JAPANESE food fans who swear by Aoki restaurant’s S$50 mazechirashi set lunch will have about six months left to enjoy one of the best deals in town, when the restaurant closes its doors permanently on Dec 31 this year.

The closure marks an end to the 20-year partnership that chef-owner Kunio Aoki has had with the Les Amis Group, which made the restaurant a familiar fixture at its Shaw Centre street-level location.