ION Sky is best known for Salt Grill and Sky Bar Restaurant but for a limited period starting December, the 56th floor of ION Orchard houses a very special project; the Viva Japan Cafe.
The Viva Japan Cafe is part of a series of initiatives under the "Cool Japan" project which aims to promote Japanese culture and products to the global public. Find out more about this project and event listings of all initiatives from the Cool Japan official website.
The Viva Japan Cafe is a 50-seater cafe which will be open from 16 December 2011 for four months. Featuring Japanese craftsmanship, culture and with a fantastic view of the city, the Viva Japan Cafe is a great gathering place for lovers of everything Japanese to enjoy both cuisine and culture.
We were invited to the first of Viva Japan Cafe's monthly "Celebrity Chef's Table" event. These events are by-invite only sessions showcasing renowned Japanese chefs and their creations. Guests will be treated to cooking demonstrations and a tasting session.
The "Celebrity Chef's Table" series aims to promote the high quality and safety of Japanese cuisine and products.
The first session features a ramen showcase by celebrity chef Yasuji Morizumi, owner of MIST, a one-Michelin-starred restaurant.
Japanese ramen is a convenient dish that is usually consumed hastily, very often standing up in little restaurants. Ramen is thus seen as convenience food or fast food rather than a delicacy. What is really impressive is Chef Morizumi's conviction of creating ramen to the point that the humble ramen is so delicious, it has made his restaurant MIST worthy of one-Michelin-star. In fact, Chef Morizumi is the very first ramen chef to be awarded the much coveted Michelin star. This man is a legend!
Chef Morizumi has used his expertise to create a unique ramen dish that I'm sure most has never heard of! Instead of the usual flavourful ramen in thick pork/chicken broth, he has deconstructed it and come up with the "Umami Ramen", a dry version that does not have the oily soup but packs the same burst of flavour directly in the noodles.
Umami is a very Japanese term. Other than the four tastes - sweet, sour, salty and bitter, the Japanese are familiar with the fifth taste known as Umami. It stands for savoriness and is best described as the 'natural flavour' or 'natural tastiness' of ingredients. There is actually no English translation of Umami.
My guess is that it's that so-called "sweetness" that my grandmother used to refer to when drinking soup. (E.g. "这个汤很甜.") I knew it wasn't "sweet" but something else. Umami is that "something else" which we often mistakenly describe as sweet because there is no word for it!
Chef Morizumi explains that this special ramen is made using charcoal, which is essentially good for the body. That's why charcoal is sometimes used for detoxification. Also, the ramen is boiled using special water (forgot the science behind this). Apparently, because it is not cooked with a broth made of animal origin, this ramen is suitable even for vegetarians.
This time round for "Celebrity Chef's Table" the charcoal ramen was served with juicy grilled pork and bamboo slices.
The Umami Ramen is very light, not overly greasy and didn't make us feel like we stuffed at all. It was light and surprisingly equally as tasty as the typical soup ramen Singaporeans have grown to love.
Sadly, if you're drooling, you can't really have this at Viva Japan Cafe. While the cafe does serve Japanese cuisine, but this very yummy dish is only available from the e-commerce store. You can order and whip up this at home.
You can also bring home crafts and artworks featured at Viva Japan Cafe through the e-commerce store.
Another initiative under the "Cool Japan" project is 100 Ambassadors. Eh! Say first, we are not part of the community of selected influencers! We were invited to the event as guests. :P
Anyway, the 100 Ambassadors are goodwill ambassadors that will help support the "Cool Japan" movement. They will attend most of the monthly events and document their experiences on the 100 Ambassadors website.
Viva Japan Cafe
Level 56, ION ORCHARD (ION SKY)
10am - 10pm
Tel: +65 6636 5156
Email: vivajapancafe@gmail.com
More updates and promotions can be found on their Facebook Page.
XOXO,
Carrie
0 comments:
Post a Comment