Located in the heart of the CBD, Kinki Restaurant & Bar is an urban Japanese concept with an underground vibe that offers one of the best views of the waterfront and skyline of Marina Bay. It is a great place to hang out with your friends and unwind with Asian-inspired cocktails and bar bites at the rooftop bar, before heading down to the restaurant for a scrumptious dinner.

Kinki Restaurant & Bar is quite unlike the typical Japanese restaurants. Other than its graffiti-filled walls and murals which add on to the enigmatic charm of the place, Kinki Restaurant & Bar offers bold and cheeky modern Japanese cuisine. Think Japanese classics with a twist; expect the unexpected when you are dining here.

Kinki Restaurant & Bar has recently introduced new dishes to the menu and the highlights include Spicy Buffalo Katsu, Unagi Claypot, Buta Kakuni Claypot & Crusty Lamb Rack.

Enjoy 15% off a la carte items when you pay with your Mastercard® at Kinki Restaurant & Bar.

SPICY BUFFALO KATSU

The classic tonkatsu is given a Kinki twist in the form of a spicy Buffalo wings-inspired marinade.

Famed for its superior marbling, Nagano pork complements the Buffalo wings-inspired
marinade of Worcestershire sauce, la-yu (Japanese chilli oil) and shichimi togarashi (a classic Japanese seven-spice mix) perfectly. The cutlet is then coated in panko and fried before it’s topped with nori and shredded chilli.

The Spicy Buffalo Katsu (S$28++) is available for lunch and dinner. The set lunch (S$28++) comes with garden salad, miso soup and mochi dessert.

UNAGI CLAYPOT

Previously a chef’s special only served on occasion for regulars in the know, the Unagi Claypot has been upgraded to a permanent spot from its cameo role, and deservedly so.

Rice is fried with chopped unagi before it is finished in the claypot, topped with more unagi slathered with an addictive house-made unagi sauce.

The Unagi Claypot (S$32++) is available for lunch and dinner. The set lunch (S$32++) comes with garden salad, miso soup and mochi dessert.

BUTA KAKUNI CLAYPOT

Another claypot dish that you should try is the Buta Kakuni Claypot which is inspired by the signature Okinawan braised pork belly dish. Similar to the Chinese-style stewed pork belly, or what we know as ‘dong po rou’, the Okinawan rendition is a flavourful dish of pork belly.

Here, Hokkaido kurobuta pork belly is braised for 12 hours so that the fat renders as the pork simmers, resulting in a melt-in-your-mouth texture and deep flavour. Garnished with briny umami shio kombu, the Buta Kakuni comes with Japanese rice and an onsen egg.

The Buta Kakuni Claypot (S$32++) is available for lunch and dinner. The set lunch (S$32++) comes with garden salad, miso soup and mochi dessert.

CRUSTY LAMB RACK

Fans of lamb will be delighted to know that Kinki Restaurant & Bar has finally introduced a lamb dish on the menu.

Australian lamb chops are first wet-aged in a koji yeast brine for a day. The lamb is first seared to render the excess fat off before it is coated with panko and mentaiko. The chops are baked, retaining tender meat on the inside.

Surely something to look forward to the next time you dine at Kinki Restaurant & Bar.

The Crusty Lamb Rack (S$45++) is available only for dinner.

As mentioned earlier, don’t forget to pay with your Mastercard® to enjoy 15% off a la carte items at Kinki Restaurant & Bar.

Kinki Restaurant & Bar
70, #02-02 Collyer Quay, Customs House, 049323
Tel: +65 6533 3471
Website: www.kinki.com.sg
Reservations: www.kinki.com.sg/Reservations
Deliveries: delivery.kinki.com.sg
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kinkibar
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kinkibar

This post was brought to you by Kinki Restaurant & Bar.

Few things in life are as mind-blowing as Wagyu beef. Better yet, thick juicy slices of perfectly seared, smoky and tender Wagyu on a bed of sauced up Japanese rice, a healthy amount of pickles and an onsen egg for good measure—yes, we’re talking about Wagyu donburi.

Beef bowls are a mainstay at many Japanese restaurants, but what goes into a bowl and how every component is treated varies across the board. We particularly enjoyed the version at Waa Cow! due to its simplicity and its emphasis on flame-torching their Wagyu prior to plating.

If you’re ever planning on indulging on something as rich and luxurious as a Wagyu bowl, we urge you not to waste your calories (and money), head on down to Waa Cow! for one heck of a memorable meal.

You can’t go wrong with their Mentaiko Wagyu Beef Bowl (S$21.90) that comprises a bed of Akitakomachi rice that is topped with 24-hour sous vide Wagyu beef smeared with creamy mentaiko and a tender onsen egg.

Every component was spot on from the beef right down to the pickles served at the side. To say the least, this was easily one of the best beef bowls we’ve ever had.

At its price, the Yuzu Foie Gras Wagyu Beef Bowl (S$25.90) is a far better bargain than many that we have tried before that either cost more than double the price or just tasted underwhelming overall.

Comfortably nestled atop a bowl of fluffy Japanese rice sits a generous layer of charred, smoky slices of succulent beef, a sizeable portion of foie gras and of course, the obligatory runny onsen egg to bind it all together and to give it an additional layer of richness. The light sprinkling of yuzu peel over the foie gras does well to provide a citrusy appeal and nicely cuts through the intense fattiness.

Seafood lovers are sure to enjoy the Mentaiko Salmon Don (S$18.90), a delicious plate made with sashimi-grade salmon that is cooked medium-rare and topped with mentaiko, shoyu and a heaping mound of tobiko (flying fish roe).

Waa Cow!
5 Straits View, #01-09 Marina One
The Heart West Tower,
Singapore 018935
Tel: +65 9851 1552
(Closed on Saturdays & Sundays)
Mon to Fri: 11.30am – 2.30pm, 5.30pm – 9.30pm
Nearest Station: Downtown

Helmed by Chef Teppei Yamashita, the mastermind behind the renowned Teppei brand, Fu-Men Japanese Udon & Donburi is a relatively new halal-certified Japanese restaurant nestled in the basement of Hong Leong Building.

He has been constantly expanding his empire of Japanese restaurants be it in Singapore or overseas and this time, his venture aims to cater to those working in the CBD looking for affordable halal food.

Specialising in authentic Hakata-style udon and donburi bowls—the first of its kind in Singapore, guests can expect Fu-Men Japanese Udon & Donburi Restaurant to deliver in terms of quality and authenticity.

Possibly the most popular item on the menu, their Gobo Udon (S$12+) is a rather unique item you’d rarely find in typical Japanese restaurants and eateries. For the uninitiated, gobo is essentially the root of a burdock plant that has a crunchy texture and natural sweetness.

Topped with a generous helping of Japanese burdock tempura, the Gobo Udon is one that is set to impress. Deep-fried in a light and thin tempura batter, we appreciate how the gobo provides an extra crunchy texture to the dish despite being soaked in the broth.

While the tempura was impressive on its own, what truly sealed the deal for us was the thinner-than-usual, silky smooth udon that is satisfyingly chewy, giving a pleasant bite.

Besides udon, Fu-Men also serves a variety of donburi bowls. We opted for the Ebi Ten Don (S$17+) which sees two pieces of huge prawn tempura nestled on a bed of egg and Japanese rice.

Aptly crisp, the tempura batter that coats the prawn beneath is light and remains crispy even after having been left out for a while. Biting in, you’d find huge prawns that are plump and fresh.

While there really isn’t much to nitpick about this dish, we thought that it was quite pricey considering its portion. Other donburi items on the menu include Oyako (S$13+) and Beef Egg (S$15+).

Fu-Men Japanese Udon & Donburi Restaurant
16 Raffles Quay
Hong Leong Building #B1-17/18
Singapore 048581
Tel: +65 6224 1134
Mon to Fri: 10am – 8pm
Sat: 10am – 2.30pm
(Closed on Sundays and Public Holidays)
Nearest Station: Raffles Place