Where Tapas & Sake Come Together.
Melding cool and chic, Boruto, a stylish Japanese gastropub located near the heart of CBD, offers worn-down office-workers or ladies looking for a mellow night out or a snazzy place to kick back, enjoy some tapas, slurp down some drinks and have an overall rad time.
The head chef at Boruto, Mr. Angus Chow has been in the food industry for over 15 years and has worked for several big names like Les Amis, FOC and Nanto Group (Nan Ten). With his experience and with the creative spirit of the Boruto kitchen crew, new avant-garde dishes with a localized flourish are constantly being churned out.
From the outside, apart from the wide display of sake bottles, Boruto can seem rather simplistic or modest with its design but young padawans, do not be fooled by its humble exterior. Nestled within the confines of Boruto is a literal vault containing the bar’s numerous prominent sakes and rare whiskies like the premium Hakushu 25 years and Hibiki 30 years.
Upon entering the place, one would find that the bar’s mood lighting, high ceilings and sexy setting help to sooth one’s frazzled nerves and put one in the mood to eat and drink the night away.
Boruto occupies two levels – Tapas bar on the first and Sake bar on the second.
On the first floor, Boruto has adopted a bar-like concept whereby many of their seats are arranged around a long counter where food can promptly be served at. The cushioned, high seats are surprisingly comfortable and as we sat there enjoying the line-up of foods, I relished the thought of somewhat being in a state-of-the-art izakaya setting.
There are several other more privy tables where you and your chums can settle down at, with no qualms of being in earshot of anything.
More groovy vibes set in on the second floor as that is where the designated bar and Boruto’s trove of drinks is stored. Many opt to have their much-needed drinks upstairs for that is where they can be closer to the crux of things aka alcohol.
Featured here is the sake vault that Boruto adopted, for the place used to be a bank a good number of years ago, which is where the bar stores most of their prized sakes. Boruto boasts the 100 over brands of sakes, whiskies and sojus that they have as they are strong advocates of having a drink to start off dinners.
We were told that apart from housing a really nifty sake vault, Boruto also prides itself in coming up with their own concoctions such as Strawberry wine which is created from white strawberries and other fruits, and for making their own sojus like the one featured below.
We were first introduced to Boruto’s homemade soju, which is kept for at least 6 months, on its magical second floor. A heavy-set glass jar of aged, dried plums and chilled, golden liquid was brought out for us to try and I was thrilled. The soju was sweet and had a little bit of tang, just the way I like it.
Apart from the soju, we each ordered a drink. The first to tantalize our taste buds was the Boruto 80. I did not particularly enjoy this drink merely because I have a preference for sweeter drinks and this cocktail had a bitter after-taste and the drink had a tart cucumber essence which I did not fully appreciate.
It is possible that this is merely my measly preference and there are the unique few who like their drinks this way so do not hold back if you do enjoy bitter drinks.
The second drink we had was the Peach Affair, which tasted just as delightful as its name suggests. The drink which comes with a playful cherry on the side was very refreshing and had a slightly sweet zing which I adore. The Peach Affair was undoubtedly my favourite drink and I’d highly recommend it to anyone looking for something light and exhilarating.
The last drink that came our way was The South Bridge. Much like the Boruto 80, this drink had a slightly bitter after-taste but unlike the former, The South Bridge had a lemony, zesty essence to it which I quite enjoyed too.
And now, on to the long-awaited moment – the tapas.
We were first served Saga Gyu Tataki ($28.80) which is essentially seared japanese saga beef with shredded onion and saffron toppings as garnish. The wagyu was beautifully soft and tender (Grade A3 marbling) and extremely tasty when eaten with Boruto’s homemade shoyu sauce, which the head chef Mr Angus Chow proudly told us is made with katsuobushi and is carefully reduced to bring forth the powerful flavours.
The second dish we had was the Ahi Tataki ($12.80) which was a glorious platter of yellow fin tuna flesh fried with chili salsa and topped with finely chopped up black olives and spices. I loved this dish for the tuna had a nice springy texture, was extremely refreshing and the pairing sauce with salsa and olives gave it the right amount of saltiness that my taste buds desire.
To ensure we had a wholesome Boruto experience, we were given glasses of suitable sakes to be paired with various tapas dishes. This glitzy bottle of Sensho Masamune Junmai Ginjo Platinum Class was presented to us whilst we enjoyed the Ahi Tataki.
This platinum class Sensho Masmune had a strong citrus essence and its refreshing acidity went very nicely with the fish and the Yuzu Wasabi dressing. We were told by the lovely lady pictured that this sake also goes very nicely with salmon which is a bonus.
Boruto has a rather special system wherein the kitchen alongside its head chef comes up with “New Dishes of the Month” whereby the chefs invent novel dishes and for those that become popularized, they will transfer these to the main menu. This ensures that Boruto stays an innovative churner of new and improved dishes.
One such dish which we decided to try on “New Dishes of the Month” is the Potato Cheese Mentai ($9.80). These petite deep-fried potato cylinders filled with mentaiko cheese and based with vinaigrette sauce were rather tasty.
As the potato was not soft and mashed as I had expected it to be so texture-wise, I did not really appreciate the dish but I did like how the mentaiko cheese helped make up for the texture.
The fourth dish we had was the Crispy Rice Cracker Tacos ($12.80) which was my personal favourite for the rice-cracker base provided a lovely crisp texture that nicely complimented the beef shreds which sat atop it.
The shredded beef had a sweet, tangy taste that was rather beautiful and the dash of guacamole helped to blend out the savoury flavours of the dish. All in all, this seemingly simple dish can be likened to a beautiful symphony piece.
We were served a glass of Yuki no Bijin Aiyama each to be paired with the Crispy Rice Cracker Tacos. The sweet and crisp sake was just sublime when it went together with the slightly sweet and rather tangy sauces for the rice cracker. I would definitely recommend this combination of sake and tapas.
The next tapas dish we had was the Hotate to Cauliflower no Grill ($15.80), a dish that made its way from “New Dishes of the Month” to the main menu. The head chef detailed how he had sweet curry imported from Japan to be fused with salt and to be presented in this dish as “Curry Salt”.
I liked the Hokkaido scallops for they had a nice bouncy texture and tasted rather nice but I was not too keen on the cauliflower puree for I thought it had a rather disagreeable smell to it. It could have simply been my tongue playing tricks on me but I think not.
This dish was another favourite of mine. It is called the Tori-take Roll ($15.80) and it is basically a crispy chicken roulade stuffed with shitake jam. It was explained to us how the chicken was cooked at 80°C for 45 minutes and deep-fried with sesame oil and chili oil before being crammed with shitake jam.
I enjoyed this dish thoroughly for the blend of the crunchy outer skin with the tender meat, and the lovely soft center, which was both scrumptious and delightful.
Next, we had the Wataya Junmai Daiginjo which was rich in umami and for that very reason, was perfect together with the Tori-Take Roll‘s umami from the shitake jam.
One other meaty tapas dish we tried was the Beef Short Rib 58°C ($18.80) Head chef Mr Angus Chow informed us that the Angus beef was toasted “sous vide” (in sealed vacuum and cooked for 4 hours) to achieve the tender texture desired. The beef was indeed tender and packed a lovely flavour especially when eaten with the side of Japanese pumpkin puree and the adorable-sounding “Baby Rainbow Carrots”.
Before my visit to Boruto, I never did give much thought to sakes but this Japanese tapas & bar place really helped to sort me out. We were served the Tengumai Junmai Daiginjo 50, which is, I believe, based on the Japanese anime of Dance of the Devils – a story filled with demons, vampires and heroes, and the ironic sweetness of the sake helped to compliment the Beef Short Ribs, accentuating the richness and saltiness of the dish.
Listed under the “Carbs” section of the menu, Boruto’s Uni Pasta v1.1 ($35.80) promises to bring the flavours of the ocean to your plate. Braised in seafood broth and topped with white wasabi, not cheese, the seafood essence of this dish is really quite powerful. It does go nicely with the white wasabi, which gave the dish a tad bit of zing.
The last sake of the night that we had was the Sawaya Matsumoto Shuhari Junmai Ginjo. It came in an elegant bottle and the clear liquid from within had a nice balance of umami and acidity, which was a good match with the sea urchin stock with Ohba for the Uni pasta v1.1.
The sakes like the Sawaya Matsumoto were highly refreshing and they really helped to cleanse our palates and further aided the tapas dishes settle more snugly down our digestive tracks.
Another carbs dish we tried was the Truffle Hiyashi Somen ($15.80) – cold somen tossed in confit egg yolk. The noodles were topped with truffle molecules and deep-fried ebi pieces. I found it very interesting how the different textures of the dish came together very nicely with the slippery noodles and the crispy ebi bits.
The peculiar concept of truffle molecules also intrigued me as I had never before seen anything like it but I was far from disappointed as the truffle essence came through strongly, but not overwhelmingly so.
One dessert dish that has yet to be included in the menu is the Cinnamon Torija Toast which was absolutely divine. I loved the soft but far from mushy toast which was richly coated with cinnamon sugar and the sweet, tangy fruits that accompanied the toast really helped to balance the flavours between sweet and sour.
An accidental brainchild of Mr Chow, the Chocolate Surprise ($12.80) is a half cake, half souffle that oozes with runny chocolate from its centre and paired with vanilla ice cream and crushed nuts, the simple yet beautiful flavours of this dessert dish will definitely not disappoint.
To top things off, every Saturday, Boruto selects several sakes and tapas dishes that are usually much pricier and set a fixed price of $10 for each drink or food dish listed. This fantastic deal lasts the entire night so do not fret about not making it in time for their “Happy Hour”!
All in all, I was very impressed with my entire dining experience at Boruto and while I do realise the tapas and sakes are rather pricey, I still have myself convinced that if I do want to spoil myself one particular night, I would bring my friends to enjoy the delectable tapas dishes and drinks that Boruto has to offer. If anything, I’d recommend those looking for a new alcohol experience to visit this tapas & sake bar to get the best of both worlds.
Expected damage: $40 per pax