2016 was the year of the Japanese food enclave in Singapore, and 2017 is looking no different. We’re just three weeks into January, and we’re flush with new and exciting news about Japanese restaurants and bars opening or about to open in Singapore. If you’re a fan, here’s what to look out for.

A stylish new izakaya on Tanjong Pagar

Just a stone’s throw away on the main Tanjong Pagar drag is new bar The Wall, which pairs whisky with sumiyaki, aka grilled meats. Housed in a gorgeous two-storey conservation shop house, The Wall retains the original early 1900s construction, complimented by warm, dim lighting, heavy-timbered ceilings and bottle-lined walls. Whisky and sumiyaki pairing sets start from $49 while the chef’s omakase with whisky is priced at $168. The staff is on hand to answer questions, of course. On the drinks front, they’ve separated them into different kinds of whiskies hailing from various parts of the world for easy browsing with the usual players like Balvenie, Glenlivet and Macallan making an appearance alongside rarer ones like the Yamazaki 50 Years. Don't worry, there are tasting notes for each of them. There are other spirits, too, of course, and a few classic cocktails like the Manhattan, Old Fashioned and Negroni. More here.

And bluefin tuna donburi galore

It’s clearly the year of Tanjong Pagar because also brewing here is Singapore’s next Japanese food enclave. The new cluster is slowly opening at the new skyscraper, Tanjong Pagar Centre (you’ll recall it’s already home to the new Virgin Active gym with altitude training). Cutest among them is the Japan Rail Cafe, but we also now have bakery and cake shop Hattendo. Opening soon is a third branch of Imakatsu, a branch of Ippudo and probably most excitingly, donburi place Kuro Maguro, by Kanagawa prefecture’s tuna wholesaler Misaki Megumi Suisan, which flies in top-grade blue fin tuna at -60F for maximum freshness and serves it in a menu full of nearly 20 donburi options. It’s opening later in January, along with sushi restaurant Azuma.

New York’s hot ramen shop comes to Singapore

We’ve become intimately familiar with Japanese cuisine, especially with all the openings we've seen in the past month. Last year may have marked the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Singapore and Japan (SJ50) but it looks like Japanese eateries are going to continue spilling into Singapore. Hakata-style ramen chain Ippudo will be opening a new quick-service ramen bar and takeaway concept, its first outpost outside of New York. Kuro-Obi has already won the hearts of New Yorkers, and will do so for Singaporeans now that it's opened at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, right next to the ice-skating rink. It’s also the only concept by Ippudo around the world that will offer Tori-paitan, a silky chicken soup base that uses specially selected ingredients that are slow-cooked for hours to complement the al dente noodles. Seeing how cultural diverse is Singapore, it’s also interesting to note that the ramen comes with slowly-cooked chicken chashu (no pork). You can even customize everything right down from the texture of the noodles to the soup concentration and stock richness. The best part? These delicious warm bowls of ramen are priced from $8. Ippudo will also be opening a new outlet at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, right next to it.

Playing catch-up to the recent abundance of new ramen offerings in town, old faithful Tomo Izakaya in recent weeks unveiled three new ramen options on its menu, and all at very reasonable prices. There’s the Tokyo Ramen ($9), a shoyu-based bowl whose broth involves pork bone marrow, chicken bones, dried sardines, bonito flakes, veggies and more. It’s topped with pork loin cha chu. Using a clam, chicken bone and fish bone soup base, the Kai Ramen ($14) comes with gade green noodles, wakame and yuzu peel. Finally, there’s the salmon-based Shake-tantan men, enhanced with sesame, chilli oil and tantan noodles.

An izakaya at Suntec

Also new is izakaya Kuro at Suntec City, with a big focus on Japanese whisky, sake and bar bites involving robatayaki and kushiyaki—meaning grilled meat galore. As the name suggests, there’s a big focus on top-grade pork here, with dishes like grilled Kurobuta pork collar, pork belly and pork jowl. They’re also very proud of their tamago (egg) selection: the onsen tamago with ikura, shirataki noodles and yuzu zest looks particularly intriguing. On the drinks front, there’s the Kirin Krush, a beer tower of half-liquid-half-frozen beer (which we were disturbed to see described as looking "cute and fluffy for the ladies and wonderful for men who like their beer extra cold"), whiskies from Hibiki, Nikka, Yamazaki and other Japanese producers, as well as several Scotches. Plus the ground-floor, semi-alfresco space gives plenty of people-watching opportunity.