The Place Located at 28 Cavan Road, Hando is a new modern izakaya restaurant from The Well Group, whose portfolio spans omakase restaurant Sushi Takahashi, wellness café the Ritual, pet-friendly café Well Collective and more. The kitchen is led by Chef-Partner Jack Chang, who has 20 years of culinary experience.

The space takes on a dark theme with counter seats over the open kitchen, and a quieter space towards the back of the restaurant for a more intimate dining ambience.

The Food Expect made-to-order handrolls passed straight from hand to hand, meant to be eaten in ten seconds while the nori still crackles (from S$9).

Handrolls aside, there are also binchotan-fired skewers, sashimi and izakaya plates, along with beverages like sake, highballs, ice-cold beer and house-made umeshu. Lunch sets from S$24.

For the Made-to-order handrolls, expect the likes of S$9 spicy salmon with house kimchi to Hokkaido uni & cold-smoked ikura, and the Snow Crab & Uni.

For a start, I had their Mixed Fish (S$14) which is an assortment of sashimi along with seaweed tempura. This is an easy starter to share where you can have the diced sashimi with the crisp tempura cracker.

The Handcraft Corn Tofu (S$9) with bonito sauce is delicious if you are a tofu lover.

On to the handrolls, I managed to try a couple of them like the Salmon Handroll (S$10), Seared Engawa Handroll (S$10), Seared Anago Handroll (S$10), and Uni Bomb Handroll (S$28). The standout of the handrolls for me other than the fillings, is the crisp seaweed. There are quite a wide variety of flavours to choose so it really boils down to personal preferences.

I am not a big fan of the Uni Bomb as I find it too saucy and creamy as it has more of that element rather than full-blown Uni toppings.

The last savoury dish I had was the Hando Uni Don (S$28) where the warm inaniwa udon is topped with Uni cream, Uni and Ikura. This is probably one of the most indulgent dishes on the menu.

For dessert, I had the Hando Banana Fritters (S$15) with gelato and gochujang caramel.

Rants To manage expectations, the size of the handroll is not that big.

Will I Return Again? Hando is a nice addition to Lavender district and the biggest selling point for me is how casual it is, and yet it does not feel tacky or thrashy. The handrolls and dishes I had in general are very decent, and it is a nice spot for a fun, modern izakaya vibes if you just want to unwind.

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

Hando
28 Cavan Road

Singapore 209855

Opening Hours
Monday to Sunday: 12pm to 2.15pm; 6pm to 9pm

Ranted by The Ranter