Restaurant Review: Botan Japanese Restaurant

Botan Japanese Restaurant
37 Pekin Street
Singapore 048761

+65 6536 4404

Botan Japanese Restaurant in Singapore is located in the hustle and
bustle of Pekin Street, right next to another Japanese restaurant named Shin Kushiya and close to Sushi-Tei on China Street. You can easily miss Botan, and as indeed I did when I first came to check out the Japanese food in Pekin Street, ending up at Shin Kushiya instead. Shin Kushiya and Sushi-Tei are both noticeably bigger than Botan, and a notch higher in terms of elegant interior design. However, Botan has its very own charm, and it is very noticeable that the restaurant is run by a Japanese owner (whom you can watch preparing seafood dishes from the main dining area. So, if you want to have the “real-Japanese” feel, Botan is the way to go.

Ambiance apart, and in terms of food served, Botan plays in totally different league. Both Shin Kushiya and Sushi-Tei are typical Singapore-Japanese restaurants, with dishes that are tasty, but not the kind of quality food you’d get in Japan. In contrast, and as my Japanese friends have assured me, Botan is the real deal. If you want your Japanese food to taste exactly like it would if you ordered it in the land of cherry blossoms, go to Botan.

I never go during lunch hour or early evening because the place is too packed, as there is a lot of people coming over from China square, Raffles Place and the Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi. If you want to go around these times, better reserve a table. If you go in the late evening though, you will most likely get a place.

The menu is extensive, yet Botan makes it hard for you not to order something from the first page, as their value-for-money offering is just too compelling, especially in Singapore. For around SGD 20 you get a complete dinner set, served on tray laden with delicacies. My favorites are the Tonkatsu set and the Grilled Salmon Set, the Grilled Chicken set is also quite yummy.

Botan Japanese Restaurant Grilled Chicken Set

 Besides the main course of your dinner set, you will get an assortment of sashimi (usually 3 different types, including salmon and tuna), miso soup, Japanese pickles, daikon or other vegetables with chicken in a delicious homemade sauce, chawanmushi (egg custard), noddles, and of course rice. To add variety, some of the side dishes change from time to time. 

Botan Japanese Restaurant Grilled Salmon Set

Taste-wise, this is some of the best Japanese food I have ever eaten, and you immediately notice that it is made by a food artist. Whatever dishes you try, there are always new and interesting flavors flooding your mouth, and from experience I know this is what home-cooked Japanese food tastes like.

The staff is friendly, fast and knowledgeable. Little details matter, and the hot towels before and after the meal as well as the complimentary lemon-flavored iced water add to the experience. Definitely one of the best dining experiences in Singapore.

5/5 Stars