Seafood shines in new menu at Butcher’s Block

If you have always assumed that Butcher’s Block at the Raffles Hotel Singapore is a steakhouse, you are not alone. 

But while beef, lamb and pork are featured at the 44-seat restaurant, it is a lot more than just a place for red-meat lovers. 

Seafood shines in the new Imua tasting menu ($168++ for five-course lunch, $218++ for six-course dinner, add $118++ onwards for wine pairing), the best way to understand the restaurant’s Hawaii-born chef Jordan Keao’s zero-waste, nose-to-tail cooking philosophy. Imua means “moving forward with strength and spirit” in Hawaiian. 

The dinner menu starts with a trio of snacks, but it is the American chef’s signature smoked sashimi poke that takes me back to my holiday in Hawaii seven years ago. 

Seaweed foam, charcoal-infused puff rice and three types of seaweed – ogo, samphire and dulse – are reminiscent of the black sand beaches in Hilo, the home town of Keao, 37. 

The poke is made with hamachi and tuna, and dressed in housemade ponzu, Japanese sesame oil and inamona – a traditional Hawaiian condiment of roasted kukui nut (candlenut). 

My favourite dish is grilled Japanese mackerel on sushi rice, house-fermented Swiss chard achar and star fruit puree. It is served with a side of robust fish broth made from dried and smoked fish bones. 

While I have no complaints about the Wylarah Wagyu Australian striploin (the cut and type of beef changes depending on availability), it is the dry-aged duck dish that stood out for Keao’s clever use of the whole bird. 

It features the duck breast, dumpling made with minced duck and kaffir lime leaf, deep-fried duck tongue, and jus made from duck trimmings and bones and enriched with 1990 Madeira wine. 

Where: 02-02 Raffles Arcade, 328 North Bridge Road
MRT: City Hall
Open: Noon to 2.30pm (Thursdays and Fridays), 6 to 9.45pm (Wednesdays to Sundays), closed on Mondays and Tuesdays
Tel: 6412-1816
Info: www.butchersblock.com.sg

Winter menu at rebranded Nishikane by Nobuhiro Nishi

Kappo restaurant Nishikane, now under new management, has undergone a rebranding exercise and been renamed Nishikane by Nobuhiro Nishi.

It is the sister restaurant of Sake Labo, also in Stanley Street, which closed on Dec 9. Another Japanese-concept eatery is in the pipeline for 2024. 

While the name change may seem minor, it is a clear sign of Japanese chef Nishi, 39, being propelled to properly front the 3½-year-old restaurant.  

The sixth-generation chef carries on his family’s legacy of being in the restaurant business – since 1850 – but with a more fun and modern approach to the dining experience. 

Sit at the 14-seat counter for all the action of the buzzy open kitchen, where the chef and his team showcase the current winter menu ($180++ for lunch, $360++ for lunch and dinner). 

His menu changes every month to highlight micro-seasonal ingredients in the Japanese calendar. 

Female koubako snow crab, for example, is showcased in the appetiser platter, while zuwai kani (male snow crab) is featured in a luxurious handroll. 

His signature dishes include Iced Fukui soba served in a hand-carved block of ice, tender abalone in housemade awabi kimo (liver) sauce and charcoal-grilled buri (yellowtail) belly donabe with kou haku daikon (red and white radish) and Kyoto kujo negi (spring onion).

To finish, the dessert platter – adorned with cute Christmas decorations – offers an array of fruit, strawberry and anko (red bean paste) wrapped in thin and chewy mochi, deconstructed apple pie, Kahlua coffee pudding and sea salt milk ice cream in crispy monaka (thin wafer of glutinous rice). 

Where: 10 Stanley Street
MRT: Tanjong Pagar/Telok Ayer
Open: Noon to 2pm, 6 to 10.30pm, Mondays to Saturdays, closed on Sundays
Tel: 9179-4355
Info: www.hedonismhospitality.co/nishikane

Sunday Folks’ Christmas cake

’Tis the season for Christmas treats galore and one of the best I have tried is the Hazelnut Earl Grey Passionfruit cake ($108 for an 18cm cake, good for eight to 10 people or $12 a slice) from Sunday Folks. 

The dessert shop is known for its ice cream, waffles and cakes – and this new addition is another winner. 

Earl Grey can be an overpowering flavour, but here, it is well balanced with a creamy hazelnut mousse. 

A layer of zesty passionfruit gelee cuts through the richness of the cake and, before I know it, I’ve already inhaled a slice. 

The best part? The lovely crunchy texture from the cake’s hazelnut feuilletine base.

Where: Sunday Folks outlets at 01-52 Chip Bee Gardens, 44 Jalan Merah Saga; 04-11B Ion Orchard, 2 Orchard Turn
MRT: Holland Village/Orchard
When: Till Jan 31, Chip Bee Gardens – 2 to 10pm (weekdays), noon to 10pm (weekends); Ion Orchard – 10am to 10pm daily
Tel: 6479-9166 (Chip Bee Gardens), 8883-5658 (Ion Orchard)
Info: Order at sundayfolks.com