The best restaurants in Singapore with spring menus that boast the season's ingredients
Above The opening appetisers serve as an overture to spring (Photo: Hamamoto)
Having forged friendships with some of the best producers in Japan who now supply the restaurant, Hamamoto pledges to introduce every ingredient at their peak to diners, supplementing his seasonal cooking ethos.
This spring, appetisers serve as an overture to spring: fat hamaguri (hard clam) and fresh broad beans hide beneath the chilling embrace of hiyashi chawanmushi; delicate shirauo (ice fish) flirt with briny seaweed; and a sweet-savoury medley of braised baby octopus, sea bream roe and daikon. Expect hotaru-ika (firefly squid), tairagai (pen clam), and the showstopping kegani hairy crab from southern Hokkaido to follow.
For sweets, sink your teeth into sakura mochi paired with sakura ice cream, or a refreshing Miyazaki mango kakigori.
In case you missed it: Review: Spring at Hamamoto is a cerebral masterclass in haute Japanese cuisine Hamamoto
58 Tras Street, S(078997) Butcher's Block
Above Murray cod with a turmeric-accented mousseline (Photo: Butcher's Block)
A vivid tapestry of Hawaii in spring is chef de cuisine Jordan Keao's interpretation of the season's blooming transformations. Start with new snacks of grilled lacto-fermented asparagus rosti, and an abstract taramasalata, made from smoked ahi tuna collar pate, piped into a laksa leaf-scented soufflé pillow. Mains of flame kissed Murray cod steals the limelight when paired with a turmeric-accented mousseline made using the trimming and collar of the same fish. Charred kale and luxurious bottarga cream assist the finish over the decadence of Koshihikari rice risotto. Esora
Above Experience the best of sansai, highly-prized mountain vegetables of spring (Photo: Esora)
Now is the time for shun , that instance where ingredients have reached their full seasonal potential. At Esora, chef Takeshi Araki transforms spring's blessings into purifying creations. Sansai, or highly-prized mountain vegetables, present a compelling, complex bitterness on the palate; see them in dishes such as the kombu-cured, bincho-grilled Wagyu, which is accompanied by mountain asparagus and mountain garlic.
The Esora signature monaka is updated with a trio of Japanese citrus, featuring Dekopon and Hassaku oranges, and pink grapefruit. Expect sweet endings of sakura flower ice cream bejewelled with adzuki beans, deep-fried buckwheat, and a sakura leaf, followed by a delicate warabi mochi with Japanese black sugar syrup. Esora
15 Mohamed Sultan Road, S(238964) Ami Patisserie
Past the shoji paper screen panels, in the coveted nine-seater dining theatre, chef-owner Makoto Arami switches his Chef's Table Discovery Experience into spring mode. Expect the same care and precision towards European-inspired pastry creations crafted with seasonal Japanese ingredients over six intricate courses.
The sweet and savoury ballad will include Hokkaido crab tartlet flavoured with hotate kombujime , fromage blanc cream, and crisp Aomori green apple; an earthly medley of asparagus and shiitake with Parma ham and walnut oil; and a refreshingly complex citrus expression, featuring fresh Setoka orange, Hassaku orange, and Tokushima-grown kumquat. To finish, it is served over gin gelée and mandarin orange granita.
Read more: Tatler Best 20 restaurants in Singapore for 2025 Shisen Hanten by Chen Kentaro
Above Kentaro's crowd-pleasing mapo tofu with spring pea pods and rapeseed (Photo: Shisen Hanten by Chen Kentaro)
Reborn with sleek new fittings, Shisen Hanten by Chen Kentaro once again presents Chuka Szechwan Ryori cuisine. Just in time for spring, Kentaro and his team showcase seasonal bounty such as the rare sakura shrimp, harvested only from Suruga Bay in Shizuoka in spring. These are incorporated into each delicately pleated xiao long baos; mullet roe, simply tossed with silky rice noodles, to accentuate its rich savoury expression; and pea pods and rapeseed, added into Kentaro's crowd-pleasing mapo tofu, for added freshness and texture.
Closing off the sumptuous meal, a course of bright, blushed strawberries, crowned upon spiced jelly, delivers a rounding finish.
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