Boruto Singapore Tasting Session
80 South Bridge Road
#01-01 Golden Castle Building
Opening Hours:
Mon - Sat: 4:30pm - 12am,
Closed Sun
http://boruto.com.sg/
This was an invited media review. I did not pay for the meal during the free hosted tasting session.
Attended with representatives from msginginly, Purple Taste, and Chubby Botak Koala.
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| Black Barley + Uni / Sea Urchin & Black Barley Risotto (SGD $35.80) |
Exciting Modern Japanese Tapas, Done Well
(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 8
Ambience & Setting: 8
Food & Beverage: 8
Service: 8
Value for Money: 7
Spent about SGD $58 per person.
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Established in May 2015, Boruto Singapore is a modern izakaya gastrobar, offering creative and exciting small plates alongside an extensive range of Japanese sake. Taking its name from the former tenants, a bank, Boruto Singapore is poised a stone's throw away from the Central Business District in Singapore, and regularly draws a crowd of executives in the evenings.
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| Boruto Singapore Signage |
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| Boruto Singapore Exterior |
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| Boruto Singapore Interior |
Ambience at Boruto Singapore is modern and sleek, exuding a Prohibition-era secret vibe. Dark black and wooden furniture lines the bare, smooth concrete floor. Against the wall, rows upon rows of sake casks are stacked to the ceiling. Bright spotlights cut through the shadows, creating an interplay of light and darkness. On the 2nd floor, the former vault, now repurposed, guards a cache of sake, its solid heavy metal door acting as decor. Choose to sit over the counter, where you can watch the chefs at work in the open theatre kitchen, or observe as the bartenders mix your drinks.
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| Seating |
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| Bar |
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| Sake Casks |
Service at Boruto Singapore is professional and courteous. I note that staff are efficient and helpful, offering to clear away empty / dirty plates when you're done. They display good product knowledge, able to introduce and briefly describe dishes upon presentation. While they offered goodbyes when we left, oddly, they missed out on greetings when we arrived. I like that the staff also engage diners in conversation, offering a personalised attentiveness, making people feel welcomed.
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| Sake Bottles In Chiller |
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| The Sake Vault |
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| The Sake Vault |
Food at Boruto Singapore is best described as creative, unique, and exciting, a fusion cuisine. Call it modern Japanese or modern Singaporean, they specialise in small plates / tapas / sharing snacks, executing each dish to pretty high standards. Bold in taste, each features 1 or 2 key ingredients which really stand out. Part of the appreciation is having the staff inform you how the dish is created, which enables you to enjoy the layers of taste. Portions are tapas sharing size, meant for communal dining. They've kept prices relatively lower than a restaurant, though I feel it's priced similar to other gastrobars. Budget SGD $58 per person for a full meal here.
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| Table Setting |
The Sake Kawa Senbei / Crispy Salmon Skin (SGD $8.80) features crispy deep-fried salmon skin, tossed in sea salt and a little chili powder. Each bite is a satisfiying crunch, then you get the flavours of salty savoury with a hint of spicy. I like that it retains its crispy texture for quite long, more than 30 minutes even. Excellent bar snack to pair with drinks.
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| Sake Kawa Senbei / Crispy Salmon Skin (SGD $8.80) |
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| Sake Kawa Senbei / Crispy Salmon Skin |
To celebrate Chinese New Year 2017, Boruto Singapore has launched a Truffle Infused Yusheng With Salmon & Yellowtail (SGD $68 / $98). Features salmon, yellowtail, clams, plum gravy, jellyfish, Japanese vinegar, salmon soft cartilage, crispy golden crackers, and truffle sauce. Beyond the attractive and vibrant colours of the dish, the earthy flavour of the truffle lends itself well to the sweet savoury flavour herein, giving the dish a touch of extravagance... aligned with the spirit of the season. I like it! Available for takeaway until 27th January 2017.
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| Truffle Infused Yusheng With Salmon & Yellowtail (SGD $68 / $98) |
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| Truffle Infused Yusheng With Salmon & Yellowtail |
Loved how exciting and tasty the Kani Croquettes / Blue Swimmer Crab Croquettes (SGD $12.80) is. A hollow croquette, made with potato but without any cream, holds a warm, rich, crab bisque, savoury sweet with the addition of corn kernels and poached onions. Plated over fragrant black garlic mayonnaise and garnished with fresh chunks of deshelled blue swimmer crab meat, this appetizer is both comforting and delicious. Highly recommended!
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| Kani Croquettes / Blue Swimmer Crab Croquettes (SGD $12.80) |
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| Kani Croquettes / Blue Swimmer Crab Croquettes |
The Hotaru Ika 'Chai Tao Kway' / Loligo Squid Chye Tow Kueh (SGD $12.80) features small loligo squid, sauteed with garlic, eggs, poached onions, and Japanese pickles. The result is a savoury sweet eggy delight, the tender, bouncy chunks of squid coated in a rich egg gravy. Really does resemble the Singaporean hawker dish of Chye Tow Kueh / Carrot Cake. So addictive and tasty, we polished it off incredibly quickly. Craving more. Highly recommended!
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| Hotaru Ika 'Chai Tao Kway' / Loligo Squid Chye Tow Kueh (SGD $12.80) |
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| Hotaru Ika 'Chai Tao Kway' / Loligo Squid Chye Tow Kueh |
The Madai A La Plancha / Grilled Sea Bream In Red Miso Broth (SGD $15.80) is a deeply robust, flavourful dish, bold in savoury earthy taste with hints of salty fresh flavours. A medium sized, fresh fillet of sea bream fish, grilled till tender and moist, with flesh that flakes off delicately. Plated in a robust red miso broth, garnished with lettuce, cherry tomatoes, shiitake mushrooms, and minced pork, this sharing dish is great to whet the appetite. Good!
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| Madai A La Plancha / Grilled Sea Bream In Red Miso Broth (SGD $15.80) |
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| Madai A La Plancha / Grilled Sea Bream In Red Miso Broth |
The Black Barley + Uni / Sea Urchin & Black Barley Risotto (SGD $35.80) is an exciting modern dish. A base of earthy sweet savoury al-dente risotto, made with black barley, chopped loligo squid, and saffron, is topped with fresh sea urchin and grated parmesan cheese. The flavours are really bold and complex, an acquired taste. The contrast of briny sea ocean notes against the earthy notes makes it seem like a Japanese surf-and-turf. Really unique.
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| Black Barley + Uni / Sea Urchin & Black Barley Risotto (SGD $35.80) |
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| Black Barley + Uni / Sea Urchin & Black Barley Risotto |
The Roasted Zaragoza Pork Shoulder - Whole (SGD $88.80 / 1.6kg) ranks among the best suckling pigs I've eaten. The bone-in Spanish pork shoulder retains a good amount of moisture, yet is tender and smooth, with a light fragrance. Taste is incredibly succulent, lightly savoury salty, with a lovely undertone of sweet and nutty. The skin is thin but extremely crisp, with a lovely salty taste. So good I dream of this! The Truffled Green Tomato Chutney is a signature sauce created by Chef Angus Chow, the notes of earthy sour sweet, with its chilled, chunky texture, is delightfully refreshing and delicious. Highly recommended!
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| Roasted Zaragoza Pork Shoulder - Whole (SGD $88.80 / 1.6kg) |
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| Truffled Green Tomato Chutney |
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| Roasted Zaragoza Pork Shoulder - Carved |
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| Pork Belly With Crackling |
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| Pork Shoulder |
The Truffle Hiyashi Somen / Chilled Somen Noodles With River Shrimp & Truffle Molecules (SGD $15.80) is a signature house creation of Chef Angus Chow. Chilled, slippery somen noodles, tossed in confit egg yolk and shio kombu / salt marinated seaweed, forms a refreshing base for the garnish of crispy river shrimp, and earthy truffle molecules shaped like caviar, which burst in the mouth. Chef shaved extra black truffles over the dish for us. Luxurious and enticing, an excellent dish. Highly recommended!
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| Truffle Hiyashi Somen / Chilled Somen Noodles With River Shrimp & Truffle Molecules (SGD $15.80) |
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| Truffle Hiyashi Somen / Chilled Somen Noodles With River Shrimp & Truffle Molecules |
The Truffle Crème Brûlée (SGD $8.80) dessert has a rich, wobbly soft, milk custard base, with a hard, caramelised sugar crust that cracks beautifully. Infused with truffle oil, this lends the dessert an earthy touch, complementing its sweet flavour. Unique and tasty.
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| Truffle Crème Brûlée (SGD $8.80) |
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| Truffle Crème Brûlée |
The Warabi Mochi (SGD $6.80) is a soft, jelly-like dessert confectionery made from bracken starch and coated in kinako / sweet toasted soybean flour. This traditional dessert differs from typical Japanese mochi, which is usually made from glutinous rice, and has a sticky, chewy texture. While this dessert is rather authentic, I find the soft texture and savoury sweet taste doesn't really appeal to me.
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| Warabi Mochi (SGD $6.80) |
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| Warabi Mochi |
Overall, Boruto Singapore impresses with its extensive tapas menu, featuring modern fusion food that is bold in taste, pretty to look at, and showcases the culinary wizardry of the chefs here. The cozy, intimate ambience, and friendly yet professional service is a big draw. Boruto Singapore remains among the more exciting dining options on the cutting edge of culinary creativity in Singapore, little wonder that advance reservations are recommended. Will return for more!
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 Reserve a table now @ Boruto Singapore |
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CONVERSATION