The Masters of Inagiku
Over a beautifully curated meal, joins chef and manager Yoshio Ishikawa for a discussion on Japanese cuisine
or decades, Japanese cooking has become part of many Filipinos’ gastronomic experience. While food trends come and go, Nihon-ryôri continues to appeal to local palates, inspiring the emergence of numerous restaurants specialising in classical, fusion, or even localised takes on Japanese classics. This, in turn, begs the question: what defines authentic Japanese cuisine today?
According to Yoshio Ishikawa and Wataru Hikawa, manager and chef de cuisine at Makati Shangri-La’s Inagiku, it depends on two things: freshness and professionalism. As veterans in their respective fields, the duo embodies an eagerness not jaded but renewed by experience. “People from other cultures tend to shift careers a lot,” Hikawa, a chef for 40 years, observes. “For me, managing is all I can claim,” Ishikawa adds. Since bringing quality Japanese cooking to Hong Kong and Singapore, Hikawa has spent the last 15 years in Inagiku. Ishikawa, meanwhile, was restaurant manager from the start and it was he who recruited Hikawa.
An exemplar of this authenticity is the kaiseki or traditional Japanese multi-course meal. Developed over centuries, the kaiseki enables diners to truly savour a meal thanks to active participation in every dish where each is an edible jewel, with a presentation matching the flavours. The elaborate preparation involved in Inagiku’s ten-course kaiseki bears witness: yellowtail sushi plates are presented on bowls of ice; beef is grilled in individual hot-pots, allowing diners to cook and serve themselves; while rare ingredients such as ho and shiso leaves are carefully sourced.
Ishikawa reveals that 80 per cent of their ingredients come from Japan on a daily basis, though Hikawa is quick to concede that locallyfished Davao tuna is of excellent quality.
Freshness goes hand-in-hand with professionalism. Hikawa shares that the international dining community has learned from the Japanese with regard to handling ingredients, from farm to truck to table. With many Japanese restaurants sprouting in the Philippines, care often gets overlooked. “I see some vendors just slam their vegetables onto tables, thus damaging them!” Hikawa exclaims in dismay.
These dispositions from its manager and chef have maintained the authenticity of Inagiku’s dishes. While Ishikawa admits that anyone can attempt the recipes, a bare few can challenge decades of mastery of the illustrious tandem. This level of dedication to the proper ideals has made Japanese cuisine an art to savour.
Inagiku is located on the 2nd floor of the Makati Shangri-la Manila. For inquiries, call (632) 814.25.80 or contact rric.slm@shangri-la.com