Laughter on the menu

BOOKINGS for this restaurant open only once every three months and seats are snapped up within the half- hour. No, it is not Noma - it is not even a Michelin star restaurant.

The restaurant in question is Teppei, a little 400 sq ft counter-seating Japanese restaurant on the ground floor of Tanjong Pagar's Orchid Hotel. Up to 21 diners pack in elbow-to-elbow nightly for a taste of its affordably priced omakase. To maximise its popularity, the restaurant launched three new offshoot brands in rapid succession over the last six months: Hanare, an affordable Japanese buffet restaurant, was launched in March just a stone's throw away along Tanjong Pagar Road; Hana-Hana, a yakitori grill opened in the unit just adjacent to its flagship in May; and takeaway joint Teppei Syokudo rolled up its shutters a week ago in Takashimaya's basement food hall. Just how did this relatively unknown - even slightly scruffy - eatery catapult to the title of Singapore's most coveted restaurant in just three years?

"I serve food, and humour," says owner Teppei Yamashita, 33, with a grin, which he flashes as often as his parting words to every customer, "see you tomorrow!"