Japanese chefs are known to hone their culinary expertise over decades. Everything from preparation to presentation is an art, performed with ritualistic consistency. However, once they have these traditional techniques down pat, many chefs dedicate the latter half of their career to breaking rules and pushing boundaries. This is modern Japanese cuisine, a new culinary wave taking over Japan, Singapore and the rest of the world.
Driven by a breed of chefs who are also self-professed travellers, art lovers, designers and global citizens, the trend has brought new sensibilities to timeless classics. Japanese ingredients are prepared with new culinary techniques, and foreign ingredients are prepared with classical Japanese techniques. Sometimes, Japanese and foreign ingredients are cleverly combined. Experimental but not irreverent, the emphasis in modern Japanese cuisine is respect for both the ingredients and the character of the dish.
In Singapore, where new Japanese restaurants are sprouting up every other week, this brings an unexpected freshness to the cuisine. Beyond that, it gives diners a deeper appreciation for the dish and its ingredients and leads them on a journey of discovery. Leading the charge are three new restaurants — JYPSY founded by the PS Gourmet Group in July last year, Chi Kinjo opened by the Coterie Concepts group in January this year, as well as KOMA launched by the TAO Group this July.
