Head chef Takeshi Araki spares no effort in his dedication to seasonal cooking at Esora, and this winter is no different. Seasonal Japanese ingredients are used to creative effect here, including winter kumquat (used in this season’s rendition of its signature foie gras monaka) as well as Yamaguchi fugu (pufferfish), which is coated in a light batter and fried for the perfect balance of crunchy exterior and tender interior. 

Chef de cuisine Yohhei Sasaki blends the beauty of Japanese and Italian winters in his new seasonal menu. Look out for highlights such as the Aomori black garlic pasta, a dish with unapologetic richness in its Shimonita negi cream sauce and duck ragout. Or sink your teeth into the Sendai Wagyu, served with a wasabi green apple sauce. Dessert, titled “Inverno du Napoli” (“winter of Napoli” in Italian), offers a rendition of the classic Napoli pastry babà, filled with a “date cha” cream and bergamot ganache.

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A leader in vegetable-forward gastronomy, chef Jeremy Gillon’s new menu at Restaurant Jag this season showcases the best of winter produce. Take the capucine, where tubers are served raw with a creamy confit, with a side of blanched and puffed quinoa. Elsewhere, mayweed, oca potatoes and apples come together unexpectedly to create dessert, a tarte tatin served with coconut caramel, apple sorbet, and salted caramel ice cream.

An Italian winter yields many seasonal delights, as resident chef Denis Lucchi of Buona Terra knows well. This season, Lucchi showcases Calabrian mandarins and Amalfi lemons in his amberjack carpaccio, an apt starter for a meal of Italian indulgence. A brown butter-poached French turbot steals the spotlight in the “Rombo” dish, served with Sicilian red prawns and topped with Oscietra caviar, Lilliput capers, and preserved Amalfi lemon for a powerful acidic kick. Don’t miss out on the “Anatra”, starring ten-day dry-aged duck, grilled over binchōtan with an acacia honey glaze. 

At Jaan, experience chef-owner Kirk Westaway’s winter menu that reflects the warmth of British winters in his home region of Devon. The classic roast potato soup is a must, of course, inflected with charred leek, while seasonal produce like white beetroot is salt-baked with aromatics and topped with caviar and celeriac sauce. With other highlights like langoustine, Berkshire pork and seabass, Westaway’s new menu is not to be missed. 

Running from now till February 4 is Mott 32’s winter menu, which celebrates the delicate flavours of Fukien cuisine. Whole steamed red sturgeon crab is one highlight of the menu, paired with glutinous rice cakes and fragranced with garlic and scallions, while the braised duck with ginger pleases with wood-ear mushrooms, red dates, and a healthy dose of sesame oil.

Chef de cuisine Alexandre Alves Pereira’s second menu for La Dame de Pic, Raffles Singapore makes a splash this winter with an array of seasonal delicacies. Take the kinmedai, a particularly picture-perfect dish served with pickled beetroot, house-cured ikura and a fermented beetroot yoghurt sauce. This season’s Berlingots pasta parcels are filled with squash purée and sobacha filling in a squash jus and turmeric sauce, while dessert—pear roasted with chestnut honey—will end the meal on the right note.

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Indulge in the best of Italian winter at Bar & Billiard Room, where chef de cuisine Natalino Ambra is presenting a series of seasonal delicacies. Celeriac, for instance, perfumes the introductory scallop carpaccio with a touch of Kristal caviar. Squid ink pasta is served with slow-cooked cuttlefish, while a braised Wagyu beef short rib is decadently topped with black truffle. Don’t forget dessert, which includes the variazione di cioccolato, which sees Napolean chocolate and tuile served with Oabika sauce.

You can always expect something new at Goho Kaiseki & Bar, which is why from January 3 to March 31, you get to savour bold new dishes crafted with winter produce. Take the Wagyu beef tongue in Japanese curry jus, or the rich and creamy white onion velouté infused with shirako (fish semen) tare and soy chawanmushi. Gaze in delight at the hassun platter, containing pristine seasonal delights like abalone gunkan and snow crab panko.

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