Sushi temple: Hashida's new restaurant at Amoy Street transcends tradition
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Sushi temple: Hashida's new eating place at Amoy Street transcends tradition
Incorporating much more than of the chef's personality, with designs he dreamed up himself, Kenjiro Hashida's new eatery is a philosophically delicious experience.
Chef Kenjiro "Hatch" Hashida presides over his new counter at Hashida Singapore. (Photo: Hashida Singapore)
29 Jan 2022 06:30AM (Updated: 09 Jul 2022 10:22PM)
It's been a petty difficult to keep rails of chef Kenjiro "Hatch" Hashida lately, what with his bouncing from one location to some other subsequently sallying forth from his Mandarin Gallery restaurant – which is why the opening of the brand new Hashida Singapore at Amoy Street is such welcome news for his numerous fans.
The discerning diner will know that i of the best experiences that coin tin buy – particularly at present that travel isn't on the cards – is a repast full of unexpected surprises taking shape in front end of y'all past a master of his arts and crafts, and if symphonic perfection is the aim, then you could exercise much worse than to sit down at Hatch's Hiba wood tabular array (more on that afterward).
READ: The chef making his own caviar from sturgeon in Japan for Singapore diners
The new Hashida, which opened its brilliant reddish doors a week ago, is a restaurant designed to accept you through a journeying that'south not only culinary but as well cultural, dimensional and even spiritual.
Entering the establishment, you walk a pathway evocative of those leading from an outermost torii gate to the innermost sanctum of a Shinto shrine.
The restaurant has been opened in partnership with OUE Restaurants, the food and lifestyle division of global property programmer OUE Limited; just the chef's ain personal touch permeates the space.
There are three dining rooms, all proudly designed by Hashida himself. The largest seats 12 and features gradated grey walls together with a cloud-like ceiling installation, which he says is meant to evoke the foamy tops of waves, bringing to heed the fishermen, farmers and logistics suppliers who labour for the freshest produce.
The second seats eight diners and pays homage to his heritage through the use of thatched awnings and Hiba wood – the aforementioned type of wood that was used to build his family unit home in Aomori and likewise features in his father'southward sushi restaurant in Tokyo.
Several of the restaurant's counters are Hiba forest, an expense he said could not exist spared because the material connects him with his ancestors, whom he can trace back through 12 generations.
Why is it so integral to what he does? "Considering anyone can train to exist a sushi chef, but not everyone has this connection," he told u.s.a..
The third room seats just seven and is designed to evoke the traditional way of cooking and dining in rural Japan: Outdoors, by the side of a wooden hut. The walls here characteristic 200-twelvemonth-erstwhile wooden beams that used to be part of an ancestral house in Kyoto. In this room, meant to showcase creative culinary experiments, the chef's table is made from Sakura forest.
Fans of Hashida know they will not be disappointed when it comes to the quality of the cuisine, but here, they tin also expect the chef to push the subtle sense of playfulness he's known for slightly farther.
In this new restaurant, the prevailing principle is "Shu Ha Ri", the Japanese concept derived from martial arts signifying the ideas of "tradition, innovation and transcendence": First, in Shu, i must exist schooled in the ways of tradition by a master; and so, in Ha, ane understands enough to comprise novel ideas; and finally, in Ri, one develops his own unique style and technique.
"When the restaurant first opened in Singapore in 2013, nosotros originally focused on presenting authentic, high-end Edomae sushi in line with the centuries-old traditions stemming from ancient Tokyo," Hashida said. "Since then, nosotros have gone on to innovate several creative dishes to our culinary repertoire, every bit our carte du jour began to evolve with the experiences we gained from our interactions and collaborations with other masters of their trade.
"At Hashida Singapore, we are fix to accept on the final phase in our journey to mastery through 'Ri' – where guests may look forward to dishes that transcend tradition in an innovative way."
For instance, at dinner on the 2nd day of the restaurant'south opening, a harmonious appetiser plate featured mackerel sushi, the fish marinated in soy sauce instead of the traditional vinegar; abalone and uni topped with caviar; sugariness snowfall crab and sea cucumber; roasted sweet murphy puree; and a sip of turnip soup.
Uncovering an apple-shaped bowl, we discovered a dish of Kyoto-style ozoni or Japanese mochi rice cake, with a broth of burdock confit, simmered and mixed with white miso; cerise Kyoto radish, yam, and a wedge of sweet, roasted apple tree.
A tender lily bulb dumpling, stuffed with shiitake mushrooms, was served with gingko and bamboo shoot and topped with nanohana (Japanese kailan) in a gelled sauce of dashi, kombu and bonito flakes.
So in that location was a simple yet stunning Hokkaido crab leg, requiring nothing more than its own freshness to control attention. Hashida jocularly referred to the crab leg as a "watergun", miming that all you had to do was pull on the finish for the meat to slide smoothly out of its shell.
Another stunner was a dish of cod milt with tangy ponzu and crunchy barafu or crystalline water ice found, remarkable in its mellow notwithstanding flavourful simplicity.
Hashida isn't a fan of amped-upward acidity, he told us, and then all his flavours are kept measured and balanced – even his sushi rice is less vinegary than others'.
To finish on a low-cal yet satisfying note, in that location was matcha pudding with brown sugar syrup; Beni Madonna orangish; Amaou strawberry; and Hanabira mochi with burdock, sour plum sauce and white bean paste.
But not, of grade, before a barrage of perfectly-fashioned sushi that Hashida urges y'all to eat immediately from his manus – don't bother waiting for the others in your dining party – while the temperatures and textures remain optimum for a sublime flavour.
Who can wait, anyhow?
READ: At this Singapore restaurant, diners must cull betwixt 2 paths of flavour
Hashida Singapore is at 77 Amoy Street.
Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/dining/hashida-japanese-sushi-restaurant-amoy-street-singapore-250166
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