March 7, 2011
AT $310 a person plus wine, it's up there with the world's most
expensive dining experiences but chef Tetsuya Wakuda has no
shortage of customers at his new Singapore restaurant.
To the Sydney chef's amazement, the reservations book at Waku
Ghin includes many Australians, especially from Perth, who are
travelling especially to eat at the 25-seater.
Diners include the former Singapore prime minster Lee Kuan Yew
and his Prime Minister son Lee Hsien Loong. Some regulars visit
three or four times weekly.
They have a radically different dining experience to Wakuda's
Sydney restaurant, Tetsuya's. Every savoury dish on the 10-course
menu is cooked in front of the diner in one of four small dining
rooms.
It took seven years to persuade Wakuda to open in Singapore.
At 743 square metres, the space was far larger than anything he
wanted. More than that, Australia's most celebrated chef was happy
running just one restaurant, in Sydney.
But the owners of Singapore's new $US5.7 billion casino complex
Marina Bay Sands were never going to take no for an answer.
Finally, he relented but on his terms. Waku Ghin seats just 25
diners with two sittings a night. "That's 50 people every day …
more than enough,'' said Wakuda.
The extensive use of curved walls and small dining rooms
disguises the large floorspace.
And for the man who loves kitchen equipment almost as much as
the food prepared, much was designed by Wakuda.
Before opening, Wakuda visited Singapore "hundreds of times",
but even he is taken aback by the locals' enthusiasm.
"Their passion for eating is incredible. It's a national sport.
They just love to eat … It's obsessional almost.''
In the kitchen "Singapore is a different challenge [to
Sydney]''.
"The produce is amazing. You pay for it, however; it's extremely
expensive. Everything has to be imported and and while European is
OK, Japanese is expensive and, as I am Japanese, people expect it.
They expect Japanese seafood. They ask if it's local and if it is
they say 'I don't want that'."
Like their capacity to eat, Singaporians' capacity to spend
knows almost no bounds. The restaurant uses three kilograms of
caviar a week.
They ask if it's local and if it is they say 'I don't want
that'."
this stupid and idiot chef is really insulting Singapore
food, even if he serves the best it is shit to me and any
respectable Singaporeans.
We don't need such hypocrite in Singapore.
