Fans of one-Michelin starred Whitegrass and master tea artisans Hvala can look forward to a more casual concept that still delivers the refinement and respect for nature both brands have cultivated, with the new all-day-dining Japanese café Boyutei at Ann Siang Hill.
Boyutei borrows influences for its name from the Japanese kanji characters, which means a pavilion where you can forget your sorrows. Like the grand pavilions of the ancient palaces, it is meant to be a tranquil spot where scholars and friends gather over tea to forget troubles and engage in intellectual conversations. Over drink and food, it invites all to escape the day-to-day stresses and distractions and regroup and refocus on the passions that matter to them.
At Boyutei, Whitegrass Head Chef Takuya Yamashita will craft the savoury menu that comprises salads, soups, Japanese sandos, rice, noodles and crepes both sweet and savoury, while Hvala will oversee the dessert and beverage list for the coming together of two masters of their crafts.
Whitegrass, under the helm of Head Chef Takuya Yamashita, has long prided itself for classic French fare with a Japanese touch. Its menu focuses on using the freshest seasonal produce to create dishes that are thoughtful and respectful of nature while remaining gastronomically refined. Located in the historical CHIJMES landmark, the 48-seat restaurant boasts stellar service and a carefully curated beverage list that serves to elevate the experience of dining in this iconic venue further.
Hvala continues on its aspiration to create a modern day platform for the modern day Picasso and Hemingway to gather over tea and contemporary sweets and treats. A place for conversations and tea, it seeks to entice and awaken artistic, intellectual and flavour tastebuds all at once with curated galleries and exhibitions, unique line-up of performances and a highly prized selection of choice tea.
At Boyutei, the food menu will be crafted by the hands of Head Chef Takuya Yamashita from Whitegrass, who will continue on his Japanese-French fusion flair. Simple everyday foods elevated by nature-inspired recipes using fresh ingredients continue to beat as the pulse.
To start, bite into headliner SANDO SANDWICHES. A must-try is the Wagyu Sukiyaki Tamago Sando ($24), where prized Wagyu beef braised in sukiyaki broth is piled atop a thick cut brioche with accompaniments of an onsen egg for silky creaminess and sliced red onion to lift flavours. The Ebi Katsu Sando ($22) will delight prawn lovers with ebi prawns deep fried to golden crunch before being served with tartar sauce, tomatoes, cabbage and a homemade chilli drizzle all atop a pillowy soft brioche thick toast.
APANESE CREPES serve up little folded envelopes of delight, whether sweet or savoury. In thin French-style crepes folded into squares, dig in to savoury flavours like Seafood Mentaiko ($22), where the sweetest spoils of the sea including prawn and squid complement bacon, cabbage and tomato for a treasure trove of aromas. A dressing of mentaiko mayo and a sprinkling of shredded nori bring the whole package home to the flavours of the ocean.
The Prawn and Chicken Okonomiyaki ($22) comes piled with dashi-poached chicken, prawns, cabbage and pickled cabbage, before topped off with a sprinkling of spring onion, a drizzle of mayonnaise, tonkatsu sauce and bonito flakes for a trip right home to Shibuya. Unagi ($26) comes with generous slices of unagi eel, made creamy with kinshi tamago and onsen egg.
Further adding to taste and texture are cucumber and red onion before a final sprinkling of shredded nori, spring onion and togarashi Japanese seven-spice powder complete it.
Sweet crepes balance out the savouries just as well with the Goma Matcha ($14), the ultimate tribute to all things with matcha with matcha pastry cream enveloping homemade matcha ice cream and finished off with goma crumble for texture. The Caramelised Banana ($14) presents sliced caramelised banana served on a bed of vanilla pastry cream and a drizzle of miso butterscotch for the perfect sweet and creamy indulgence. The Tiramisu ($14) is also not to be missed with sponge cake folded with fresh mascarpone and pastry cream then given a shot of booze with rum, coffee reduction and syrup. It is finished off with a powdered sugar and cocoa powder sifted over it.
Hot dishes entice with a selection of RICE & NOODLES, bringing the best of Japanese ingredients perfected by French techniques. The Cha Soba ($24) tempts with the smoothest, silkiest cha-infused buckwheat noodles, perfect to bolster grilled unagi fish and strings of kinshi tamago. A dash of lemon juice and Momiji oroshi tie all the flavours together.
The Japanese Dry Curry ($22) cooks tender prime cut beef in a dry curry style for big flavour game before serving it on fluffy Japanese white rice for satiation. A side of onsen egg lengthens flavours and a topping of cheese sauce adds a richness that will leave you well satiated. Cleaner flavours present themselves with the Niku Miso Chazuke ($18), Boyutei’s rendition of the traditional Japanese dish made by pouring green tea or dashi broth over cooked rice.
The seemingly simple rice dish surprises with intense flavours, having moromi miso flavoured minced beef served atop fluffy Japanese white rice. Leek and genmai crispy bits crowns the dish for an extra textural crunch.
DESSERTS at Boyutei showcase the talent of the artisans at Hvala, most stunningly exemplified with the Matcha Goma Garden ($17). With matcha farmed from Hvala’s exclusive partner tea garden in Kyoto, it serves up handmade matcha warabi mochi and a freshly churned homemade matcha ice cream alongside a goma chocolate cookie.
Cinnamon sand bolster the mochi, ice cream and cookie for extra texture laced with a sweet spice. For a chocolatey indulgence, the Black Forest Tart ($17) will meet the deepest, darkest chocolate cravings with a molten dark chocolate fondant tart. Bright kirsh cherry compote adds layers of tartness and sweetness to cut through the chocolate while chocolate soil lend textures. Teasing the lips with a little hot and cold play is rum ice cream, tying together the bitter, sweet and sour of the tart. Another tempting option is the Sticky Date Pudding ($17) that invites all to dig into the sticky indulgent toffee pudding, made richer in flavours with miso butterscotch and Bailey’s ice cream, bringing the perfect hot and cold, sweet and salty sweet end.
Staying true to Hvala’s DNA as a master in the craft of tea, all teas at Boyutei will continue to be brought in from Hvala’s exclusive partner farm, a traditional tea wholesaler committed to providing the best quality tea leaves in the marketplace. The same Hvala artistry applies to the serving of its teas, where Chinese teas will be served at 98 degrees Celsius and Japanese tea, at 78 degrees Celsius, to preserve the best of flavour and fragrance. Each pot is refillable so you may sip on your favourite brews for as long as your conversations flow.
From its CHINESE TEA selections, sip on unconventional tea like the Golden Key ($14), grown in the Wuyi mountains in small plots and even smaller batches. Three-inch long leaves with a golden undertone produce tea with a distinct minerality, powerful with a rock richness and softened by a fruity fragrance. When brewed, its tea is translucent with a light golden-green tint and long fruity tail.
The Snowflake Dancong ($15) is a highly aromatic tea, painstakingly harvested only in the mornings of winter from the Fenghuang mountains. Typically harvested in the spring, choosing to harvest them in the winter retains a more mellow flavour profile that leans ever so slightly to sweet with tropical fruit undertones. Borrowing from its name xue pian which means snowflake, its large winter leaves release highly romantic brews that bloom with tropical fruit notes reminiscent of a medium oxidized oolong.
Its JAPANESE TEA selections are equally as impressive, with specially curated matcha and unique tea types harvested from widespread regions of Japan. A prime variety is the Hojicha Karigane ($10) green tea that pours to a sweet, woodsy aroma. Made from the stems of premium-grade tea leaves and roasted in the same way as Hojicha, this tea from Kyoto sips to a mellow, woodsy sweetness thanks to its low concentration of caffeine.
The Sakura Smoked ($12) black tea will please lovers of smoky profiles with the delicate sweetness of Sakura flowers and hints of sour cherry emboldened by a light smokiness thanks to its body of smoked black tea. Beyond straight teas, milk varieties are also offered, like the Matcha Latte ($9) that serves a shot of thick, silky, freshly-whipped matcha layered onto fresh milk for a naturally default sweetness that borrows from no additional sugar. Look forward also to a small variety of cold brew tea, coffee and Gaiwan coffee.
Boyutei marries modernity and tradition in a new space housed stylishly within a shophouse at Ann Siang Hill. Wooden counters, tables and chairs contemporary in design are brought back in time with subtle traditional elements like a Japanese zen garden sitting demurely to a corner. Shades of warm green, brown and punctuations of grey inside are all nods to the tea they serve while the royal blue on the exterior façade welcome all with a bright embrace.
Above the live tea counter, gridded ceiling lights are reminiscent of the Japanese paper screen doors while wooden shafts lining the sides of counters and walls harken old Chinese village huts, presenting a marrying of two eras and cultures in one place.
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