Japanese food and where to find them: the best takeaways and deliveries for 2021

Conventional haute Japanese fare – whether it be kappo-style omakase, or multi-course kaiseki extravaganzas – are delicate, precise affairs. They’re ill-suited for the takeaway box, let alone the back of a delivery rider’s motorized bicycle. But these restaurants have made it happen. Here’s 2021’s best Japanese deliveries (or takeaways, if you’re more trusting of your own driving skills) to sate your thirst for anything north of Kyushu.

Hashida Singapore
Chef Kenjiro Hashida’s swanky new digs at Amoy Street and unorthodox take on the classics are now available for takeaway only. There’s a humbler a la carte menu with a couple of rolls and chirashi don his way if you’re looking for a quick, yet refined, luncheon – as well as a full-blown omakase. It’s been trimmed down to seven courses for simplicity, though the ingredients are nothing less than a celebration of seasonality. Think deep-fried crab croquettes, black cod in an earthy burdock sauce and chawanmushi, served cold with a dollop of uni and caviar.

To order, visit the Hashida Oddle page. Or Whatsapp 8129-5336 or email info@hashidasg.com for takeaway only.
Fat Cow
Fat Cow’s lasted more than a decade in an off-the-beaten-track part of Orchard Boulevard, snagging accolades on the way. What’s available: their uber-popular premium donburi, decked out with 21-day dry-aged (on-site) Nagasaki Wagyu A5 – and caviar, and foie gras; their take on the wagyu sando; and a selection of ready-to-cook beef sets for aspiring home chefs. What’s not: their gastronomic journey a la wagyu omakase. If you’re looking to get over that disappointment, they’ve got a set for two (or one – we don’t judge) featuring a duo of their housemade yuzu cheesecakes and The Fat Cow daiginjo label, made exclusively for them by the Watanabe Sahei Brewery in Tochigo.

To order, click here for delivery or takeaway.
Ichigo Ichie
In Ichigo Ichie’s fledgling days, it was a weekly pop up at Michelin-starred Sushi Kimura. Now, chef-owner Akane Eno has been set free to fly on her own, and oh does she fly. It’s consummate kappo-style omakase with the fullest spirit of omotenashi, or stereotypical Japanese hospitality, embodied by the chef herself. She’s extended that hospitality even now, with a number of eats up for takeaway and delivery. There’s a ready-to-cook somen, paired with slow-cooked abalone, uni, nori and mushroom sauce; a comforting donabe of liver sauce, seaweed and abalone in rice; and other premium bentos.

To order, Whatsapp 9018-2897 (a day in advance) for delivery or takeaway.
Sushi Kimura
Sushi Kimura is helmed by its namesake, chef Tomoo Kimura, who’s spent close to two decades honing his craft at sushi restaurants in Tokyo and Singapore like Ginza Sushi Ichi and Sushi Hashida. It’s this experience - and years of elbow grease - that eventually led to the restaurant’s Michelin star in 2018. His takeaway and delivery menu is simple enough: there’s only three items, not including daily specials. You’ve got futomaki, where kuruma ebi, grilled anago and tamago, among others, are rolled with seasoned Japanese rice and nori; a basic barachirashi don; and a luxury, limited-to-five-portion-daily chirashi comprising slow-cooked Hokkaido kuro awabi, house-marinated ikura, uni and toro. And Amur River caviar. And a bit of gold flake for good measure.

To order, Whatsapp 8428-0073 for delivery or call 6734-3520 for takeaway.
Sen-ryo
The famed kaiten sushi chain, originating from Tochigi prefecture, Japan, added another notch to its belt this year. With 13 outlets in Hong Kong and a similarly strong foothold in Shanghai, they came to Singapore in March this year. Only one thing was missing – kaiten sushi itself. Instead, they opted for a full-service restaurant with all the works. These works include wallet-friendly sushi and sashimi platters, as well a series of bentos. They’ve even got larger party sets for hungry families. To order, Whatsapp 8938-6026 or call 6974-6782 for takeaway only.
The Gyu Bar
Another beef-forward joint is Japanese mod-dining bar, well, The Gyu Bar. It’s headed by chef Yamasaki Kenichiro who’s cut his teeth with more than 20 years studying French, Italian and of course, Japanese techniques. Expect wagyu, and plenty of it, in a variety of ways. There’s a trio of full-bodied wagyu dons, done a la aburi, yakiniku or sukiyaki, as well as dedicated shabu shabu and sukiyaki sets. These come with all the trimmings you’d expect – appetisers, veg, and carbs, as well as housemade dashi broth (sukiyaki sets come, naturally with sukiyaki broth). There’s even an option of renting a portable gas stove and a pot from The Gyu Bar – garden sukiyaki, anyone?

To order, click here or Whatsapp / call 9150-3164 for delivery or takeaway.
Iko
As far as sake bars go, newly opened Iko isn’t your usual sake bar. For one, they’ve opted for a more contemporary neon pink-blue aesthetic in tandem wave motifs on their walls (iko backwards is oki, as in okinami meaning ‘offshore waves’). For another, chef Jeremmy Chiam’s cuisine is anything but traditional. There’s a parfait-like construction of bafun uni and caviar, atop dashi jelly, itself atop cauliflower pudding; a moreish, comforting asari clam broth; and, a nod to his previous, charcoal-heavy venture Le Binchotan, Iberico pork neck on carrot puree, slathered in mustard jus. And if you’d like to treat yourself, there’s the luxe box – bafun uni, Hokkaido scallop, ikura and botan ebi on truffle rice. Yum.

To order, Whatsapp or call 8866-5218 for delivery or takeaway.
Coop by Neon Pigeon
Neon Pigeon, hot off their 2.0 menu, present Coop – a Japanese-focused virtual takeaway concept that’s, somehow, even less fuss-free than Neon Pigeon’s existing eats. For starters, they’ve got a selection of salad and rice bowls to allay any work-from-home squabbles over who’s prepping lunch. Think grilled miso-marinated salmon, yakiniku Wagyu and more, on a bed of Niigata rice or fresh veg. There’s also a selection of ramen, swimming in a duck, niboshi and dried mushroom broth that’s been bubbling away for 72-hours. And if that isn’t fuss-free enough, toss your cutlery - they’ve got sando burgers, which marries the fluffiness of brioche burg buns with crisp sando edges, surrounding a variety of eclectically-done proteins like classic pork katsu, or Korean fried chicken.

To order, click here for delivery or takeaway.
Koma
As part of Marina Bay Sands’ Gourmet Takeaway platform, access is granted once again to their slew of feted restaurants and the culinary delights therein. Said feted restaurants include the likes of Koma, a mod-Jap restaurant that’s known, in part, for it’s rather grandiose decor (complete with torii gates and a 2.5 m tall Japanese bell, over an equally Japanese footbridge). Said culinary delights, thanks to executive chef Kunihiro Moroi, come in the form of a play on itameshi flavours a la Wafu carbonara, where udon noodles are tossed in a velvety smoked butter sauce and crowned with a dollop of uni; a touch of K-nosh – grilled beef short rib with gem lettuce, soy bean sprouts and kochujan; as well as miso-marinated black cod doused in a burnt jalapeno vinaigrette.

To order, click here for delivery or takeaway.
Nomiya
New kid on the block Nomiya is an izakaya concept that just opened up in February. Chef Daniel Yee heads the kitchen with a Japanese-European menu that’s an expression of his culinary experience, which includes time spent at Rhubarb and the now-defunct Maca. Expect elevated bar nosh – to go, for now – like a classic croquette, crowned with not-so-classic lobster and tobiko ; an intriguing charcoal-battered chicken kaarage with a coat of gold dust (because why not) and an udon bento, with an extra something something of truffle and shio konbu. They’ve also got a larger collection of yakitori skewers, or grilled meats (or veg) to share – as well as sake, and plenty of it. Though easy-drinking favourites like the Dassai 23 Junmai Daiginjo will always remain, they’re always on the lookout for exclusives and oddballs alike to educate as much as they entertain.

To order, click here or Whatsapp 9644-9638 for delivery or takeaway.