Yamashita Singapore

[Geoffrey Beird]

travel/japanese-trailblazers-behind-teppei-ramen-keisuke-bake-cheese-tart-formula-success-singapores-food-scene/ Gallery Format 51062 Teppei Yamashita, chef and founder of the Teppei Group image Teppei image Man Man Unagi Restaurant at Keong Saik image Chef Teppei Yamashita image Keisuke Takeda, chef-founder of Keisuke Singapore image image image image Shintaro Naganuma, founder and CEO, Bake Inc image image image image

These three Japanese trailblazers, who carved out profitable niche markets in Singapore, have been drawing impossibly long queues for their food products.

Keisuke Takeda, who was crowned Ramen King at the 2011 Tokyo Ramen Championships, has been making waves in the local ramen scene since 2010. Drawing from his experience as a French chef and a Japanese chef, Keisuke is best known for his novel approach to ramen (think: lobster ramen and crab ramen).

Currently, the Keisuke group of restaurants has over 20 restaurants in Japan and 12 in Singapore. It has also expanded beyond ramen concepts. These include Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King (robust pork bone based soup), Ramen Keisuke Tori King (creamy chicken broth), Ginza Tendon Itsuki (assorted tempura rice bowl), and the latest addition, which sparked another queuing frenzy: Teppanyaki Hamburg Nihonbashi Keisuke Bettei, where diners can enjoy Japanese-styled hamburger steak, free-flow salad from the salad bar, and eggs galore from the a la minute egg station (they use fresh eggs from their own farm in Malaysia).

Besides his reasonably priced omakase, Yamashita is also known for his signature bara chirashi don (the menu also lists it as kaisen don), which won diners over with its generous chunks of raw fish atop lightly vinegared rice for under $20.

The Teppei group of restaurants now include Teppei Japanese Restaurant, Hana-Hana Japanese Restaurant (which specializes in yakitori), Man Man Japanese Unagi Restaurant (which specialises in charcoal grilled eel), and Teppei Syokudo, a casual dining concept selling dons (including the bara chirashi don) and bentos, which has over six outlets in Singapore and an outlet in Wanchai, Hong Kong.

The freshly baked cheese tarts from BAKE, with a buttery crust and molten core, took Singapore by storm when they opened their store at ION Orchard in April 2016. The snaking queue in front of the shop persisted for months, and many other bakeries started coming up with their own versions.

Launched in Sapporo, Hokkaido, in 2011, BAKE Cheese Tart has since expanded to places like Seoul, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Shanghai. The Singapore outlet is the fifth one outside of Japan. And business has been doing well. Compared to April last year, the number of cheese tarts sold has increased by at least 20 per cent. They have also opened a second outlet at Westgate in October 2016.

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