JAPANESE DELIGHTS

Master chef Taiga Kanekuni (pictured right), who helms the eponymous sushi-ya in Regent Singapore, is always excited about spring. “The quality of the produce gets better,” he enthuses, which is why he uses a plethora of seasonal ingredients for his lunch and dinner omakase menus. They include negi (Japanese long green onion), sea bream, meji maguro (young tuna) and bonito (fish), which is well loved in his home town of Kochi in Japan. One of his signature dishes is the smoked young tuna, which is prepared “Kochi style”. A 15 kg to 20 kg meji maguro is first lightly smoked over a rice straw fire for two minutes so that it is delectably tender. It is then sliced thinly and paired with crisp julienned myoga, or Japanese ginger, and an umami-packed nori sauce to accentuate the natural sweetness and freshness of the fish.