Singapore - Santaro

Set in the Amara Sanctuary Resort on Sentosa, the quiet surrounds were a refreshing change from the traffic I had to battle to get to Sentosa on a Friday night. But stepping into the restaurant, we got worried. There were only 2 tables occupied at 8.30 on a Friday night.. ok, too late for Plan B so we sat ourselves down at our waitress' beckoning. Also, the whiff of manure (which I found out later was actually from the outside - my companion thought it might belong to the peacocks..) did not whet my appetite at all. I had to take a real hard look at the menu now...

Too full for an Omakase dinner, we ordered a selection from the ala carte. Disappointingly, some of the seafood we wanted like geoduck and sea urchin were not available, so our sushi selection got scaled back to Toro, Anago and Kampachi. Pretty good and fresh although the rice was a tad disappointing - the vinegar seemed to be missing and was a little bland. But the fish was enjoyable nonetheless.

Next up, the tempura selection was very well done. Although the presentation was not so professional with grease paper soaked through, and the tempura just piled on top of one another served on white plate, the taste did not disappoint. We had a selection of shrimp, 2 types of white fish, Japanese green peppers, eggplant and sweet potato. The light batter coating made it easy to down and washed down with cold sake, a VERY nice combi.


The oysters baked with mentaiko were creamy goodness. Although the oysters were a tad overdone and chewy, the rich sauce of mentaiko and Japanese mayo was good enough to make me overlook the sub-standard oysters.

The inaniwa udon with Wagyu beef made for a satisfying finish. While not the best I've had (see Hana Sakazuki in Hong Kong - my previous post, which is the best I've had - they use Hida beef there), it was pretty darn good. Even though I was quite full already, I slurped everything up.

I had no room for dessert which was just as well since only green tea and sesame ice creams were on offer... unusual for a restaurant of this purported calibre.