Inspired by the spirit of shuhari, which refers to three stages of mastery—learning the fundamentals, breaking tradition and imparting wisdom—chef Nobuhiro Nishi brings his A game from all those years learning from his father
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Kappo, which means ‘to cut and to cook’, refers to the more casual-leaning restaurants in Japan, with culinary transparency and a playful atmosphere. There are no boundaries between the chef and diner, which is what you will experience at Nishikane by Nobuhiro Nishi, a Kappo diner on Stanley Street. What was once known as Nishikane is now under new management, and it is set to make a bigger name for this style of Japanese cuisine.
What’s Nishikane by Nobuhiro Nishi like?
Inspired by the spirit of shuhari, which refers to three stages of mastery—learning the fundamentals, breaking tradition and imparting wisdom—chef Nobuhiro Nishi brings his A game from all those years learning from his father. He comes from a family of chefs, who have been running the original Nishikane restaurant since the Edo period (1850 to be exact) in the Fukui Prefecture.
Instead of the formal Kaiseki style the family follows, where the dining room is kept strictly separate from the kitchen, the 16-seater Nishikane by Nobuhiro Nishi keeps things social with open-concept dining. What they have in common though, is the respect for nature, the seasons and the art of making things by hand. Like his father, he cooks with heart, mostly evident in the rich sauces that he creates—snapper cheekbones, for instance, are roasted over charcoal and slow-cooked to get every bit of flavour out.
“Delicious food can be found in many restaurants, but food that moves you is a rarer find. It’s a people-to-people business, and you have to cook with heart,” Nishi says.
What should we order?
The menu follows the traditional Japanese calendar, which marks the passing of seasons in 24 main divisions that are then further divided into 72 micro seasons, named after its respective birds, insects, plants and weather. To reflect this journey through nature, the menu changes by the month with seasonal and micro-seasonal produce. One can expect precious female koubako snow crab, ankimo liver and shirako in the winter, for example, shaped by family recipes passed down from generation to generation, father to son, and with just a touch of creativity. Guests can flip through his book of family recipes, proudly displayed on the dining counter.
Go during the day or night, and order either the S$180 lunch or S$360 dinner, where you will get the signature Iced Fukui Soba, delicious buckwheat noodles made with mountain water and served in dashi, in a hand-carved block of ice. Right before dessert, you will also get to enjoy the Donabe, a claypot dish made with famous Koshihikari rice, slow-cooked over charcoal with yellowtail belly and radish. If it is too much food, the chef can doggy bag it as onigiri, so you have all the space for dessert, which should not be missed at all. Inspired by the dessert trolleys of French restaurants, you get to pick what you want from a platter of sweets, be it Mochi-wrapped Strawberry and Anko, Kahlua Coffee Pudding, Deconstructed Apple Pie or Sea Salt Ice Cream.
What else is there to know?
Make your reservations here, for as early as 60 days in advance. Guests with dietary restrictions are welcome, and people who cancel the day itself, aren’t. Be prepared to pay the full price of the menu if the chef gets stood up.
Nishikane by Nobuhiro Nishi
10 Stanley Street,
Singapore 068729
Tel: +65 9179 4355
