Chiharu @ Singapore ****

Katsu-kare (Deep-Fried Breaded Pork Cutlet with Curry Rice), Hiyaya-Ko (Chilled Bean Curd), Hijiki To Renkon, Tori No Nimono (Simmered Chicken with Black Seaweed and Lotus Root), Tori Tsukune (Grilled Chicken Meat Ball), Shake Onigiri (Salmon Rice Ball), Ebi Tenpura (Prawn Tempura)

You don’t have to be a fan of The Food Network to understand the visual  appeal of food and its connection to appetite. After watching not one but two cooking-themed Japanese films on Krisworld (Singapore Airlines’ unparalled entertainment service) during my flight home for the holidays, from touchdown onwards my single-minded focus was, “Must. Eat. Japanese.”

And eat I did! From The Chef of South Polar (film about the food fixations of a group of scientists on a 1.5 year posting in Antartica) I craved curry, and from Kamome Diner (film about a woman who opens a Japanese diner in Finland), I developed a longing for rice balls. Both of these desires and more were utterly satiated by Chiharu’s ‘Weekend Chef Treat Omakase,’ an ‘a-la-carte buffet’ that allows one to select any and all dishes on the menu for a fixed price of SGD$48 (~USD$35). I ate cold dishes. I ate grilled dishes. I ate deep fried dishes and much, much more! 

As both of the films that inspired this meal highlight, food is the cultural glue that binds a community together. It can also be something that binds a family together. In a multicultural land like Singapore, as the child of a multicultural family, I can think of no better way to have spent Christmas Day than in the shared appreciation of delightful, delicious international cuisine.

Details:  779 Bukit Timah Road Singapore 269758 (+6567691929)