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Judging from eateries which have opened recently, shabu shabu and robatayaki seem to be the hottest trends in the Japanese dining scene here. » Shabu-hana Japanese Restaurant » Akashabu by Akashi Japanese Restaurant » Shabuya This article was first published in The Sunday Times on Jun 1, 2008.
In the last seven months, five restaurants serving these two styles of Japanese food have opened: Shabu-hana last October, Shabuya in December, Inakaya Robatayaki in March, and Akashabu and Takumi Tokyo in April.
While other restaurants here offer shabu shabu and robatayaki, these new players’ outlets serve only these types of food.
Shabu shabu is Japanese-style hotpot. Diners swish thin slices of pork or beef in a traditional seaweed broth and dip the meat into ponzu, a light vinegar-citrus sauce, or goma sauce, made with sesame. In fact, the dish is named after the swishing action.
Robatayaki is the art of grilling food on skewers over an open charcoal fire (a robata), without letting the food lose its natural juices. The raw ingredients are displayed on the counter in front of diners, who pick what they want to eat. Chefs serve the dishes on wooden paddles, known as a shamoji, to reflect its heritage, when fishermen would grill their catch, using oars to move the food around.
The new entrants saw gaps in the market and jumped on the chance to bring in more specialised Japanese cuisines to cater to well-travelled Singaporeans.
Mr Anthony Wong, 50, owner of Shabuya in VivoCity, already owns a chain of Italian and Thai restaurants, including Al Dente Trattoria, Siam Kitchen and Patara, but says he spotted a niche in the Japanese dining scene. “I’ve always wanted to own a Japanese restaurant and it was too late in the game for a sushi or sashimi counter.
There aren’t many restaurants that specialise in shabu shabu, so I thought it was a good time to start.”
Singaporeans’ appetite for the Japanese hotpot would have been whetted by restaurants such as the eight-year-old Ohsumi Japanese Restaurant at Cuppage Plaza. It was one of the first here to serve only shabu shabu, and specialises in Kurobuta pork shabu shabu, featuring pork slices from flavourful and well-marbled Berkshire pigs.
Ms Sachiko Yamamoto, 48, director of Ohsumi Singapore, says: “Originally, it was set up to cater to Japanese businessmen. But now our clientle is a 60-40 mix of Japanese and Singaporeans respectively.”
Over at seven-month-old Shabu-hana in Mohamed Sultan Road, owner Mitsuko Oshige, 38, has even localised the hotpot dish by offering a bak kut teh broth. It is popular with Japanese and Singaporean diners.
“While we still serve traditional shabu shabu, bak kut teh is a familiar taste for Singaporeans. I also introduced it for Japanese businessmen, who want to expose other Japanese to local cuisine in a nice setting.”
Despite Singapore’s hot weather, Shabuya’s Mr Wong still chose shabu shabu over other specialised Japanese fare. “It’s nicer to walk out of a shabu shabu restaurant in 10-deg-C weather like in Tokyo, but the air-con is such a bonus.”
The humid weather here certainly did not discourage restaurateur Mervyn Goh, 36, and his two brothers from opening shabu shabu restaurant Akashabu and robatayaki eatery Inakaya Robatayaki a month apart from each other early this year.
The siblings, who also own the Akashi chain of restaurants, say their robatayaki joint is authentic, as its chefs kneel behind the grill and serve food using wooden paddles. It also flies in all the meat and vegetables from Japan.
But Mr Edwin Tan, 38, owner of Robataya Yoyogi, which opened in 2006, says it is preposterous to have staff kneeling all night. “They might kneel in Japan, but you won’t get Singaporeans who will kneel all day.”
He says of his restaurant: “It’s a similar concept, with a different experience. My ingredients are imported from different regions in Japan, including the vegetables, which come in six days a week.”
Whether the chefs kneel or not, diners here seem to be taking to these new trends.
“It’s an amazing concept, being served with an oar,” says Mr James Cutler, 37, a senior project manager who had his first robatayaki experience at Inakaya.
Ms Sarah Tay, 26, a bank relationship manager who recently dined on a robatayaki meal at Keyaki restaurant at the Pan Pacific Singapore, says: “Robatayaki is something I hadn’t heard of till I went to Keyaki. It’s great that there are more shabu shabu joints. I’ve always loved it, especially grinding my own sesame seeds for the sauce.”
Mr Howard Ng, 27, general manager of an IT company, says: “I love the sauces at Ohsumi, they make me feel like I’m back in Japan.”Where to go for shabu shabu:
Where to go for robatayaki:
