The Place Located at Suntec City Tower 3, Butahage is a renowned Hokkaido restaurant famed for its award-winning specialty of succulent and flavourful butadon (pork bowl). Hailing from the city of Obihiro, Hokkaido, widely-recognised as the birthplace of Obihiro Meibutsu Buta Don or ‘Obihiro Famous Pork Rice Bowl’, the space and dining ambience of Butahage is casual for the 61-seater restaurant where you get regular tables and limited counter seats with a view of the grilling action in the kitchen.

The Food At the heart of Butahage’s menu is the much-lauded butadon which features thick slices of pork loin grilled and cloaked in an exquisite 80-year-old butadon no tare or dipping sauce. The highlight on the menu is definitely the Obihiro Meibutsu Japanese Pork Loin Don (Regular – S$19.80; Large – S$24.80) and Obihiro Meibutsu Pork Loin Don (Regular – S$11.80; Large – S$14.80), prepared with Japanese and Canadian pork loin respectively.

I had the Obihiro Meibutsu Japanese Pork Loin Don (S$24.80/large) where you can expect a juicy and meaty pork glazed with the savoury tare, and is served with Hokkaido Nanatsuboshi rice – a rice varietal specially-chosen for its plump grains, mild sweetness, and bite. The pork is mainly lean meat, with just a little fatty meat at the edges.

The pork is grilled using the traditional amiyaki method over red hot coals for that char, and generously glazed with the umami-rich homemade sauce.

Note: The Signature Butadon, Signature Tendon and Seafood Don are each served as a set comprising of miso soup, cherry tomatoes, pickled radish and cucumber. 

Aside from Butadon, there are also tendon (tempura rice) options on the menu like the Hokkaido Special Tendon (S$16.80) and Premium Tendon (S$14.80). Both bowls comprise of Black Tiger Prawns, salmon, yari ika (spear squid), shiitake, and nagaimo (mountain yam) in crisp tempura batter, while the Hokkaido Special Tendon contains two additional ingredients of hotate (scallop) and asparagus.

I had the Hokkaido Special Tendon with hot udon, where the udon broth is really light and delicious. The tempura batter is quite good in the sense that it is very light and it does not taste greasy at all.

Simpler versions of tendon on the menu include the Tendon (S$9.50) and vegetable-only Yasai Tendon (S$8.80), where the latter is quite a value for money option as it also comes with pickles and miso soup. I just thought that it would be better if there is more sauce on the rice!

For the tendon, diners can opt for a choice of rice or noodles; udon and soba (hot and cold) are also available.

A dish specially curated for Singaporeans is the Salmon Mentai Avocado Don (S$17.80). You get thick cuts of salmon topped with a layer of mentai or cod roe mayo that is torched, and paired with creamy avocado. This is surprisingly good for me, as the mentai sauce complements the fresh salmon slices very well. I guess I am a true-blue Singaporean.

For sides, go for the Butahage Bun (S$4.60), a unique creation featuring Butahage’s signature Obihiro Meibutsu Canadian pork belly sandwiched between a pillow-soft steamed bun. It is quite similar to Chinese-style ‘Kong Ba Pao’, except this version has a tinge of mustard sauce.

Other sides include Tori Karaage (S$4.80), smooth Chawanmushi (S$3.20), Agedashi Imo Tempura (S$3.80), Onsen Tamago (S$1.80), and Miso Soup (S$1.60). The Agedashi Imo Tempura I had is sweet potato which is baked then fried into a tempura version, along with radish.

For desserts, there is the Hokkaido Strawberry Milk Cheesecake (S$5.80) with Hokkaido milk and Hokkaido strawberries. Alternatively, there is also the Maple Glazed Sweet Potato (S$4.80) with deep-fried sweet potato batons in a sticky caramel coat.

Rants Can skip the desserts and order more sides instead in my opinion.

Will I Return Again? Good casual restaurant to check out if you are in Suntec City where you get good Japanese food without breaking the bank. My top picks are the signature Obihiro Meibutsu Japanese Pork Loin Don, Salmon Mentai Avocado Don and Hokkaido Special Tendon.

This was an invited tasting, though all opinions expressed are our own.

TheRantingPanda says:
Taste bud: 4/5
Hole in the pocket: 3/5
Ambience: 3.5/5
Overall Experience: 4/5

Butahage 
Suntec City, 3 Temasek Boulevard 
#01-625/626 (Tower 3) 
Singapore 038983 

Opening Hours  
Monday to Sunday: 11am to 10pm 

Ranted by The Ranter