Botan Japanese Restaurant @ Far East Square

Date Visited :
100310

Address :
36 Pekin Street
#01-01 Far East Square

I had a sudden craving for Japanese food, Sushi Tei didn't satisfied me so after hearing about Botan Japanese restaurant and its Bento sets, I decided to head down to Raffles Place with my friend, Rui Yang to look for it.

AMBIENCE
This small little gem can be found next to Shin Kushiya and other sleek looking restaurants and cafe. The place feels like a cosy little Japanese inn or cafe. It features. The restaurant employed a traditional Japanese style for its interior decoration using motifs of the famed Mount Fuji, bottles of sake, Japanese ceramics and porcelain, lanterns, wooden furniture etc. Little details were given to the the placement of cutlery with nice colourful 'ribbons' to rest place our chopsticks and the bottles of conditments with motifs of sakura flowers.

The overall effect is a warm cosy atmosphere in the heart of the urban jungle. For ambience, I would award the restaurant high scores.

As it was a week day night around 8-9 plus, the restaurant was quite empty save for a couple and a group of white collars at one corner of the restaurant. I reckon that it would be more packed during lunch hours and weekends.

FOOD
The menu features a lot of bento sets, the usual Japanese items. There isn't any fanciful pictures or photos for you to take reference, just the name of the dish with a brief description of what you are ordering. It comes with Japanese translations too, which I could not read.

While Ruiyang had the Yakiniku Set (which is a Bento featuring Beef), I had the Yakizakana Set featuring Grilled Fish. Both of us didn't expect the bento to features so many other little dishes and I must say, portions wise. For $21 (GST, Svc Charge included), the bento is quite good for value.

My Yakizakana Set, features a bowl of Miso Soup, a cup of Chawanmushi, a bowl of Sashimi, a bowl of steamed rice (not a small bowl), a plate of 2 watermelon slices, a tiny bowl of salad?, a bowl of cooked food, a plate of Grilled Fish with other stuff on it, two tiny dishes of condiments including soy sauce and Japanese pickles.

The Sashimi is quite okay, it has both salmon and tuna sashimi.

There is this dish that is sweet, spicy and a little bit sour (probably due to the inclusion of lemon juice) with bits of salmon inside, I have no idea what it is but I quite enjoy the mixture of flavours. Quite refreshing.

The Chawanmushi has chunks of meat, mushrooms and Japanese fish cake inside. It tasted rather alright to me. The stock is not overwhelming, the texture of the egg is just nice for me. Sometimes the chawanmushi can be too salty but for Botan's case, its just nice.

The ceramic bowl of cooked food features some kind of fish-cake like item and an egg covered with bonito flake. This dish is quite nice, I enjoyed the egg with a bonito 'crust' the most. The sauce is abit sweet and salty.

The rice is Japanese short-grain rice, just nice for me. Quite a big portion, it was served in a lacquer bowl with cover.

The miso soup also served in a lacquer bowl with cover is generous with the tofu chunks and seaweed.

The grilled fish is delicious. I like the tiny cripsy skin. Abit difficult to eat with chopsticks though. I thought it was rather good, no fishy taste, the flesh is just nice for me.

The slice of omelette is delicious, abit sweet with a smooth, springy texture. The other items that came along with the grilled fish include carrot, sweet potato?, corn, something that resembles meat ball and japanese fish cake. The grated white radish which adds alittle spice to the dish.

2 Slices of watermelon to clear the palate.

My only complaint about the food would be that the food are slightly cold. Tastewise, I have no issues with the food.

There is an attempt to present the food nicely too, as seen in the arrangement of the sashimi and the main dish. Even the plates and bowls used makes use of a range of colours. The colourful presentation gets me excited.

SERVICE

The waitresses were quite friendly and thumbs for taking the initiative to refill the green tea without any prompting. They were also quick to clear the plates but not before asking politely whether they could. When we asked for the bill, they are quick too. I would give him high scores for service attitude and efficiency. Another point to take note is that the restaurant serve warm towels before and after the meal, normally I only find this in the higher end restaurants. The waitresses would raise the door 'curtains' for you too.

VALUE

$21 dollars for one such bento set, it is very good for value together with the Japanese street-side inn setting and friendly service. Pricewise, it is a huge contrast to Shin Kushiya next door. If you want to have something sashimi to udon within one set without burning your wallet, this is a nice place to have it. Moreover, the green tea is complimentary and free-flow.

Overall, I would highly recommend this place for after-work, a mini gathering, lunch and dinner because it is really good for value, with affordable Japanese food, generous portion, friendly service and a nice atmosphere to enjoy. I hope the Botan Restaurant would keep it that way if not improve further.

Xin Li had a Great Time at Botan Japanese Restaurant.