I have a soft spot for restaurants that ask you to look for them. Hanashizuku Japanese Cuisine is one of those. A friend mentioned it over coffee one afternoon, the way people share something they are not quite ready to give up, and a few days later I found myself riding the lift up at Cuppage Plaza, looking for a small door on the second floor.
Let me tell you about that evening the way I would over a long phone call. Slowly, with all the small details that made it feel like more than just a meal.
Finding Hanashizuku Japanese Cuisine in Cuppage Plaza
The address is simple enough to keep in your pocket: 5 Koek Road, #02-01 Cuppage Plaza, Singapore 228796, just a short walk from Somerset MRT. But like a lot of the good places tucked into this older building, Hanashizuku takes a moment to find. You step off the noise of Orchard Road, ride up to the second floor, and the corridor quiets around you.
When I pushed open the door, the calm was immediate. Cuppage Plaza has that effect. Outside, the street hums with traffic and crowds. Inside this small Japanese restaurant, the lighting is soft, the voices are low, and the air carries that gentle warmth of grilled food and steamed rice.
A quick practical note before I go further. The hours listed publicly run Monday to Friday for lunch and dinner, then Saturday to Sun for dinner only. Still, hours can shift, so it is worth a quick call ahead. We had made a reservation for a Thursday evening, which I would gently recommend, since the room is compact and the dinner seats fill quietly but surely.
A Cosy Corner for Japanese Cuisine
Hanashizuku opened back in March 2008, and you feel that quiet steadiness the moment you settle in. This is not a flashy date-night spot trying to impress you. It is a cosy izakaya-style place that has simply been doing its thing for years, built around the long experience of master chef Steven Lee, who has spent over two decades with Japanese cuisine.
The seating suits couples and small groups. Tables sit close, in the comfortable way common to Cuppage Plaza’s Japanese restaurants, so you end up half-listening to the soft clink of someone else’s sake cup nearby. It feels intimate rather than cramped. The kind of room where you lower your voice without meaning to.
Soon after we sat down, the staff brought out the otoshi, a small appetiser served to each person. There is a S$4++ per person charge for it, which is normal in Japanese izakaya dining, though I always think it is kinder to mention so you are not caught off guard. Ours was a tiny, thoughtful plate, the sort of thing that quietly sets the tone for the meal.
The Meal We Shared at This Japanese Restaurant
What I love about a place like this is how the menu invites you to share. My friend leans toward grilled dishes and rice bowls, while I always drift to the raw and the delicate. Hanashizuku lets both of us be happy at the same table, and that is half the joy of eating here.
We started, as I usually do, with the sashimi. The sashimi mori comes in a 3-kind option and a 5-kind option, and there is an omakase sashimi mori too, priced at the daily market rate, so it is worth asking what looks good that day. We went with the 5-kind. The salmon was clean and cool, the firm white fish holding its shape beautifully, each slice resting like it had been placed with real care.
From there, we let the meal unfold gently rather than ordering everything at once. A few highlights stayed with me:
Salmon avocado carpaccio — a light, fresh starter with a soft wasabi note
Scallop carpaccio — served with ponzu jelly and a whisper of truffle oil, easily my favourite of the night
Wagyu tataki — lightly seared, with a garlic ponzu sauce that lingered just enough
Gindara saikyou yaki — grilled cod marinated in miso, tender and comforting
Ebi mentai cheese yaki — grilled prawn with cheese and spicy cod roe, the kind of richer plate you order to split and fight over a little
My friend, true to form, reached for the warmer dishes. The yakitori moriawase arrived as a neat little set, one stick of each kind, easy to pass back and forth across the table.
Richer Plates and the Comfort of Rice
This was when we ordered the more indulgent things. The uni to ikura angel hair pasta is a quiet showstopper, sea urchin and salmon roe folded through a delicate mentaiko pasta style of cold noodle. It is rich, so we shared it slowly, a forkful at a time. The negitoro uni ikura don is in a similar league, a small rice bowl piled with chopped fatty tuna, uni, and bright beads of ikura. If you are deciding between the two, I would say the pasta surprises and the don comforts.
To round things off, we needed something with rice. The garlic fried rice is reliable and savory, though the unagi fried rice is the one I keep thinking about, a little sweeter, a little deeper. Either makes a good ending carb after all those lighter, sharper flavours earlier.
A small thought, if it helps you plan. This is mid-range to premium casual dining, so a meal here, with a drink or two, tends to land somewhere around S$50 to S$90 per person depending on how much sashimi and how many premium plates you reach for. Worth knowing before you order that second round.
Why Hanashizuku Japanese Cuisine Stays With You
When I think back on the evening, it was not one single dish that made it. It was the whole gentle shape of it. The way the staff moved without hurry. The way the room stayed soft even as it filled. The way my friend and I could sit for two hours and barely notice the time.
We finished with dessert, a simple choice between yuzu and peach sherbet. I took the yuzu, bright and clean, and it was exactly the right quiet note to end on. Nothing showy. Just thoughtful, the way the whole meal had been.
That, I think, is what makes this Japanese restaurant special. Not a viral plate or a long queue, but the steady comfort of a place that knows what it is. A hidden food corner inside Cuppage Plaza where the food is careful, the variety is generous, and the pace lets you actually be present with whoever you brought along.
A Few Things to Know Before You Go
If you are thinking of visiting Hanashizuku, here is the short version of what I would pass to a friend:
Make a reservation, especially for dinner. The space is cosy and seats are limited.
Expect the otoshi charge of S$4++ per person. It is normal here, just good to know.
Order to share. Start with sashimi or carpaccio, add grilled plates, then finish with rice or noodles.
Ask about daily prices for the omakase sashimi mori and any seasonal items.
Go with someone you can talk to slowly. This is a conversation place, not a quick meal.
Discover the Quiet Charm of Hanashizuku Japanese Cuisine
I left that night feeling quietly cared for, which is rare and worth chasing. If you find yourself near Somerset with an unhurried evening ahead, take the lift up at 5 Koek Road, #02-01 Cuppage Plaza, and let Hanashizuku Japanese Cuisine show you what a calm dinner can feel like. Just remember to take your time. It rewards the people who do.
For more hidden gems and delightful dining spots in the area, you might also enjoy exploring the curated list of Cuppage Plaza food finds at Hidden Eats Around.