Hanare by Takayama | #03-07, Takashimaya Shopping Centre Ngee Ann City 📞 8298 9369 ⏰ 11:30am - 10pm
We met for lunch at Hanare by Takayama at Ngee Ann City.
Hanare is a casual Japanese eatery specialising in kamameshi 釜飯 "kettle rice". Interior decor and furnishings were simple yet elegant with a touch of class befitting Singapore's premium shopping destination.
Hanare's popular kamameshi sets consist of rice pots with choice of toppings, sashimi bento, chawanmushi, soup, and dessert (such as house made yuzu sorbet).
The bento set was served first while we waited for our rice to be cooked (yes, the pot rice were cooked from scratch, not parboiled which would ruin its desired texture).
Topped up $8 for adding snow crab meat and ikura (salmon caviar) to the chawanmushli.
We had the Hokkaido Seiko Kani and Ikura kamameshi.
The female snow crab roe, fat and innards were tossed together with ikura and koshihikari rice (preferred cultivar for sushi).
There were layers of tender textures and mild umami savoury flavours overlying the gentle sweetness of soft pearly rice.
We also had one set with corn topping.
Owner chef Takayama said Koshihikari rice from Niigata is slow-cooked from scratch in a "kama" - a traditional iron pot with dashi soup. The result is tender nutty sweet grains with a slight savoury flavour overlay.
The rice is served topped with seasonal ingredients such as snow crab for a flavourful meal.
Kamameshi is similar to the Guangdong, Cantonese bo zai fan 煲仔飯 or small pot rice.
Chef Taro Takayama hails from Wakayama, near Osaka. Chef began his career at three Michelin starred restaurants, Kashiwaya in Senriyama, and Koryu in Kitashinchi.
In 2013, he came to our sunny island as Master Chef at the residence of the Japanese Ambassador to Singapore. In this assignment, chef served dignitaries such as Crown Prince Naruhito and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Takayama-san was Chef de Cuisine at Mandarin Orchard Singapore before he founded Takayama Japanese restaurant at Shenton Way and Hanare by Takayama in 2021.
There are many side dishes we can order to go with our kamameshi set. We had tiger prawn tempura.
Fried chicken karaage.
Miyazaki Wagyu A5.
The sukiyaki set came with a savoury sweet dark soup.
Dunked the beef in the bubbling, churning, steamy hot soup.
It was savoury sweet in a complex layered way. It was robust but the savoury sweetness was balanced. I could detect bonito (katsuobushi 鰹節), seaweed, mushroom, leek, and I believe radish, superior quality soy sauce. I drank it all up greedily and it was addictive, I am feeling a craving now.
When in Ngee Ann City, try out Hanare by Chef Takayama. Get the kamameshi set and Miyazaki Wagyu A5, and you will be in food heaven in Ngee Ann City without burning a hole in your pocket.
Restaurant name: Hanare by Takayama
Address: 391 Orchard Road #03-07, Takashimaya Shopping Centre Ngee Ann City, 238872 (when you come up the escalator to level 3, eyes right and you will see Hanare 20 paces away)
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