It’s always nice to randomly walk into a new restaurant, order without doing any prior research, and leave as a happy customer. And we did just that at Hinoki Japanese Restaurant at China Square Central.

After our meeting at Raffles Place, Velda, Beatrice and I were initially going for Ramen at Biefu restaurant, but in the end we decided to be adventurous and try out a new place. We walked around in the area, and chanced upon Hinoki Japanese Restaurant.

It is a small space with bar seats and tables, and we like that it is very cosy. The food at Honoki Restaurant is not cheap, but for the quality, it is worth the price.

It was a bad idea to let Velda do the ordering as being the glutton she is (who am I kidding, all three of us are gluttons), she ended up over-ordering.

We shared a Sushi Platter ($95) which was enough to serve a football team. Okay, I’m just exaggerating, but it was a lot of food, and not to mention that we also had a Salmon Sashimi, Chawanmushi, Mentaiko Udon, and some side dishes.

When we ordered Chawanmushi, the staff asked if we would like to try the “special” version. We went for it, and I’m sure you can see from the picture that it was quite spectacular.

While the sushi platter was impressive, the winner was the Mentaiko Udon. Drizzled with truffle oil, and topped with Mentaiko, the Udon was smooth and every bite was oh-so-good. Like what Velda said, everything tastes better when you add truffle oil. I am not a big fan of truffle oil (I think it’s over-hyped), but I have to agree that in this case, she was right. The truffle oil lifted the Mentaiko Udon and gave it a different dimension.

Overall, our meal at Hinoki Japanese Restaurant was good. We had fresh sushi and sashimi, and the nice chefs gave us sampling dishes which were not on the menu. (I half suspected it was because I was with two gorgeous ladies, but I’m not complaining since we had good food.)

It is a good place to bring your clients for a business luncheon if you are working in the area. At night, it is perfect as a place for a quiet dinner. If you don’t want to splurge, go for the bentos – they are slightly more affordable, prices range from $32 to $38.

Hinoki Japanese Restaurant
22 Cross Street
#01-50/53 China Square Central
South Bridge Court
Tel: +65 6536 7746
Mon to Sat: 12pm – 3pm, 6.30pm – 10.30pm
Nearest Station: Raffles Place