Shin Terroir

Thrill of the grill

Magic happens when meat meets heat. In the hands of a grill master, skin crisps up, juices stay in. An appetising smokiness infuses the meat. That sort of magic can be had at Shin Terroir, a new restaurant in Tras Street with just 10 counter seats and a private room for six.

It serves a 15-course omakase menu for $198++ and diners can pair it with wines from the restaurant’s list of more than 150 labels from Burgundy and Champagne.

Behind the smokeless binchotan grill are Japanese chef Takeshi Nakayama, 45, who ran a yakitori restaurant for 20 years before relocating to Singapore; and Singaporean chef Nicholas Lee, 34, who used to work at Lime House and The Public Izakaya, among other places.

Instead of serving an all-chicken menu, the meals include seafood and beef. However, chicken, in this case French poulet from Toh Thye San Farm, features prominently, and these dishes are among the best parts of the meal.

Take, for example, the signature Mille Feuille, chicken gizzard and chives on a strip of expertly grilled chicken skin. It crackles when you bite into it and the gizzard provides no resistance. I could have multiple sticks of it. The Tsukune, made with ground chicken and pork with Japanese sticky yam, is served with shoyu-cured egg yolk, taking it to umami overload. Reba, chunks of chicken liver, are dusted with speculoos cookie crumbs, an unexpected and delightful touch.

Diners start with chawanmushi made with Japanese eggs, and at my meal, the custard is topped with abalone and snow crab. One innovative bite is Negitoro Yakinigiri, grilled rice topped with chopped fatty tuna and caviar. Sweet Japanese vegetables feature in a salad and at my meal, there is also grilled turnip served with togarashi butter.

The main course is Miyazaki A4 wagyu, smoky from the grill. It is a substantial meal but I make room for ramen in a rich chicken broth and a tiny quail egg ajitama.

Dessert by Aleka Yaw, 26, former head pastry chef of Siri House, is a bouncy kaya mochi, the filling sweetened with Japanese kokutou, and a hojicha custard.

Where: 80 Tras Street
MRT: Telok Ayer
Tel: 9656-0654
Open: 6 to 10pm (Mondays to Saturdays), closed on Sundays
Info: www.shinterroir.com

Gyutan-Tan

Tea for two

A Japanese restaurant specialising in beef tongue might not be an obvious choice at tea time, but Gyutan-Tan might just be the spot to head to when you need a break from shopping. The original restaurant in Tras Street, which opened in November 2022, has sprouted a 64-seat offshoot in Takashimaya Shopping Centre.

This new restaurant serves tea from 3 to 5.30pm daily and the $42++ set is good for two. The selection will change with the seasons, but I hope the slider is always on the menu. It is stuffed with a patty made with ground beef, beef tongue and pork, and the binchotan – that accounts for the second “tan” in the restaurant’s name – makes it smoky. The other savoury offering is a ham and potato salad sandwich, so very Japanese.

Among the sweets, the housemade tiramisu is delicious. It has kick from rum, masala wine and white wine, and is topped with a stick of mini dango.

But what I love most is the housemade pudding, eggy rather than creamy, the way I like it. Better yet, the caramel is deep, dark and smoky.

Since Shine muscat grapes are in season, they also feature in the tea set, together with mini Japanese raindrop jellies. Warabi mochi coated with kinako or soya bean powder, and drizzled with black sugar syrup, is also worth eating.

Other teatime treats include Matcha Fondue ($20++), melted white chocolate with powdered green tea. It comes with mochi balls, fruit, cake and marshmallows for dipping. I expect it to be deathly sweet but it is not.

For something savoury, get the Teriyaki Chicken Sando ($10++), a substantial sandwich with juicy grilled chicken thigh served with potato wedges.

Where: B2-32 Takashimaya Shopping Centre, 391 Orchard Road
MRT: Orchard
Tel: 8321-3359
Open: Lunch, 11am to 3pm; teatime, 3 to 5.30pm; dinner, 5.30 to 10pm daily
Info: gyutantan.com

Onne

Ordering a matcha or hojicha latte can sometimes be dicey. Often the drinks are way too sweet for me. But I love them, especially when I have had too much coffee but still need something warm to drink.

I am happy to report that the Houjicha Latte ($6.50) at Onne, a newish cafe in Kampong Bahru Road, is not sweet at all. Instead, it is punchy and a little smoky from the roasted green tea leaves. I could down multiple cups.

Now the food and drink offerings at this cafe have a strong Japanese accent and Warabi Mochi ($8) is not something you often find here. Especially when it is served in a big blob on a plate and coated every which way with kinako, or roasted soya bean powder. The sugar syrup that accompanies it is a bit thin, but trying to eat Jabba The Hutt with chopsticks is fun.

Alas, the same cannot be said of the Carbonara Miso ($21). The pasta comes swimming in what appears to be a creamy soup. If there is miso in it, I cannot tell. Still, I give it three forkfuls just to be sure, and stop. I’ll just have another Houjicha Latte please.

Where: 5 Kampong Bahru Road
MRT: Outram
Open: 9am to 9pm (Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays), 11am to 11pm (Saturdays and Sundays), closed on Wednesdays
Info: @onnecafe.sg on Instagram