Tucked along the row of shophouses at Kampung Bahru is Manpei, an intimate izakaya that specialises in Hokkaido cuisine. The 40-seater is popular among Japanese chefs not only as it opens till 4am but also because of the hearty and heart-warming traditional Hokkaido fare chef-owner Urayama Satoru puts out. These include a good selection of grilled fishes like hokke, saba, sanma, shisamo, and karei; stir-fried specialities and noodle options, as well as the comforting favorite oden. Naturally, the izakaya carries a wide range of drinks to go with the food, such as sake, umeshu and sours. But they are most known for their shochus that are primarily from the Kyushu prefectures of Kagoshima and Oita, where quality sweet potatoes are grown and then distilled to make delicious shochu.
