Esora isn’t any stranger to Singapore’s eating scene. Since its debut in 2018, it has garnered accolades – most notably its Michelin star which it attained roughly a 12 months or so after it opened. The fashionable Japanese restaurant focuses on Kappo-style delicacies the place the menu is closely influenced by the seasons.
Getting into the restaurant, one can’t assist however categorical some awe on the skylight hovering above the chef’s preparation space. The glass is overlaid with lattices which in all probability creates some attention-grabbing shadows within the day with the sunshine penetrating into the eating house. I used to be there for dinner and sadly, didn’t get to see the impact with daylight.
Flowers – each contemporary and dried – are used prominently within the design of the restaurant. This, too, adjustments by the season.
The kitchen is helmed by head chef Takeshi Araki who hails from Hiroshima. He assumed the function in Esora in 2022.
Esora presents a 9-course lunch menu for S$328++ and a 10-course dinner menu at S$368++. Diners may go for beverage pairings just like the wine and sake pairing, sake pairing alone or tea pairings for these searching for non-alcoholic choices.
On the time of my go to, Esora was already providing its summer season menu. The meal started with a warming Bonito Dashi that got here with a citrusy zest of inexperienced yuzu to wake the senses. We then proceeded to the long-lasting Esora amuse bouche of Foie Gras Monaka – given a little bit of a refresh with fruits of the Japanese summer season: thick slices of candy, juicy biwa (loquat) and a compote of tart Japanese apricots complementing the richness of the Maison Mitteault foie gras torchon base. As I personally don’t eat foie gras, the group ready a custom-made model of the monaka for me with caviar as a substitute.
The Kasai was an instagram-worthy dish. It was perched on a nasturtium leaf – one that appears a bit like a water lily. Right here, a dashi-blanched Kuruma ebi rested on a mattress of candy corn puree and served alongside tomato jelly, boiled edamame and pickled Chinese language yam. The ensemble is accomplished with uni, caviar and a mixture of chive flowers and fried shallot powder garnish. This clever presentation was designed to resemble a floating water lily in a lake on a summer season’s day. I loved how the flavors got here collectively right here – primarily the bitter notes from the tomato jelly in opposition to the marginally salty caviar.
Impressed by the Japanese summer season ritual of in search of respite by the stream and having fun with a grill by the riverside is a dish of Child Ayu. It’s thinly coated in a seaweed powder, crisp-fried and dressed with tade su, a white pepper and vinegar sauce and completed off with micro shungiku (chrysanthemum greens).
One other photoworthy dish in Esora’s summer season menu was the Hassun which was plated as a mini zen backyard full with bushes and even a stone pathway. The flowery presentation consisted of seasonal Kinmedai (golden eye snapper) from Shizuoka, seasoned with garlic shoyu, sesame oil, and served with sauteed okahijiki (land seaweed), sesame seeds and wasabi; and a Tachiuo (beltfish) from Nagasaki served uncooked and topped with plum jelly, cucumber, oba leaves and hanaho. Additionally on the hassun was a heat dish of Awabi (abalone), served alongside a renkon (lotus root) mochi stuffed with awabi liver sauce in a bowl of shredded steamed Japanese furry crab with a silky crab sauce and completed with hand-chopped okra (girls’ finger). And to cleanse the palate: a easy peeled Yamanashi grape, carbonated to tingle on the tongue, served with ginger jelly to whet the urge for food for extra. The 4 gadgets within the Hassun the place executed completely and I particularly beloved the shock deal with on the finish within the type of the grape.
The decadent Hassun was then juxtaposed with one of the crucial easy dishes of the night. The Hamo Soba served as an meeting of tempura-ed kamo nasu (eggplant) wrapped inside Kumamoto hamo (pike conger) and served alongside silky strands of house-made soba. Offered chilly and topped with nori, chives and hanaho, it’s loved with junsai (water protect) in a chilly dipping sauce comprised of hamo inventory and tougan (winter melon). This was simply good for a sizzling summer season’s day.
Wild-caught Kue (longtooth grouper) from Kochi took middle stage for the fish course. The prized white fish identified for its rarity was grilled over binchotan to attract out its pure oils and full flavors and served merely with refined purple paprika sauce made with a base of kue inventory. The fish got here with grilled asparagus on the aspect, a vegetable which can also be evocative of summer season.
Esora’s signature Omi Wagyu dish was complemented by a wide range of seasonal greens — tomatoes, myoga, manganji (kyoto inexperienced peppers), yellow zucchini, okra (girls’ finger) ginger and garlic. The meat was tender regardless of being introduced as chunky cubes with the meat simply falling aside with a knife. There was additionally a little bit of gravy on prime of the meat chunks however I discovered it good to eat and flavorful by itself.
The Donabe course presents company the choice of incorporating grilled unagi (eel) or akamutsu (blackthroat seaperch). The star right here was clearly the unagi which was grilled completely on a binchotan. The paper-thin pores and skin was unbelievably crispy and completely not like what I anticipated from the standard slippery texture of unagi pores and skin.
Rounding the summer season menu had been desserts that includes a alternative choice of the season’s fruits. The Passionfruit is one thing one received’t anticipate finding in a Japanese restaurant (passionfruit is definitely grown within the southern elements of the nation). A sphere-shaped shell was stuffed with passionfruit sorbet, lemon cream and contemporary ardour fruit pulp. This was a most refreshing dessert and was my most popular candy ending among the many two we had that evening.
In a separate course, Miyazaki Mango — which holds the popularity of ‘King of summer season fruits’ in Japan — was served as giant succulent chunks alongside home made almond milk ice-cream, brandy butter crumble and mango sauce. In distinction to the bitter notes of the sooner dessert, this was sweeter with the peerlessly ripe mango complementing the marginally nutty taste of the ice cream.
If there’s a phrase to explain my expertise at Esora – it could be “beautiful.” It might happen to me that an excessive amount of thought was put into the menu to the extent that it additionally influences the aesthetics behind the plating and even the ornamental objects within the restaurant itself. In comparison with different eating places in Singapore serving Kappo delicacies, Esora can also be totally different by way of sensibilities. There’s an simple “east meets west” contact to the presentation right here – most notably with the starters and desserts. These elements collectively set this place aside. Right here, it’s not nearly offering company with a scrumptious Japanese meal. Certain, that’s a part of it however past that, it’s also about offering diners with a extra holistic expertise – even when it’s only for 2 or so hours.
Esora
15 Mohamed Sultan Highway
Singapore 238964
+65 8533 7528
Wed & Fri: 6.30 pm – 10.30 pm
Thurs: 12 pm – 3.30 pm / 6.30 pm – 10.30 pm
Sat & Solar: 5.30 pm – 10.30 pm (2seatings)
