Syun

Was looking for early dinner at Sentosa over the weekend and decided on Syun, a contemporary Japanese restaurant helmed by celebrity chef Hal Yamashita. With 9 restaurants in Japan, this is his first overseas foray which opened last December. As he hails from Kobe, the menu here is rooted in Kobe cuisine using premium ingredients freshly imported from the likes of Awaji Island and the Tanba area in Japan. According to Resorts World™ Sentosa's website, Syun will renew our perception of Japanese cuisine with its nouvelle interpretation of Japanese fine dining. Located along Festive Walk, it is a participant of RWS invites that gives up to 50% rebate for two diners. Not outright discount but better than nothing, I guess. There are two entrances, one of which allows customers to walk on stone tiles amidst pebbles and climb two steps up to a raised wooden platform with a wooden table and four wooden stools (saw an out-of-place Dyson bladeless fan too).

Nabehide

The rainy weather of late had my dining companions and me craving for steaming hotpot. Our choice was buffet at Nabehide – Japanese Hotpot Dining where every two diners received a complimentary portion of Premium Japanese Wagyu. Made a reservation and visited the restaurant, located on the 2nd floor of the black and white building next to Anchorpoint and opposite IKEA Alexandra, for dinner on a weekday. No different from Gyu-Kaku with a branch downstairs and Ito-Kacho at Mandarin Gallery, charcoal was used. This evenly heated up and maintained temperature of the soup, which we chose konbu dashi as it was the only soup base that could be ordered without additional cost. Raw ingredients included chicken, thinly-sliced beef and pork, assorted vegetables such as dang-o, shiitake and enoki mushrooms. There were also cooked food like ebi fry and gyoza as well as homemade dipping sauce of Goma and Ponzu. While the food did not disappoint, it was not worth the price.

You may also be interested in Shabu Sai at Causeway Point, Changi City Point and Orchard Central.

Update: The restaurant has closed.

Shabu Sai

The 2nd branch of Shabu Sai is located on the 8th floor of Orchard Central with Kiseki Japanese Buffet Restaurant, Ootoya Japanese Restaurant and Nolboo Hangari Galbi. Visited on a weekday for dinner and upon reaching the authentic Japanese restaurant that serves all-you-can-eat shabu-shabu (derived from the sound produced when ingredients are swirled in the hotpot) and sukiyaki buffet, I realised there were a 70 and 90 minutes time limit imposed for lunch and dinner respectively. Upon choosing two from six kinds of soup bases and deciding whether to top up for free flow of drinks and soft serve ice-cream, customers pay at the counter by the entrance before being brought to their tables with a kettle of water on each. So if the soups got too salty as the meal progressed, they could be diluted. And we did that a couple of times though the table beside us, on the contrary, requested for refills of soups. I like that the place is clean, spacious and simply furnished with lots of wood.

The Mushroom Pot

As it was pouring outside Orchard Point, I decided to seek refuge in The Mushroom Pot. This is not a vegetarian place serving only mushrooms, but a hotpot restaurant which uses wild mushrooms broth. Other than steamboat buffet, there are also individual set meals during lunch and I ordered the Pork Paper Pot Set. It came with a bowl of rice, a side of green salad and fresh fruit – a slice of sweet and juicy watermelon. The friendly staff helped me mix a dipping sauce of chilli and fried garlic slices, sesame oil and seeds topped with coriander leaves (I am not sure what else she added). Loved the aroma of sesame seeds and coriander but found the taste of sesame oil overwhelming. Lean and tender meat was well-balanced with the beancurd, leafy greens such as tang-o as well as different types of mushrooms including enoki and shiitake. Soup was a tad bland initially but became better as the ingredients were cooked in it and I finished every drop. 

Update: It has moved to Indoor Stadium.

New Kid on the Block – MK Restaurants

Even though Singapore is hot and humid all year round, the people here love gathering with family and friends around a hotpot where ingredients are boiled in broth. While this can be easily prepared at home, it did not stop many restaurants from joining the steamy (pun intended) scene. Other than Cantonese herbal and tongue-numbing Sichuan ma la steamboat, there are also Japanese shabu shabu or sukiyaki and Korean ginseng or kimchi hotpot. Local versions include bak kut teh and laksa among other soup bases offered at Jumbo Group's Jpot. The latter is also available at Laksania, which recently opened its 4th branch at Jem. And now there is Thai-style steamboat with the opening of MK Restaurants at B3 of 313@somerset where Cold Storage used to be. It opened in 2003 at Parkway Parade and Singapore Post Centre with a local franchisee that, according to a spokesman from the popular Thai steamboat chain, eventually had to "shift its focus back to its core business".