GOODBYES DON'T LAST forever. Just look at Kenjiro 'Hatch' Hashida, possibly the highest profile and busiest sushi chef in Singapore. And some say in San Francisco and Tokyo.

It has been barely four months since he parted ways with the original Hashida Sushi in Mandarin Gallery (now rebranded as Sushi Ayumu under his ex-partner) and started the company Cloud Eight with his new partner Lifebrandz. In that time, the company has opened a sushi joint in San Francisco and has just soft-opened his comeback venture in Singapore.

The new Hashida Sushi is located in Mohamed Sultan, the scene of several high profile openings including Lo & Behold's fine dining Japanese kappo restaurant Esora, and British restaurateur Marco Pierre White's The English House. In fact, he's actually neighbours with the latter, although he has yet to meet the larger-than-life White. "But I heard he asked to try my food and I hope we get to meet soon and exchange ideas about the restaurant industry," chef Hashida says in an email interview.