Masters of omakase

A Tsuji Gakuen Culinary and Confectionery College graduate in Osaka, Takada moved to France in 2007 to work for two-Michelin-starred Le Taillevent and three-Michelin-starred Restaurant Le Meurice Alain Ducasse. He opened La Cime in Osaka in 2010, quickly earning its first Michelin star in 2012 and a second star in 2016. La Cime (‘peak’ in French) has ranked top 10 on the list of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants running for the last three years and ranked 41 on World’s 50 Best Restaurants last year.

Earlier this month, he opened Hanazen, his second dining concept in Singapore, blending his background in French cooking with his love for seasonal Japanese produce and kushiyaki (grilled skewers). Virtually a first of its kind, the restaurant is a charcoal-grilled omakase joint and French brasserie.

“I created this concept as I enjoy yakitori and the taste of charcoal-grilled food. This inspired me to explore the concept of Japanese grilling and expand it to a greater variety of ingredients such as lamb, beef and vegetables. At Hanazen, I blend Japanese and French techniques and flavours to create an explosion of flavours when paired with sauces, using ingredients from all over the world,” says the 46-year-old.

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Located by the lawn of Chijmes, Hanazen looks unmistakably zen with a minimalistic and manly blend of exposed concrete floors juxtaposed against hardwood interiors. Inside the darkened dining hall, the open-fire charcoal grill takes centre stage, flanked by an 11-seater dining counter. The rest of the space is allocated for regular dining tables and a private dining room that seats an additional 15 people.

The chaotic buzz in the kitchen is palpable, especially when things get a little smoky from the fiery grills — and yes, the smell will get in your hair. The six-man crew, managed by two Japanese chefs, work very hard to steer clear of each other while working at immense speed to get on top of plating and service.

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Here you can expect the smoky char of traditional Japanese charcoal-grilled dishes imbued with an innovative French touch in a 16-course omakase, now available for dinner at $250++ per head. If things go as planned, lunch service is slated to start next month, as well as an outdoor brasserie concept serving a French-inspired ala carte menu.

The first few dishes take a leaf from the elevated stylings of La Cime’s award-winning cuisine, such as the Singa-Dog, which pays homage to Takada’s signature Boudin Dog. The Singapore version consists of chicken floss and chicken liver in a fried battered ball, coloured black with edible bamboo charcoal and brushed with a punchy buah keluak sauce.

One of the most unique and original creations I’ve tried is the Panna Cotta. Hardly a dessert, this savoury starter is a pandan flan inspired by kaya toast and topped with moreish slices of Hamaguri clams. Presented in a beautiful wooden box, it is served chilled with crunchy bread tuile topped with nanohana buds and caviar. The bitter-salty creaminess in my mouth made this the night's clear winner.

Most of the tasting menu is yakitori based and predominantly chicken-forward — featuring delightful parts like heart, gizzard, tail, skin and liver (my favourite). Takada also makes it a point to include seafood and meats like lamb and wagyu and a good selection of seasonal vegetables featured in almost every dish.

As a nod to his French background, almost every skewered meat is married with a creamy and flavourful sauce for balance. And to elevate the presentation, the chefs try to jazz up almost every dish with delicate garnishings on interesting tableware.

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The only carb to appear in the entire omakase is the last dish featuring a light somen in aromatic chicken dashi broth. That left enough room for dessert, a homemade Uji Matcha cream served on a foam of fermented banana, like a banana split. It came with a deliciously buttery Financier rendered with chicken fat – which is one reason I must return.

We recommend trying the restaurant’s craft cocktails served at the bar outside for thirsty tipplers. The cocktail programme led by Show Nomura, formerly Nine by La Cime’s head bartender, features 10 original creations covering a wide base of spirits. The bar also carries popular Japanese whiskies and a menu of amazing Kyoto speciality teas.

Hanazen delivers plenty of promise given its Michelin-starred association, but to justify the exorbitant cost for a yakitori-led meal, it would be nice to see more premium or rare ingredients on the list.

Fat Cow | #01-01/02 Camden Medical Centre | Tel: 6735 0308

Japanese wagyu specialist Fat Cow — known for its wagyu donburi bowls — celebrates its 13th anniversary with the arrival of new head chef Shingo Iijima, who joins the team after a rich and prolific career in the kitchens of various premium restaurants, hotels and ryokans in Japan. These include the restaurant Zaimokutei in Tokyo, where he gained a foundation in kaiseki, and the restaurant Mutsukari where he was schooled in Kappo.

His last tenures at the Imperial Hotel Isecho and the ryokans Kashiwaya and Yoshimoto expanded his operational and management experience. After 14 years in Japan, he became an executive chef at the prestigious Miraku restaurant in the five-star G Hotel Kelawai in Penang, Malaysia. Profoundly steeped in classical Japanese cuisine — or washoku — the strapping 37-year-old presents the culmination of his passion at the helm of Fat Cow. He has created separate lunch (Shin) and dinner (Tetsu) menus with a more classical kaiseki touch, imbuing them with a new elegance and sense of return to Japanese roots. Of course, wagyu will remain the core ingredient, and the well-loved donburis will still be available.

For those seeking a more private dining experience, Iijima has also launched an eight-course lunch ($168++) and a nine-course dinner ($350++) omakase. Diners can enjoy this at the bar counter of the private chef’s room set against a backdrop of premium Japanese spirits and sakes.

He describes the menu as a “wagyu and sushi kaiseki” meal centred on wagyu as the main ingredient, with a reinforced accent on seasonality and kaiseki elements. The further inclusion of Japanese cultural elements imbues the entire repertoire with a new elegance and stronger orientation towards Japanese flavours and styles. The young chef hopes that by dining at Fat Cow, you will better understand wagyu and traditional Japanese culture.

The Testsu omakase that we tried superseded our expectations in every way, from the choice of curated cutlery imported from Japan to the more refined presentation of dishes and the unusually larger portions. His first dish is loaded with uni and ikura on top of a thick piece of kelp-cured flounder with a good measure of mushrooms and seasonal vegetables.

A standout dish is the Unagi Tamajimushi, an elegant chawanmushi that features unagi prepared two ways and topped with more uni wrapped in a shiso leaf and deep-fried tempura-style. The crunchy-creamy mouthfeel with little bits of caviar in the mix is a pure delight for the senses.

Another winner is the Lotus Root Glutinous Cake with Wagyu Beef Filling. Finely grated, steamed, and compacted, wagyu beef is stuffed inside the sizable mochi and then deep-fried.

More wagyu prepared in different ways will appear throughout the dinner menu, as well as plenty of sushi. One favourite is the ankimo sushi, a buttery monkfish liver mousse served over red shari rice and topped with pickled winter melon.

Iijima delivers sweet comfort for dessert as a Baked Japanese Sweet Potato mashed and mixed with butter, cream and wasabi and served with vanilla ice cream and poached pear. Supposedly, when he was allowed to create a full menu for the first time, this was the dessert he had in mind. It was also the first dessert he had ever created by himself.

The dinner checked all the boxes for variety, freshness, portion size and flavours. But it’s having the company of a humorous chef to cook for you that made all the difference.