Boyutei: All-Day Dining Japanese Café by Whitegrass and Hvala

Bringing Whitegrass and Hvala’s refinement and respect for nature into a more casual space, Boyutei is a new all-day-dining Japanese café at Ann Siang Hill. Head Chef Takuya Yamashita from Whitegrass will be in charge of the savoury menu, and Hvala will oversee the dessert and beverage list.

Some of Boyutei’s dishes. Photo by Boyutei.

For those unfamiliar with Whitegrass, the One-Michelin Starred restaurant takes pride in their classic French fare with a Japanese touch. Helmed by Head Chef Takuya Yamashita, they focus on using fresh seasonal produce to create dishes that are thoughtful and respectful of nature while still remaining gastronomically refined.

Hvala serves premium tea and contemporary sweets and treats in a space curated for conversations and gatherings. Aiming to entice and awaken your inner artist and intellect, Hvala brings curated galleries and exhibitions, unique line-up of performances and a highly prized selection of choice tea.

Together, these gastronomic powerhouses run Boyutei. The name Boyutei is inspired by the Japanese kanji characters 忘忧亭, which means a pavilion where you can forget your sorrows. As per their namesake, Boyutei is meant to be a tranquil place for you to forget your troubles and day-to-day distractions, and regroup and refocus on the passions that matter to you.

Boyutei’s Dishes

Head Chef Takuya Yamashita from Whitegrass will continue with his Japanese-French fusion flair, elevating simple everyday foods using nature-inspired recipes and the freshest ingredients.

Sando Sandwiches

The Sando Sandwiches are Boyutei’s headliner dishes. The Ebi Katsu Sando ($22) has deep fried ebi prawns on brioche thick toast with tartar sauce, tomatoes, cabbage and a homemade chilli drizzle.

They also highly recommend the Wagyu Sukiyaki Tamago Sando ($24), which has Wagyu beef braised in sukiyaki broth and stacked atop brioche, accompanied by an onsen egg and sliced red onions.

Japanese Crepes

These French-style crepes serve up both sweet and savoury Japanese flavours. The Unagi ($26) comes with generous slices of unagi eel and a topping of kinshi tamago (shredded egg crepe), an onsen egg, cucumber and red onion.

For a taste of Shibuya, try their Chicken Okonomiyaki ($22), which features dashi-poached chicken, prawns, cabbage and pickled cabbage topped off with spring onion, mayonnaise, tonkatsu sauce and bonito flakes.

Goma Matcha Crepe and Caramelised Banana Crepe. Photo by Boyutei.

If you’re looking for a sweet treat, they have flavours like Goma Matcha ($14), Caramelised Banana ($14) and Tiramisu ($14).

Rice and Noodles

In these dishes, the best Japanese ingredients have been perfected by French techniques. The Japanese Dry Curry ($22) uses a different dry curry style to cook tender prime cut beef and serves it on a bed of fluffy Japanese white rice.

If you’re looking for a cleaner flavour, try the Niku Miso Chazuke ($18), which is Boyutei’s rendition of the traditional Japanese chazuke which involves 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.

Desserts

Crafted by the artisans at Hvala, the Matcha Goma Garden ($17) features matcha from Hvala’s exclusive partner tea garden in Kyoto (More about them later!). It presents a medley of handmade matcha warabi mochi, a freshly churned homemade matcha ice cream, a goma chocolate cookie and cinnamon sand.

The Black Forest Tart ($17) features a dark chocolate fondant tart contrasted by a bright kirsch cherry compote. It’s accompanied by a rum ice cream atop a bed of chocolate soil.

Japanese Tea

Aligned with Hvala’s reputation for being a master in the craft of tea, all teas at Boyutei are from Hvala’s exclusive partner farm, a traditional tea wholesaler in Kyoto that brings high quality tea leaves to the marketplace. The same Hvala tea-brewing artistry has been brought to Boyutei—to preserve the best flavour and fragrance, Chinese teas will be served at 98°C and Japanese tea at 78°C.

Each pot of tea is also refillable, so relax with a good brew while you enjoy your experience at Boyutei!

Boyutei’s Japanese Tea selection lets you choose from specially curated matcha and unique tea types harvested from the widespread regions of Japan. For a classic option, try their Hojicha Karigane ($10), which uses the stems of premium-grade tea leaves. This tea from Kyoto has a mellow, woodsy sweetness thanks to its low concentration of caffeine.

They also offer options like a Sakura Smoked ($12) black tea and a Matcha Latte ($9).

Boyutei’s Chinese Tea offerings include unconventional options like the Golden Key ($14), which is grown in the Wuyi mountains in small plots and even smaller batches. According to Boyutei, the three-inch long leaves produce a light golden-green tinted tea with a “distinct minerality, powerful with a rock richness and softened by a fruity fragrance”.

You can also try their Snowflake Dancong ($15), a highly aromatic tea that is painstakingly harvested only in the mornings of winter from the Fenghuang mountain, instead of in the typical spring season for a more mellow flavour profile.

Alongside these Japanese and Chinese tea offerings, Boyutei also has a small variety of cold brew tea, coffee and Gaiwan coffee.