Started by Japanese restaurateur K Watanabe in 1980, Shima is one of the oldest Japanese restaurants in Singapore. It has an enduring reputation for teppanyaki, so there’s certainly something to be said for first mover advantage – Shima was one of the earliest restaurants to introduce this table-top frying concept here.

But there’s more to Shima than just its teppanyaki – succulent though its sauteed wagyu beef cubes might be – so one shouldn’t overlook its sushi section and a la carte menu.

Of note is its homemade tofu and the wide range of dishes created with it – from custard-textured cold tofu to tofu-wrapped vegetable tempura. Shima, in fact, has a kaiseki-style tofu set lunch of dishes all made with its tofu, which is popular with Japanese ladies.

Shima’s cuisine is classically Japanese. There’s miso cod, which sees the fish marinated for a few days so the miso permeates the milky white flesh; while every so often, patrons who want a highe  grade ingredient can sample shimofuri beef for their teppanyaki, a more marbled beef than wagyu.

Although still situated within the Goodwood Park hotel compound, Shima’s capacity has shrunk slightly since it had to vacate its second level premises to operate only on the ground floor.

The restaurant is the sole outlet although there was an attempt to open a second one at the Esplanade a few years ago. A simple interior which frankly has seen better days obviously isn’t a deterrent to executives and families who can rely on Shima to provide an authentic, back-to-basics Japanese dining experience.

Shima
Goodwood Park Hotel, 22 Scotts Road
Tel: 6734-6281

This article was first published in The Business Times on May 26, 2008.