Posts Tagged ‘Telok Ayer’

Botan Japanese Restaurant – Good quality affordable Japanese food near Raffles Place

March 4th, 2020 365days2play
I had not heard of Botan Japanese Restaurant so I was pleasantly surprised to find out that my dining companion had not only heard of it, but had actually dined at Botan several times over the last few years. Botan Japanese Restaurant is the type of understated Japanese restaurant that those in the know would have heard about.

It’s homely decor may not attract eyeballs immediately. It seems to be hidden in plain view because despite its central location within Far East Square, I’d actually walked past it without realising, probably distracted by all the banker types sitting al-fresco nearby and chugging down bottles during lunch time. But, they boast a loyal following because of their quality ingredients flown in from Japan, as well as their value-for-money pricing.

Botan Japanese Restaurant Compilation

Executive Chef, Thomas Kok, a pioneer of the Japanese culinary scene in Singapore with over four decades of experience has taken over the helm of the restaurant. He was already working at Japanese restaurants back in the day where Singaporeans were more accustomed to cooked, hot food rather than foreign things like raw fish. Apparently, many dishes now easily found in Singapore were creations of or championed by Chef Thomas and his team decades ago. Take for example the Pitan Tofu, a proud creation of Chef Thomas, now easily available in many Japanese Restaurants in Singapore.

The price-range at Botan is quite varied. Depending on your budget, you can have a perfectly satisfying meal for under $20, or you can splurge on some of the more luxurious dishes. Here are some of my recommendations.

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The Disgruntled Brasserie

April 7th, 2017 365days2play

The Disgruntled Chef has always had a soft spot in my heart not just because of the wonderful meal I had there many years back, but also because it was one of the first few restaurants I blogged about when I first started this website. It was also around the time when I started to pay more attention to where I dined, and food quality. When I look back at the photographs, they look hideous! I hope to think that I’ve improved since then.

Even though I haven’t managed to revisit The Disgruntled Chef, I’ve always kept it under my radar. So it was exciting to know that they have just opened a younger sibling called The Disgruntled Brasserie, situated at The Club Hotel on Ann Siang Road on Oct 16. Since February 2017, they have been offering a revamped menu created by newly appointed Chef de Cuisine Desmond Goh. And for fans of communal dining, you’ll be happy to know that the concept of small and large sharing plates is still going strong.

The Disgruntled Brasserie (3)

The Disgruntled Brasserie is supposed to be a more informal and cheaper version of The Disgruntled Chef. The food is definitely more casual, but I’m not too sure about the decor. The Venetian leather banquette and booth seats, the muted greys and mirrors make the restaurant look posher and seem more expensive than it intends to be. Btw those mirrors are no ordinary mirrors but vintage-inspired and individually tarnished and illustrated by UK artist Ruth Parker.

The Disgruntled Brasserie - Home Cured Salmon (Horseradish buttermilk, pickled cucumber, marinated avocadoes) $16

Home Cured Salmon (Horseradish buttermilk, pickled cucumber, marinated avocadoes) $16++

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Le Binchotan : Bincho-tan smoked food, even desserts!

October 23rd, 2016 365days2play

After reading good reviews about Le Binchotan, I was excited to be able to get the opportunity to check out Le Binchotan a couple of weeks back. Le Binchotan is a French-Japanese tapas bar and restaurant, helmed by Chef Atsuhiko Hagiwara from Ginza Tokyo restaurant en.terrible, together with Singapore Head Chef Jeremmy Chiam. At first glance, the dishes appear to be predominantly French/Western, but you soon realise where the Japanese bit is : Japanese ingredients like uni, daikon and miso being infused into the dishes.

Le Binchotan (2)

The selling point about Le Binchotan is that their meats and seafood are smoked over bincho-tan (aka white charcoal made from oak). Done well, this imparts to the food a nice smoky flavour, elevating the food to a different dimension. Bincho-tan is the preferred choice of Japanese chefs as the charcoal burns at a lower temperature for a longer period of time compared to ordinary charcoal.  I read that some people find the smoky flavour at Le Binchotan to be on the heavy side, however I on the other hand thought it was hardly noticeable. What impressed me though were the innovative dishes, surprising us with ingredient parings that you don’t normally see together, or presenting the ingredients in a new way.

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