Kagayaki by Ishigaki Yoshida joins the vibrant Japanese culinary scene in Singapore, elevating teppanyaki — typically known as a casual dining style outside Japan — into an art form where premium ingredients and mastery of techniques hold court. The intimate 18-seater restaurant officially opens its doors on 5 June 2023 and is a Singapore-based offshoot of Ishigaki Yoshida in Tokyo.
Chef Junichi Yoshida who helms the Tokyo restaurant, holds the distinction of founding the first chef-owned teppanyaki establishment to be awarded a Michelin star in 2015. It signified that teppanyaki has its own expressions of culinary finesse and can be of exceptional quality when embraced by the right pair of hands.
Yoshida is also the Chairman of The Japan Teppanyaki Association, where he helps to promote teppanyaki both in Japan and to the wider world.
Kagayaki in Singapore is led by Head Chef Nobuyasu Kamiko from Asakusa, Japan. The 48-year old chef has over 30 years of experience, 15 of which was spent working as a teppanyaki chef. He then trained a further six months under chef Yoshida in the namesake’s Tokyo restaurant before he was entrusted to open Singapore’s outpost. Yoshida serves as the restaurant advisor to Kagayaki, overseeing the restaurant’s operations, menu and imparting his years of fine-dining expertise.
The name Kagayaki refers to “brilliance” in Japanese — a reflection of what Kagayaki attempts to translate through its food. The visionary owner behind the brand, Diah Djojonegoro, embarked on a journey that spanned five months, engaging in discussions and immersive research to pave the way for their groundbreaking concept's arrival in Singapore. Thereafter, she assembled a team that sculpted every facet of Kagayaki, from the culinary brigade to a battery of ingredient suppliers so diners get only the most premium ingredients flown in from Japan.
Taking pride of place on the menu is Masuda Kagayaki Beef. It officially bears the restaurant’s name as Kagayaki has exclusive rights to the breed in Southeast Asia and is the only restaurant in Southeast Asia to cook with Masuda beef. Masuda beef cuts are prized for being translucent and delicate. The female premium cattle are raised in Masuda Farm located in Gunma prefecture and fed a special feed made of boiled-pressed barley that is steamed twice for six months.
This laborious method of feeding the cattle with cooked food is a rarity even among premium beef farms in Japan and transforms the lipids in their meat.
This beef is deployed judiciously and is the highlight of the 8-course Kagayaki Menu. It is showcased in the Ultimate Crispy Yaki Steak, where exclusive Masuda beef is cooked carefully at a low temperature on the teppan and then grilled over ubame oak Tosa binchotan. This premium variety of binchotan is made of oak harvested in Kochi prefecture in limited quantities, and its ability to impart an aromatic smokey scent while releasing minimal smoke makes it highly coveted.
Chef Kamiko gently brushes beef tallow onto the steak while grilling it. This keeps the beef juices intact when it is presented to diners. The result is a dish that is bursting with deep umami flavours. It enables guests to savour the texture and mellow profile of the beef.
Another dish to look forward to is the Scrambled Eggs with Uni, a signature of Ishigaki Yoshida. Premium Japanese eggs are delicately whipped and cooked to a soft, milky texture with a generous amount of uni folded into it. It is topped with more uni for the ultimate scrambled egg experience.
While a series of iconic dishes form the backbone of Kagayaki’s menus and remain constant, some items may change in tandem with Japan’s seasons. One such seasonal menu item is Japanese wild scallops. Unlike farmed scallops that are available all year round, the Japanese scallops featured on Kayagaki’s opening menu are usually only harvested between May-August.
The dish features scallops grilled on the teppan with three kinds of mushrooms in a herb butter sauce. It is topped with a foam of scallop and asari clam cream, and served with some garlic puree on the side.
Experience chef Kamiko’s 8-course Kagayaki Menu at $380++. Adventurous food lovers may opt for the Omakase Menu at $480++ which includes more specialty dishes created by chef Yoshida. The restaurant also offers specialty add-ons such as Beef Curry with Rice or Chateaubriand Sando.
When entering the restaurant, guests are guided along a low-lit hallway leading into the brightly illuminated main dining room — where one’s eyes are irresistibly drawn to the beautifully designed teppan counter seating 18. From these counter seats, guests get to watch chef Kamiko in action as he deftly prepares their course meal.
The restaurant features curated back wall panels with a sakura kumiko screen made by Tanihata artisans in Toyoma. Kumiko is a sophisticated traditional Japanese technique of assembling pieces of wood in delicate, intricate designs without the use of nails. Taking pride of place in the 6-seater private room is artwork by renowned Japanese photographer, Ryo Ohwada.
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