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Chef Yoshihiro Narisawa on uprooting his 2-Michelin-star restaurant from Tokyo for Singapore residency: ‘I am excited for the potential of this event’

  • Yoshihiro Narisawa and his team are relocating to Singapore for a five-week residency while his two-Michelin-star restaurant in Tokyo closes for refurbishment
  • Narisawa plans to use indigenous ingredients from the region in his Singapore menu – some may be inspired by past trips to Bali and Malaysia’s Borneo region

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Sweet Fish is a dish inspired by the seasonal sweet river fish known as ayu in Japanese. It is served at Narisawa, which is relocating from Tokyo to Singapore to allow for refurbishment and to give Lion City diners the chance to sample the 2-Michelin-star cuisine of Yoshihiro Narisawa and his team. Photo: Narisawa

It is a restaurant residency two years in the making, but finally the time is right for famed Japanese chef Yoshihiro Narisawa to hold his long-awaited pop-up in Singapore.

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From March 24 to April 30, the chef will uproot himself and his 15-strong team to the Lion City. Concurrently, his Narisawa restaurant in Japan, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, will be closed for a much needed refurbishment.

“I am 100 per cent at the restaurant whenever it is open. My guests will never not see me in the kitchen,” says Narisawa. This is why, he says, his restaurant’s renovation afforded him the opportunity to relocate for the five-week residency – a project finally put in motion following two years of discussions. “I will, of course, do the same when we are in Singapore.”

He adds: “This will be the first time that I will be continuously in one city abroad with my team and I am excited for the potential of this event.”

Bread of the Forest is one of Yoshihiro Narisawa’s signature dishes. Photo: Narisawa
Bread of the Forest is one of Yoshihiro Narisawa’s signature dishes. Photo: Narisawa
Narisawa’s eponymous restaurant is the only one in Asia to have been ranked in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants for 15 consecutive years. Narisawa has also held two Michelin stars since 2011, and the chef featured in The Final Table cooking competition on Netflix as head judge for its Japan episode.
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