PUBLISHED January 10th, 2024 06:00 am | UPDATED July 25th, 2024 04:24 pm
You can create your own stage; the audience is waiting.
And that’s precisely what Chef Kenjiro ‘Hatch’ Hashida did. Inspired by the profound message from his very first fortune cookie, he created his culinary stage – The Hashida Universe. This space brings Hatch’s philosophies to life, weaving narratives and memories with the quintessence of Japanese cuisine – all meticulously expressed in the artful Omakase courses. Our journey through the universe and its nine-course menu was filled with pleasant surprises, enlivened with Hatch’s stories, and peppered with fascinating discoveries. This is our review of Hashida Singapore.
Chef Hatch Playing to Explore
Defying the age-old admonition of “don’t play with your food,” Chef Kenjiro ‘Hatch’ Hashida was encouraged to play with his. From honing his delicate knife skills by slicing superglue from his thigh to engaging in a playful “eat the fish” game with his father, Hatch honed his culinary finesse while working from the bottom up in his father’s restaurant, Hashida Sushi Tokyo. Even though he made his first dish at the tender age of three, Hatch wasn’t always a chef. He created and sold art pieces before bringing his creativity back into the culinary world. Ten years later, in Singapore, Hatch expanded his playground with a new restaurant-in-restaurant concept, Abura Kappo, set around the fundamental element of oil (Abura).
Step into The Hashida Universe
Every part of the interior is thoughtfully put together. A Sandō pathway guides visitors through the distinctive torii entrance into the 12-seater main dining hall, likened to a sacred hall. Look up, and you’ll see a washi paper structure suspended from the ceiling; look around, and you’ll notice gradients of grey depicting a day-to-night transition, paying homage to suppliers who work through the night. At this point, we started to draw connections to the little astronaut peering through the ceiling in the hallway as if welcoming us to an entirely different planet.
Beyond the main dining hall, the hallway leads to two 7-seater private rooms and holds a few intriguing discoveries. A 36.9cm concrete slab protrudes from the wall positioned directly opposite the grill in the main dining hall to form an avant-garde display of guardian lions, commonly found in Shinto Shrines. Walk past the room that looks like an offertory box (saisen-bako), and you’ll find a sign of “happiness” hanging above the room with a painting of the mythical yatagarasu, a three-legged crow, by Hatch.
Adding New to the Old
Instead of a fortune in a cookie at the end of the meal, Chef Hatch begins with a message hidden in the chopstick holder. Our message was a poem by Chef, warming our hearts with childhood memories.
To start us off, Chef Hatch takes the traditional chawanmushi and adds a bold twist with the Blue Cheese Chawanmushi. Well-executed, the unexpected delivered an impactful yet complementary punch without the blue cheese being too overpowering. Following our lip-smacking start, Chef Hatch serves up his signature Ankimo dish, beautifully adorned with flowers and leaves. The creamy monkfish liver was slightly caramelised on top, adding a sweet note to the “foie gras of the sea”. Accompanying it is a mix of persimmon, coffee-infused beans nestled within the flower, and jelly made of yuba, crab and radish. Chef Hatch crafted this as a showcase of the progressive nature of Japanese cuisine in light of molecular gastronomy.
New Ways of the Old
Simple yet profound, Chef Hatch reinvented fish paste noodles and modelled them after the delicate texture of angel hair pasta with the chewiness of yellow noodles. The Uo Somen is a cold and refreshing noodle dish with hints of umeboshi in the light, savoury soup, served alongside a tender slice of duck. With such distinct Japanese flavours, it’s hard to imagine that a bowl of soup in Bangkok inspired this. This introspective exploration perfectly sums up his philosophy of drawing on past experiences to create something new – shōmi hakkei.
Never been much of a fan of eggplants as vegetables (although they really belong to the berry family), but eggplants as desserts? Fascinating! In the Lemon Nasu Tiramisu, Chef Hatch pairs eggplant with lemon to create a refreshingly sweet and tangy dessert, a nod to the chef’s innovative spirit.
Stories Attached
The comforting Potato, Onion, and Miso Soup transports us to the early days at Hashida Tokyo. Besides potato being his father’s favourite food, this hearty soup is a flavourful throwback to the staff meals that Chef Hatch had when working alongside his father. The soup, made with a base of prawn broth, carries rich umami flavours, making it extra tasty. And when it comes to Chef Hatch’s favourite, it is the Kamasu (Japanese barracuda), a fish he tries to serve as much as possible. He recalls how his father would engage him in an “eat the fish” game – a challenge to eat it as fast or clean as possible. Chef Hatch honed an intuitive understanding of fish bone structure through these games.
Despite omakase often portrayed as a revered and sometimes intimidating dining experience, Chef Hatch interweaves stories, play, and, of course, great taste, making a meal at Hashida a unique and delightful experience.
Hashida Singapore is located at 77 Amoy Street, Singapore 069896, p.+65 8129 5336. Open Tue- – Sun 12pm -3pm, 7pm -10.30pm. Closed Mon. Omakase sets are priced from S$200++ per person for lunch and from S$450++ per person for dinner.