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A cornerstone of Japanese cuisine is amazing ingredients, and there is no better way to enjoy Japan’s best meaty offerings than by grilling them up simply at the table and enjoying them will little more than a few dipping sauces. Here are Singapore’s best yakiniku restaurants, where you can do just that.

Aburiya

For a solid mid-week DIY Japanese grilling experience without the frills, look no further than this reputed casual joint that usually draws the Japanese expat crowd. Each table comes equipped with a charcoal grill—opt for an outside table if you’re worried about smoke in your hair—and the menu offers a lengthy list of various cuts like skirt, short rib and tenderloin. The house sauces that come with are really half the fun.

Ito-Kacho

It doesn’t get more glitzy than this spot at the fancy Mandarin Gallery, which specializes in chilled, not frozen, Japanese black wagyu, offering cuts like flank steak, skirt steak and short rib. On the non-beef front, there is Kurobuta pork jowl and pork belly. To be clear, though, with a location this central and a decor this refined, you can expect the meal to be a splurge.

Kinoshita

Not only does this Osaka chain specialize in yakiniku, it also serves gyu nabe, or hearty beef hot pot. Inside the 50-seater, booth seats make for cozy dining around the grill, while customized ventilation hoods make sure diners don’t walk out smelling like grilled meat. While decor is sparse, there is an arresting feature mural of the iconic Mount Fuji. Yakiniku fans should get the Kinoshita Special BBQ set, with several cuts of Hokkaido beef.

Niku Katsumata

Duxton Hill frequently sees new Japanese additions, but this one is worth taking note of. The standout feature at this modern 28-seater is their use of crystal grilling plates instead of the usual metal grills. These plates, specially imported from Japan, retain heat very well so only a low heat is needed to grill the meats. This helps retain the meats juices and produces no smoke. This dinner-only yakiniku joint imports its high quality beef from Kagoshima and Kumamoto. Their non-cooked beef, like the wagyu tartare and wagyu sashimi are also great.

Prime Gyu Kaku

This huge yakiniku chain may have over 600 outlets in Japan and four in Singapore alone, but you would never guess it from the cozy, dimly lit and modern atmosphere of their renovated branch at Chijmes. Their big thing is Kagoshima wagyu, and the Kurobuta pork selection is good, too. You even have the option of grilling up a Chateaubriand with little more than truffle salt.

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Tajimaya Yakiniku

Not only is this yakiniku spot well-located in bustling Vivocity, it’s also right next door to its sister venue, Shabuya Shochu Bar, making it a great spot for meaty dinner followed by casual drinks. And with their high-performance exhaust system over each table, you can head on over to your next party without worrying about smoke in your hair. Highlights of the meat-centric menu include Japanese Miyazaki beef and Kurobuta pork, both highly prized for the premium quality.

Tenkaichi

Tenkaichi is so confident about the affordability and quality of its produce that it offers a “best price guarantee”, promising to beat any restaurant with a cheaper price by a further 10 per cent. What’s more, there’s a view of the Marina Bay waterfront. On the menu are a variety of premium and more affordable cuts, but the highlight has got to be the wagyu tokujo karubi, a grade A5 finely marbled black cattle wagyu from Miyazaki prefecture.

Yakiniku Heijoen

Since the first store in Ayase, Tokyo, Heijoen has expanded over nearly half a century to 30 outlets all over Japan. Its glorious debut in Singapore is at none other than the buzzing Japan Food Town at Wisma Atria, sporting a modern, clean-lined woodwork interior, with soft lighting. The highlight of the menu has to be the deluxe cuts of A5 Wagyu Beef directly imported from Kagoshima, but don’t be surprised to also find some Korean staples like kimchi, namul, or bibimbap on the menu.

Yakiniku Yazawa

Robertson Quay may have tons of Japanese places but this BBQ joint specializes in Yazawa wagyu beef from Japan. It does come at a pretty penny with cuts like a chuck-eye Zabuton costing over $60 per serving. The place also has other beef options like kalbi, Kurobuta pork and some chicken in spicy miso, too.

Yakiniquest

This sleek and minimalize space specializes in omakase-style barbecue including dishes like niku somen (raw wagyu sliced into thin “noodles” and topped with dashi stock, grated yam and seaweed) and yaki suki (sliced wagyu with sweet sukiyaki sauce and raw egg). Each course menu comes with rich cuts like chuck eye and sirloin, plus more adventurous cuts like beef tongue—all from Miyazaki, Kagoshima and Iwate prefectures.

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Novice Japanese food fans might not know this, but the archipelago of Okinawa is famous for more than just its US airbase. Due to its geographic isolation and its historic status as a trading port, it also has a food culture and cuisine unlike anything else you’ll find in Japan. Said to derive influences from China and Southeast Asia, Okinawan dishes feature robust flavors and indigenous ingredients. Here are some highlights to try—and where to do it in Singapore.

Agu pork

Okinawan cuisine is big on meat, especially pork, and the people of the island are famously said to consume every part of the animal. Agu is a breed of black pig indigenous to the land and due to its beef-like marbling, sweet taste and relatively small numbers, particularly after World War II, it is a prized meat.

Where to try it: Dashi Master Marusaya on Robertson Quay, famous for its nuanced and deep-flavored dashi stock, showcases agu pork in a simple, unadulterated way: slices of the meat are served alongside a hot pot full of stock, shabu shabu-style.

Awamori

Photo credit flickr user nokton

This distilled spirit is traditionally made from rice grains indigenous to Okinawa—though today it is more likely to be made from Thai rice. Awamori is a more refined cousin of shochu and a popular drink for social gatherings on the island. It is enjoyed on the rocks, or splashed with a bit of water—although awamori cocktails are increasingly common.

Where to try it: The sleek, wood-panelled and perpetually packed izakaya En Japanese Dining Bar has a pretty wide selection of drinks, including several awamori.

Goya Chanpuru

Photo credit flickr user ekkun

No primer on Okinawan cuisine would be complete without this dish. This stir-fry of bitter melon, tofu, pork and eggs is equal parts comforting and delicious. Goya refers to the bitter melon, which is a beloved vegetable on the island, and appears in many other forms, including salads and tempura.

Where to try it: Drinks aside, En Japanese Dining Bar’s menu features many Okinawan dishes, including this one.

Plenty more where that came from. The Bite! Japan Facebook page is full of the latest Japanese restaurants and izakaya in Singapore, new promotions and bits of information to impressive your friends with. Follow us here.

Mozuku

The mozuku seaweed found in the oceans of Okinawa is particularly famous for its thickness, packed nutrition profile, tumor-suppressing properties and low calorie count—making it both extremely healthy and also a great diet food.

Where to try it: Although not technically an Okinawan restaurant, Dashi Master Marusaya appreciates and employs the special properties of certain ingredients from the island. Along with agu pork, chef Eno also serves a light stew, involving her famous dashi, mozuku seaweed, spring onions and other seafood.

Rafute

Photo credit flickr user Nemo's great uncle

Inspired by centuries of Chinese trade influence is this dish of long-braised pork belly. The skin is left on, and the pieces of meat are slow-stewed with soya sauce and brown sugar which gives the dish a rich glaze.

Where to get it: Tucked in the basement of Liang Court, already famous for its plethora of Japanese shops, restaurants and supermarket, is the all-Okinawan restaurant Nirai-Kanai (B1-01/02 177 River Valley Rd., 6339-4811). In addition to rafute, they also serve goya champuru and traditional Okinawa soba, among other dishes.

Soki Soba

Photo credit flickr user sho(255)

Combining two great Okinawan food obsessions, pork and noodles, soki soba is a light noodle soup involving simmered, fall-off-the-bone pork spare rib, soft soba noodles and additions like tea-pickled eggs, pickles leeks and spring onions. The clear broth is simple, made with kelp, bonito flakes, sake and other flavorings.

Where to try it: It might not have a website or a Facebook page, but what Nirai Kanai does have is pretty much all the iconic dishes of Okinawa, including this one.

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If you think you know the best places to get ramen in Singapore, think again. The landscape has changed a lot in recent months, and while the old stalwarts remain steadfast, there are plenty of new and exciting contenders. Here’s an updated list to make your way through soon.

Hokkaido Ramen Santouka

The Central is where many established Japanese restaurant chains reside, including this 20-something year-old brand with over 50 outlets in Japan, tucked away in a tricky-to-find hallway but worth the hunt. They specialize in cha shu, miso ramen and shio ramen. It’s easy to see why the place has remained so popular all this while: the tonkotsu-broth is so rich and creamy it might as well be pork-flavored buttermilk, and the thin, springy, al dente noodles absorb the flavor of the soup nicely—to say nothing of the equally solid sides such as char shu rice, salmon roe rice and more.

Ippudo

One of Singapore’s (and indeed the world’s) most well-known ramen chains, Ippudo’s Hakata-style tonkotsu-based bowls are eternal hotsellers. Try the original Shiromaru broth, with thin and straight Hakata noodles. You have the option of also adding yummy toppings like pork belly, tamago and more. For a kick, there’s their sublime Akamaru Shin-aji, which also gets extra miso paste and garlic oil. There are other ramen options, too, along with sides like their signature gyoza, the spicy shrimp mayo and refreshing cucumber salad.

Kanshoku

In naming his ramen bar after a Japanese phrase that means “to finish eating every last bit of your food” Melvin Ang isn’t overstating things. With zero formal training in cooking, Ang set out a few years ago to learn everything he could about making amazing ramen, travelling to Japan and learning from the best. What you have at Kanshoku’s three branches across Singapore is delightful twists on traditional ramen. Whatever you do, don’t miss the signature dry truffle ramen, Kanshoku’s most popular dish, selling 7,500 bowls every month. French angel hair pasta is tossed in truffle oil and comes topped with a sous-vide egg, cha shu and Italian black truffle shavings. Savory to the max!

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Tonkotsu King

Tanjong Pagar’s Orchid Hotel is no stranger to delicious and affordable food, with several big-deal Japanese restaurants along the same strip. Among them is this tonkotsu ramen gem, by celebrity chef Keisuke Takeda, behind a veritable global empire and certainly Singapore’s biggest ramen chain.  The space is small, seating only about 20 or less, and has homey little touches like small mortars and pestles for you to grind up some sesame seeds and bowls of boiled eggs. Ramen starts at under $12, going up in price with toppings like a sheet of Japanese seaweed and flavored egg. Brothwise, your choices include the classic tonkotsu, and two spicy varieties: black pepper and red chilli. They’re all good.

Marutama Ramen

With four branches in Singapore, Marutama is a hit among those who aren’t crazy about the tonkotsu broth. The decor is casual, with monochromatic and wooden Japanese touches like beige panelled walls and open kitchens, making Marutama more apt for a casual lunch than date night. On the menu, you’ll find MSG-free broths involving pure chicken and even seven types of nuts. Seafood lovers should try the unusual Ebi Ramen, which is topped with fresh tiger prawns. Also worth saving space for are their side dishes: yaki cha shu, gyoza, chawan mushi and kakuni, or pork belly stewed in a house sauce.  

Sanpoutei Ramen

Hailing all the way from Niigata in Japan, what sets this ramen shop—with only two branches in Singapore— apart is the broth, of course. Chicken, tonkotsu, two types of dried sardines are simmered for over six hours to create the signature shoyu-based dashi. They also take their noodle-making seriously, doing it fresh and in-house every day, resulting in firm, springy noodles that retain the flavors of the broth without going soft. The classic Niigata shoyu ramen aside, try their Tori X Miso broths, too, made with an in-house special miso. Whatever the broth, you will no doubt order up extras of their delicious aburi cha shu.

Tsuta Ramen

The hot ramen bar opening of the year, Tokyo’s Michelin-starred Japanese Soba Noodles Tsuta now has an outpost, an 18-steater at Pacific Plaza and the first outside of Japan. The secret to its delicious ramen is the attention chef Yuki Onishi pays to the details—most notably he works with a specific soy sauce brewer in Wakamaya Prefecture to create a customized shoyu, mixing it with two others for the legendary broth. You also have the option of a miso broth and a shio broth—the latter has a tantalizing and unusual list of ingredients, including red wine and rosemary.

Takumen

Takumen’s claim to fame in Japan is its online catalogue of over 100 types of ramen, available for delivery nationwide. The Singapore offshoot may not have a similar promise, but what it does have is above and beyond the competition: a rotating list of six ramen types—a variety that rewards repeat visitors and explains the steady stream of CBD office workers you’ll find here. Try bowls like the Bingiri, which is popular among the fishermen of the Chiba coast and is spiked with chilli, and the award-winning shio ramen Hajime, which skips the tonkotsu and involves a light chicken broth.

Uma Uma Ramen

There is more to this unassuming place at The Forum than just the secret entrance to the achingly cool Japanese bar, The Horse’s Mouth. Specializing in Fukuoka-style noodle bowls, Uma Uma Ramen distinguishes itself as a rare place doing light broths and even dry ramen. Highlights include the mazesoba, which sees dry noodle served bathed in a savory shoyu sauce, topped with leeks, spring onion, bamboo shoots and of course their delicious cha shu. Save room for the spicier Tan Tan Men, which has a strong sesame base and is topped with chilli oil, minced pork and egg. Oh, and do head down to the bar afterwards!

Like what you see? For regular updates on Japanese food and drink in Singapore, follow Bite! Japan on Facebook.

Like what you see? For regular updates on Japanese food and drink in Singapore, follow Bite! Japan on Facebook.