Hashida charts a new course

New Openings

'HATCH' Hashida seems to go through new restaurants the way other people change their seasonal wardrobes. And each time, it just gets more and more elaborate. Technically his fourth outfit in Singapore since 2013 (if you count his move to a higher floor at Mandarin Gallery where his first sushi venture was), his latest in Amoy Street looks more like a series of art installations with a dining counter thrown into each one.

Step inside and you'll pass under a stylised torii (Japanese shrine gate) that leads you to the temple of omakase according to Hashida. Dramatic clouds seem to gather above an immaculately hewn Hiba wood sushi counter in one room of this three-in-one space, while a second room emulates the woodclad ceilings of old sushiyas - which were retractable in the past but are just aesthetic here. A third room, still not ready, will have sakura wood counters and 200-year-old wood panels salvaged from an ancient house in Kyoto.