Nanbantei Japanese Restaurant (Far East Plaza)

Nanbantei Japanese Restaurant at Far East Plaza is a yakitori restaurant on Scotts Road, just off Orchard Road. It opened here in 1983 and says it was one of the first yakitori restaurants in Singapore. A second branch followed at Chinatown Point in 2016.

Yakitori means small skewers grilled over charcoal, mostly chicken. Here they are cooked on a binchotan charcoal grill in the middle of the counter. It is a casual place, built for quick lunches and relaxed evenings over skewers.

What to order

The menu is mainly à la carte skewers of meat, seafood and vegetables, plus bento sets and rice bowls. Yakitori is usually seasoned with salt (shio) or brushed with a sweet soy glaze (tare). The restaurant says some seasonal ingredients are shipped in from Japan. Good first choices include:

• Tsukune: chicken meatballs, a good test of any yakitori kitchen.
• Tebasaki: chicken wings, crisp outside and juicy inside.
• Hatsu: chicken heart, a yakitori basic.
• Bonjiri: the chicken tail, which turns rich and crisp on the grill.
• Lamb yaki: grilled lamb seasoned simply with salt and pepper.

If you prefer a full meal on one tray, the Yakitori Bento is the top recommendation on the Chope booking page. Bento sets here come with Japanese rice, pickles and salad. There are also rice bowls such as the Kurobuta Don, topped with grilled black Iberico pork, along with sashimi and fried chicken karaage.

The setting

The room is small and the seats fill up. The counter is the place to be. It has a half-octagon shape with the charcoal grill in the middle, so you can watch the cooks turn the skewers. The restaurant itself says the counter is the best place to sit.

Nanbantei is on the fifth floor of Far East Plaza, so head upstairs once you are inside the mall. The room is cosy and feels much like a neighbourhood yakitori shop in Japan.

Good to know before you go

• Seats are limited, so book ahead for dinner. Each branch has its own booking link on the official website.
• Skewers are small, so order a few kinds first and add more if you are still hungry.
• The restaurant's private dinner parties, for about 35 to 60 people, are held at its Chinatown Point branch.
• Delivery is available through several food delivery apps.

Nearby

Far East Plaza is a short walk from the main stretch of Orchard Road, so a skewer dinner fits well after a day of shopping. Hotels within walking distance include Grand Hyatt Singapore and Royal Plaza on Scotts, both on Scotts Road.

For a more formal sushi meal in the area, look at Ginza Sushi Ichi. You can also browse all Japanese restaurants or restaurants in Orchard and River Valley. Our guide to cheap eats on Orchard Road has more ideas close by.