Restaurant Review

Restaurant F - An unmissable cool blue neon sign declares the presence of Futoshi, but this restaurant could well be 'A' for ambience, 'B' for sheer boldness in presentation, 'C' for the charisma of its accidental owner (ask him for the story), 'D' for divine music and 'E' for an altogether elegant dining experience.

Tucked away unobtrusively amongst the shophouses along Ann Siang Road, this Japanese restaurant with a difference is a startling gem of a find. With a non-descript exterior, and none of your pastel pink makeover associated with refurbished shophouse-restaurants, Futoshi's attraction lies in the beckoning lilting jazz - local diva Jacintha being the current favourite - and the sophisticated minimalist interior décor, but most importantly, its Beautiful Food.

Forget the quintessential pinewood furniture and flags, sushi conveyer belt and kimonoed waitresses in socks and wooden slippers. Futoshi does not attempt to fool you into thinking Japanese by any visual tricks, but reels you in from whence it counts - through your tastebuds.

If you are thinking that it's yet another fusion restaurant, banish the thought. However, if fusion means an eclectic blend of all the elements making up a wholesome dining experience, then this is your place. From the extensive wine selection to start with and wonderous coffee to end, the harmonious blend of East and West is more deliberate and distinct and less cliché.

Whilst waiting for our host, we polished off a bowl of green soya beans or edamame. Do not let the ordinary looking green pods fool you, by the way - you will not stop at one!

After meeting the effusive and highly entertaining Woffles Wu, who is a surgeon by day and restaurant owner-host-even-waiter by night, and whose tornado personality is itself a treat to behold, we got down to the business at hand.

The appetisers at Futoshi are a real treat. The Cheese To Tomato Harumaki is a dish of true contrast: freshly fried crispness on the outside with a melting Camembert centre - the warmth on the outside coupled with a shocking cold layer of tomato inside left the amateur cooks amongst us baffled. Obviously, some genius physics is involved in how the heat is prevented from reaching the tomato centre whilst still melting the cheese.

We then moved on to the Beef Tataki. Slices of beef, surrounded by mounds of garlic, wasabi and spring onions, required some dexterity with chopsticks to assemble. All three ingredients are smeared in the centre of the beef, rolled and then popped into a waiting mouth. An explosion of gastronomic sensation hits you with each chew, although the owner admitted that it was not a dish to have on a special date! The special slab of Japanese beef is tied up masochistically by the chef, marinated in rock salt, seared to seal in the juices and then sliced up thinly. The varying degree of rareness of the beef slices resulting from this cooking method contributes to the exquisite quality of the dish. For yakitori fans, the Tsukune or chicken meatball is a refreshing find, with a decidedly herbal overtone that blends well with the usual 'gameyness' associated with chicken.

By this time, our Sashimi had arrived and secret glances were exchanged amongst my companions as to how Futoshi was going to withstand the greatest test of any Japanese restaurant - in the freshness of its raw seafood. The cooing oohhs and aahs said it all as we savoured each morsel, comprising generous slices of salmon, octopus, tuna, scallops and prawns. The raw octopus deceptively hinted of a quick searing; the scallops were impossibly sweet and tender; the salmon and tuna were truly divine. The secret, we were told, lies in ingredients which are flown in every other day and the chef's guarantee in serving only the freshest produce. Futoshi's sashimi will not only spoil your tastebuds for any sub-standard fare served elsewhere, but is also likely to spoil your taste for the cooked equivalent after tasting the delicate raw version.

Daring to surpass the premium Sashimi, we eagerly awaited our next surprise. The Kaki Fry did not disappoint. 'Deep fried oysters', said the subtitle in the menu, but we were pleasantly surprised by the warm, crispy golden exterior which hid a juicy, tender and delicious jumbo oyster inside. If the Beef Tataki is not a 'date dish', the Kaki Fry is certainly a must-have. The dish is served with Worcestershire sauce, but is tasty enough to hold its own without it.

The Shishamo or pregnant fish was next: this is one dish which must not be judged by its appearance. The owner assured us that the fish, despite their outward appearance, does not actually give birth to babies. Thus, despite feeling a bit squeamish about the small, grilled fishes which looked decidedly bloated, and amidst murmurs of genocide and infanticide, we unashamedly bit into our roe-filled fish and crunched with gusto.

The piece de resistance, Asahi Clams in butter and sake, bowled us over. Apart from being charmingly served in a clam shell-like bowl, the kick of the sake was truly felt after we had finished the clams at top speed and start spooning up the sauce in our empty shells and were offered rice to finish off the dish. A truly gorgeous Japanese twist to the Mediterranean version in white wine sauce! A good point to note is that all of Futoshi's crockery are hand-picked from Japan and are a treat to behold in their own right for pottery enthusiasts.

The final dish was a special for the night, Toriteba Pirikani or Spicy Chicken Wings. After the delicate taste of the earlier dishes, this was a scorcher! Slices of bird chillis or chilli padi spotted amongst the wings caused at least one of my companions to pass on the dish, but the remaining two eagerly tucked into it. Reminiscent of something we would likely find in a Thai restaurant, the dish had a rustic, home-cooked feel to it, causing us to look forward to trying out the other cooked food fare and dons which adorn Futoshi's set lunch menu. Whether raw or cooked, the standards at Futoshi left us craving for more, and judging by the satisfied sighs coming from the adjacent table, which contained a party tucking into steaming bowls of soup and noodles, we had no reason to doubt the versatility of the chef.

Despite the elegant sufficiency we felt, the dessert finale was, literally, something to die for. Aptly named Green Tea Bamboo Snow, this feathery concoction is a house speciality made by the chef from premium quality green tea leaves, fresh cream and a generous hand. To call it ice-cream would be a misnomer, as the light and airy green mound of this delicacy, served in a special dark green cup on its own stand, melted with the speed of snowflakes, whilst maintaining the distinctive bitter-sweet flavour of green tea. Another dish which will spoil your tastebuds for anything claiming to be green tea ice cream after this.

Despite its very modest name, this Restaurant F certainly earned an 'A' in our books. This is a place which you will definitely be returning to time and again. Be warned though: despite it being a weekday night, the place, with a seating capacity of about 24, was three-quarters full. Call ahead if you want to be assured of a place on weekends.