SENSORY TREATS

New kappo-style restaurant Takayama highlights seasonal ingredients in multi-course menus that delight the palate

CHANGE OF HEART

Executive chef Taro Takayama never nurtured childhood ambitions of becoming a chef. “I did my undergraduate studies in law hoping to become a lawyer,” he confesses. But one day, he saw a photo of a chef preparing sashimi, and instantly knew that was what he wanted to do. He trained under top chefs in three Michelin-starred Japanese restaurants, and was appointed master chef at the residence of the Japanese ambassador in Singapore before setting up his eponymous restaurant offering omakase menus.