Dolce Tokyo

After dinner, my dining companions and I were looking for another place to chill out when we chanced upon Dolce Tokyo. Opened by Ministry of Food, the Japanese-Italian café can be found on the 3rd floor of Bugis Junction and 313@Somerset. It was the latter that we visited, and ordered two desserts for sharing. Chocolate Brownie Grande, served in a stone bowl that reminded me of Korean bibimbap, had a scoop of smooth gelato on top of sweet and dense (but not overly so) brownie with caramelised banana cut lengthwise and sweet sliced strawberries as well as gyuuhi and marshmallows lightly-toasted so it had a nice charred aroma and melted in the mouth. We chose black sesame over vanilla, chocolate and the default-if-you-forgot-to-choose matcha for our gelato. Could not fault Abekawa Macha Zen – Hokkaido red bean paste with Japanese rice dumpling topped with Hokkaido green tea gelato and toasted mochi. Oh, and there are savoury items on the menu too.

Platyptus Kitchen

Was looking for dinner on a weekday at Raffles Place when I chanced upon Platypus Test Kitchen, tucked away in a corner on the second floor of Clifford Centre, but it was closed for the day. According to the website, Platypus is a Singapore based restaurant group with nine branches in Singapore including Platypus Gourmet2Go at Golden Shoe and Platyptus Lobster Shack at China Square. Having seen drooling pictures and rave reviews on its food, I decided to try Platyptus Kitchen at Bugis Junction on another day. Ordered The Traditional Lobster Roll where sweet and succulent butter-poached lobster meat, tossed in roasted garlic mayonnaise with chives and a sprinkle of sea salt, was stuffed into a perfectly grilled soft bun and served with sides. Could neither rave about the small mesclun salad in honey lemon vinaigrette nor fault the crispy French fries with a faint aroma and subtle taste of truffle. Other items on the menu include handmade pastas and gourmet risottos.

Itacho Sushi

I like Itacho Sushi for its quality and mostly well-executed sushi. Although a tad expensive, and almost always having to wait for seats (no different from Sushi Tei, another Japanese restaurant I frequent for its variety and consistent standard). We visited the one at B3 of Ion Orchard, located between Nara Thai Cuisine and Wrap & Roll, for dinner on a weekend. Other branches can be found at Bedok Mall, Bugis Junction, Changi Airport, JCube, Plaza Singapura and The Star Vista. My dining companion ordered the roasted duck breast sushi and pork sushi not commonly found elsewhere as well as prawn sushi and mango roll. Having tried the whole sea eel sushi before and not particularly impressed with it, I went for a seasonal fish sushi, the scallop with roasted duck breast sushi and a sashimi platter. Also shared sautéed scallops with mushrooms and strips of cabbage, capsicum and carrots in black pepper sauce on hotplate. None of these fresh and succulent dishes disappoint.