassoulet-type stew.

The dessert menu is very short, usually just five items but they are quite good, my favourite is the warmed pistachio cake with raspberry and ice cream and the other two that I tried were the chocolate mousse with chocolate soil and the caramelized pineapple with sorbet, to my mind, the latter was a little too simple and insubstantial and I feel the dessert menu could be much, much improved and is probably the weakest part of the meal.

The prices are not hefty, about $8-12 for a starter and $20-24 for a main but these are really small plates so I don’t know that the men wouldn’t find it on the pricey side; I also find the food a little salty. I appreciate that they don’t charge for water and concentrate purely on honest food, cooking and ingredients. It really is a place for people serious about taste and serious about eating, so it will win over even the more particularly critics. The restaurant has a no-reservations policy but lunch seats are much easier than dinner, if you turn up at 11.45-12noon.

Esquina

16 Jiak Chuan Road, Singapore

Tel: +65 6222 1616

Website

Review: The Clan Restaurant

You may have noticed that it has been a very long time since I last posted on this blog, and I’m grateful that my sister has been updating in my absence. The reason for the radio silence is that I started a new job in February which has been keeping me extremely busy. These days, I’m lucky if I get to eat out once a week, so finding time to write reviews might be asking for too much.

Recently, though, my family celebrated some birthdays, and it fell to me to look for a suitable venue for dinner. I had originally intended to book Pollen, Jason Atherton’s newest restaurant at Gardens by the Bay, but surprisingly it was already fully booked for Wednesday when I called on Sunday. Given that it was a special occasion, I was reluctant to go for the run of the mill Italian or French, but at the same time I didn’t want to break the bank at Les Amis or Waku Ghin. Remarkably, though, it was not easy finding a pleasant, affordable modern European restaurant which would promise an enjoyable evening: we had not been impressed with 7Adam, Table66 was no longer open, and the menu at Private Affairs was rather too limited.

Eventually, however, I stumbled across the website of The Clan Restaurant, a restaurant so new that no “official” reviews could be found in the print media. All I had to go on were about five effusive Hungrygowhere.com reviews, and those are not always particularly reliable.

Still, I had high hopes when I called up to make the reservation, for Raymond and Chris, the two front of house I spoke to, radiated friendliness and accommodation down the phone line. “You would like to bring a birthday cake, sir? No problem at all, but just so you know, you might be too full for cake after our set dinner, which includes dessert!” “Party of six? I can give you your own private dining area in front of the kitchen, where you won’t be disturbed by any of the other diners”. This is the kind of personalised service our dining scene lacks, and it really set the scene for a lovely evening.

Located in the charming Bukit Pasoh district, just up the road from the Majestic and Absinthe, The Clan Restaurant is unmistakable, given the well-lit signage and the imposing black and white signboard of the Gan Clan Association, whose premises the restaurant occupies.

In person, Raymond and Chris turned out to be just as warm and helpful as they were over the phone. Special requests were taken care of without a second thought, recommendations were freely volunteered with candour, and when we expressed interest in one of the desserts, a complimentary helping was immediately served.

As it turns out, The Clan Restaurant is the successor to Dozo, and there is a fair amount of resemblance in the décor and the food. The focus on set menus, for instance, stands out instantly (although a la carte menus are also available on request). At $42 and $68 for a 5-course lunch and a 6-course dinner respectively, The Clan Restaurant offers excellent value for money.

Dinner began with a refreshing green apple palate-cleanser shooter, which was kept lightly aerated by being churned in a machine that looked like it used to dispense 7-Eleven slurpees. Cold, sweet and zesty, this was an excellent start to the meal.

The appetiser is the only part of the menu that is not open to choice. Instead, everyone gets a trio of salmon mousse (served in a miniature ice cream cone), pan-seared scallop with truffled asparagus and foie gras terrine with cranberry sauce. A sort of surf 'n' turf, I suppose. While the foie gras and salmon mousse were extremely competently prepared, the real standout was the scallop, which was beautifully seared, very well paired with the asparagus and topped with a heady truffle foam.

 

Given that there were so many of us, we could easily order almost every cold starter off the menu and sample the restaurant's offerings at our leisure.

My beef carpaccio with truffle mustard tossed mesclun salad in truffle teriyaki and horseradish sauce came highly recommended, and it was not difficult to taste why. The carpaccio slices were well-marbled, and the salad was both eye-catching and a great complement to the raw beef. I would have preferred a lighter hand with the teriyaki sauce, however, as I felt that its cloying sweetness overpowered the taste of the beef and the zing of the horseradish.

The Alaskan king crab with homemade karashi dressing was another favourite, and here, bereft of any artificial enhancements, the natural sweetness of the crabmeat really stood out.

I am not a fan of oysters, and so a cold starter of oysters done in three ways didn't really appeal to me, but my mother, who had the dish, certainly had no complaints. 

Warm appetisers followed, with a number of options to choose from.

The tempura espuma soft shell crab with homemade sauce boasted an amazingly light yet crispy batter, doing justice to the kitchen's Japanese training.

Escargot is not the most common of appetisers, and The Clan's herb crusted mushroom escargot was perhaps a little on the dry side.  

The kurobuta pork belly confit with pork cracker and passionfruit sauce seemed a little haphazrdly put together, and I was expecting the rind to have been roasted to crackling instead of being a soft, slightly disembodied piece meat. I suppose, however, that that was what the pork cracker was there to make up for, and at all events the sweet and tangy passionfruit sauce stood in for a more traditional applesauce.

The soup course was up next, and mushroom soups often tend to be a little bit underwhelming. The Clan's offering of ceps mushroom soup with truffle paste, however, was simply bursting with flavour. Thick, luscious, heady and intense, this was one of the tastiest mushroom soups I'd had in some time.

The double-boiled beef consomme, perhaps because of the addition of shallots/spring onions, had a slightly Oriental perspective, entirely in keeping with The Clan's Asian roots.

What is particularly intriguing about The Clan's approach towards its cuisine, however, is its willingness to take risks. The crab bisque cappucino, for instance, was pumped out of a siphon in order to create a superb, foamy head floating atop the bisque (and, perhaps, to justify not having to serve a large portion), but as a result the soup had to be served at room temperature rather than piping hot. That I think weakened the dish, notwithstanding that the flavours imbued in the bisque were spot on.

I remember when the restaurant industry was caught up in the craze that was "fusion cuisine", and I remember disliking the pretentiousness of it in the hands of chefs who were recklessly throwing ingredients on a plate. Happily, The Clan uses Eastern and Western ingredients with equal facility, and thought clearly goes into what goes into each dish. The crispy barramundi with herb salsa, squid ink garlic salsa and crustacean oil pasta was a great combination of fresh barramundi, toothsome shrimp pasta and briny squid ink sauce.

The Clan's signature main course probably has to be its 48 hour short ribs with madeira sauce, an elaborate dish of slow-cooked beef and Japanese mushrooms atop a superheated stone, with only a hoba (Japanese magnolia) leaf for insulation. That allows the diner to cook the beef to his or her preferred doneness, although there is a slight problem in the execution of this idea: the meat is actually quite tepid when first placed on the hot stone, with the result that, if you prefer your beef pink it will be slightly cold, whereas if you want your beef warm it will be somewhat overcooked. Drizzled over with madeira sauce, and infused with the smokiness of the hoba leaf, the beef was succulent and very tasty.

An enormous spiced braised lamb shank with potato panko and extra virgin olive powder will ensure that, if you weren't already feeling full by this course, you'll be absolutely stuffed by the time you're through with it. 

I believe my sister was not that enamoured of the green tea tiramisu, which is in any case a dessert I am always slightly suspicious of.

I am clearly out of practice, because I forgot to take a photo of my signature chocolate fudge, which was excellent. Less like a fudge and more like a dense mousse, it was sinfully rich and will definitely be a treat for all chocolate lovers.

As a result, the chocolate lava cake probably paled slightly in comparison, but nonetheless, The Clan's version of this stalwart is a credible one.

Clearly pandering to local tastes, however, are the profiteroles, as the choux pastry buns are filled not with chantilly, but with durian cream. Unsurprisingly, this is apparently a real crowd favourite.

With lots of new restaurants opening this year (I have Pollen in my sights), I was really pleasantly surprised by The Clan. Lovely food and exceptional service at unbeatable prices in a restaurant that is open for lunch and dinner every day is a truly winning combination. 

The Clan

18/20 Bukit Pasoh Road

Singapore 089832

Tel: +65 6222 2084

Website

Review: Club Street Social

Before we start, let me preface this review by saying that the owner-operator Min Chan is a friend and lovely girl. I don't think that makes me biased about the food or the establishment but it's also her birthday today so wouldn't it be great to send some culinary love her way?

Min used to work with Aun Koh, aka Chubby Hubby, and the eye for detail and knack for good food is apparent at Club Stret Social. The way the small space has been outfitted is just gorgeously evocative, the floor is tiled mosiac, the bar counter heavy volakas marble, the fair-faced brick wall gives way to cafe tables and chairs shrouded in the shadows of French iron wrought lamps. Tucked away on the quieter Gemmill Lane, it is the cooler, shadier cousin to the expat-heavy and mass-franchise driven Club Street. The quiet is reminiscent of the speakeasies of East Village or Chelsea.


Min says Club Street Social’s design is an amalgamation of design features from her favorite restaurants and the cocktails are inspired by legendary bars. The restaurant is just a stone's throw away, across the street from the upscale chowderhouse Luke's, but seems born of the same hip, city genre. When we arrived for dinner, I was a bit sceptical, Club Street Social has the same quaintness as King Street Cafe in Perth at night, and is the size of the bar area at L'Artusi in the West Village- I could imagine it packed to the brim, three-deep with a Saturday night drinking, pre-Filter crowd but what would the food be like?

As it turns out, the food is well-made with incredibly fresh ingredients and as trendy as the beautiful people slouched over the cafe counters. The menu specializes in sandwiches, crispy crostini, tramezzini and hot, toasted panini. We tried the salads ($15), grilled rib eye panini ($28), the proscuitto panini (S$16) and the lobster panini with yuzu mayo($28); they were amazing. Crispy, tasty bread, laced with huge chunks of ingredients and moist, juicy fillings. The premium paninis are particularly out-of-this-world, if I close my eyes, I can still imagine the burst of savoury flavour from the caramelized garlic and the smooth richness of the fontina on the tender ribeye, it was a lovely taste experience. The paninis are also a much better deal than the goat's cheese crostini, which is excellent but a tad pricey at $10 for 3 small slices.


You can also get the sinful bacon, egg and maple butter panini (S$14) and ciabatta toast with mascarpone cream (S$9) as an all-day breakfast item, which I would definitely come back for. The other stars are the cocktails, they are just labelled No. 1, Two, 3rd and so on but you can also get the bar staff to concoct a special for you. I thought at first glance that the bartenders were from Klee but was doubly impressed when Min told us that she trained all of them from scratch; none of them had ever worked in a bar before. The drinks are formulated to introduce some new tastes and sexy alcohols, #4 for example, is rye italian vermouth and vegemite, the #7 is a cognac, with bacon, date and walnut. The spiked pitchers are mixed with gin, lemongrass, galagal and pineapple, or cognac with red wine, nutmeg and ginger ale, like a festive wintry sangria.

Drinks are $16 for a cocktail and $49 for a spiked pitcher. The prices are a little steep if you're looking for a full dinner meal but not generally out of place for the area. Min has other partners but from what I can see, is extremely hands-on in the design, service and administration of the bar and food. Bring your most deserving friends and make her day by paying her a visit!

Club Street Social
5 Gemmill Lane
069261 Singapore
www.clubstreetsocial.com

* Pictures from TimeOut Singapore via Maameemoomoo.com

Review: Crust Pizza

One thing about the new, varied demographics of Singapore- there are a lot of small food businesses. For example, just near my neighbourhood, I can buy morello cherry and pecan pies from a home vendor, Australian meat pies from a Gourmet savoury pie company, Peranakan favourites from elderly home cook and now, gourmet pizza from Crust Pizza.

Crust in Singapore is part of a franchise that started as a single store in Annandale, Sydney. They have 62 stores in Australia- despite being there twice a year, I never knew! (But then, as with many things transported, maybe in Australia, they don't consider this the best of the best). The franchise is already renowned across Australia for serving high quality, healthier pizzas made to order with the freshest ingredients. It was the first pizza franchise to offer gluten free bases and independently tested nutritional details on its top selling pizzas to customers both online and in store.


Forget about the more tame flavours, they are well-known for their Morroccan Lamb, which I didn't try on this occasion (but was ordered by my friend), their Paella and their White Prosciutto. The owner also talked about flavours developed for the Asian palate, which I assume is their Roast Duck. I'm not big on pizzas with Asian toppings but with 26 varieties, there's definitely something for all. I was impressed with their Magharita, the Wild Mushroom and the Salami pizzas.

Fortunately for me, we are in their delivery area but their radius is not very wide as they are concerned about delivered quality. They must be doing well, as within this small radius, the delivery took about 40 minutes (at peak dinner time, on a weekend) and the pizza was decently warm when it got to us.


I really liked that it tasted somewhat home-made, with a airy crust and good toppings of cheese pieces and vegetables. It was tasty but not overly oily, in particular, the oil didn't taste commercial, as it sometimes can with Pizza Hut, for example. The only drawback was that the prices are on the high side, averaging $24 a pie with a $3 delivery fee, for a 13 inch x 9 inch rectangular pizza (that's a long ruler by a short ruler) and the pizzas seemed like something you could make yourself, with a little elbow grease and a good bread recipe. Still, if I was a busy mother or had some friends for a casual lunch, this is definitely a service I would use from time to time.


Crust Gourmet Pizza Bar

Holland Village
34B Lorong Mambong
Holland Village
Singapore 277691
Nearest Parking: Lorong Liput, HDB Carpark
Telephone: +65 6467-2224

Monday to Thursday: 5.00pm to 10:30pm
Friday: 4.00pm to 1.00am
Saturday: 5.00pm to 1.00am
Sunday: 5.00pm to 11.00pm
Delivering: 7 days a week, 5 pm to 11pm

Upper Thomson
215R Upper Thomson Road
Singapore 574349
Parking on StreetTelephone: +6456-1555

Tuesday to Thursday: 5pm to10:30pm
Friday to Saturday: 11am to Midnight
Sunday: 11am to 11pm
Monday: Closed

* Pictures provided by Crust Pizza

Review: Standing Sushi Bar

One of the great things about my present office, and something that I will definitely miss when I leave in a few weeks' time, is the fact that it has its own gym, which I tried to frequent at least twice a week. I like to leave the television on while using the gym, and during one of my last visits,  Channel News Asia was screening a documentary on how small business can use social media to their advantage. One of those small businesses that was featured was a restaurant called "Standing Sushi Bar", owned by one  Howard Lo, who some may better remember as one of the finalists in a "reality" show also starring Denise Keller.

Standing Sushi Bar has two locations, with one establishment at the Singapore Art Museum in Queen Street (the other is at Marina Bay Link Mall), a great lunch location that draws office-workers, Singapore Management University students and probably not a few guests from nearby Carlton Hotel.

I was a little surprised to find that, contrary to what I had expected from its name, no one was standing. Presumably the name stems from an earlier point in the restaurant's history, but they couldn't afford to give up the goodwill when they expanded.

Our host had organised a set lunch for us which began with a light salad that was delightfully fresh: the cucumber slices were firm to the bite, the lettuce leaves were pleasantly crunchy, the cherry tomatoes were juicy and sweet, and the sesame seed dressing brought everything together in an understated liaison.

Chicken, mostly deboned or butterflied, and enoki mushrooms wrapped with meat, both cooked yakitori or kushiyaki, infused with grilled smokiness and drizzled with lemon juice, were a both excellent, and proved that Standing Sushi Bar had more to offer than just sushi.

That was not to say, of course, that the sushi wasn't good; far from it. An assortment of sushi, featuring such stalwarts as salmon, tuna, mackerel, yellowtail and tamago, was beautifully prepared, with a topping that, if not generous, was at least decent, with just enough wasabi to keep things interesting, but not enough to steal the show.

A light serving of udon to wash down the sushi. When I was a child, I had a particularly disagreeable bowl of udon while at Haneda Airport, and that memory has haunted me ever since, which is why I generally do not order udon voluntarily. I am happy to report, however, that this bowl of noodles was entirely enjoyable.

Dessert took the form of macha ice cream with azuki bean paste. I am not particularly fond of Japanese desserts, but then I generally find that nothing really goes wrong with green tea ice cream.

Standing Sushi Bar, from what I can see, is not, and does not aim to be, a cutting-edge restaurant determined to push boundaries and challenge assumptions. Instead, it is a relatively compact, introspective restaurant that's aiming to grow its business - which is basically doing familiar foods very well - not unlike the early days of the Akashi. Set menus (set menus are offered for lunch and dinner at the Marina Bay Link Mall branch) and promotions (see the website) form part of that strategy, which seems to have been successful so far.

Standing Sushi Bar

8 Queen Street

#01-03 8QSAM

Tel: +65 6333 1335

Website