Delightful surprises at Hanayoshi

Green Tea Gelato Hanayoshi japanese cuisine restaurant singapore dining place to eat where recommendation Tofu Salad Wagyu Foie Gras Nigiri — Wagyu Foie Gras Nigiri

If you would like some spontaneity, or can’t decide what to order, leave it in the hands of the chef with Hanayoshi’s omakase menu

By Chia Hui Jun

Hanayoshi is tucked away at Duxton Road. It is a warm, homely and quiet Japanese restaurant, with simple wooden furniture and yellow lights.

Green Tea Gelato Hanayoshi japanese cuisine restaurant singapore dining place to eat where recommendation Tofu Salad — Tofu Salad

Omakase Menu

Their lunch set menus are pretty affordable, from $28++, and if you can’t decide on what to order, opt for the omakase set menus ($150++ and $180++), which leaves the choice of dishes up to the chef.

You may be pleasantly surprised by Chef Mitsuo Ishii and the executive chef’s creative, tasty creations. After all, Chef Ishii has served dignitaries and was previously the personal chef of two Japanese ambassadors to Singapore.

We were served nine dishes for this omakase menu, which came in pretty presentations and were delectable treats. The appetiser was Nigauri Tosani, or bitter gourd with bonito flakes, followed by Tofu Salad, Sashimi, and Steamed Red Snapper.

Jelly Umeshu

One of their interesting and noteworthy dishes was their unique concoction of Ikegame Shuzo Jelly Umeshu, which is made up of 90 per cent jelly, instead of plum. We liked that it was cool and refreshing – great for the sweltering weather. The jelly added texture and was chewy.

There are three types of agemono, which means deep-fried dishes – Suage (where food is fried without a batter coating), Karaage (where marinated chicken is lightly covered with starch and deep fried) and Tempura.

Green Tea Gelato Hanayoshi japanese cuisine restaurant singapore dining place to eat where recommendation — Green Tea Gelato

Unusual Dishes

We had Tempura Moriwase, where prawns are dipped in yuzu tempura batter, and served with three-flavoured salt. This ingenious culinary idea allows for three different tastes for the same dish. It went quite well with green tea salt, followed by the aromatic curry salt, then the sakura salt.

However, our favourite dish had to be the Mango Dengaku, or grilled mango with miso. It was warm, sweet, sour and savoury at the same time, and would make a good dessert. We were served Sushi and Somen (a type of noodles) after that, and ended the meal with gelato.

Hanayoshi, 21 Duxton Road, Singapore 089487, Tel: 6225 5567