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Business Times
29-05-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Les Amis group consolidates; brings all Japanese restaurants under one roof
MOVE aside Orchard Plaza. Shaw Centre is shaping up to be a new mini Japan Town, as the Les Amis Group consolidates its operations to bring all eight of its Japanese concepts under one roof. The Scotts Road mall has long been the stronghold of the F&B operator, which now has restaurants located over three floors, including its flagship three-Michelin-starred Les Amis. The group has undergone a merry-go-round of sorts as it adjusts to market conditions, closing underperforming outlets and replacing them with new ones. In the process, it shifted several restaurants from other locations to Shaw Centre, while re-shuffling the positions of existing restaurants at the same time. The most prominent move was the relocation of the high-end kaiseki restaurant Zeniya from Shangri-La Singapore to the ground floor of Shaw Centre. Zeniya – the Singapore outpost of the two-Michelin-starred restaurant in Kanazawa – takes over the space that first housed Jinhonten back in 2022. The upscale kappo eatery closed in 2024 and was replaced by Sushi Jin, a mid-priced sushi bar that was previously at Farrer Park Hospital. Sushi Jin has since moved to the third floor. Chef-owner Shin Takagi (left) of the two-Michelin-starred Zeniya in Kanazawa. PHOTO: LES AMIS GROUP Zeniya reopened on May 17, and the decision was a tactical move to be closer to town with better accessibility than the hotel, says Shin Takagi, the chef-owner of the original Kanazawa eatery, who was in town to serve guests for the first week. Being in a hotel made it dependent on its guests who did not necessarily want to eat Japanese food, explains Takagi. 'Besides Japanese, they have other restaurants to choose from, like Western and Chinese, so they'll choose one of the three.' A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 2 pm Lifestyle Our picks of the latest dining, travel and leisure options to treat yourself. Sign Up Sign Up Its location also made it a destination spot, with fewer opportunities to attract new clientele. Shaw Centre, on the other hand, 'brings us much closer to the local market', he adds. Zeniya serves a seafood-based kaiseki menu. PHOTO: LES AMIS GROUP Takagi plans to come to Singapore more regularly to cook, while his brother continues to run the family business in Kanazawa. Zeniya sits within a larger restaurant space taken up by Tenjin, the group's casual tempura restaurant. While currently serving tempura donburi, the plan is for Takagi to oversee the concept, tweaking the recipes and menu. It will subsequently be renamed Tenjin by Shin Takagi. Unagi Yondaime Kikukawa serves freshly grilled live eels. PHOTO: LES AMIS GROUP The group also recently tied up with Unagi Yondaime Kikuwa to open its first Singapore outlet, moving its stalwart Mui Kee Congee to Shaw Centre's third floor so as to release the street-facing space for the popular Nagoya-based brand, which specialises in freshly grilled live eels. Its price-friendly unagi donburi sets are targeted at the mainstream market, and such 'strategic collaborations allow us to leverage the expertise of established players and scale sustainably', says the group's spokesperson. In all, there are eight concepts under Les Amis Group's newly revamped Japanese Collective branding that cover all price points. Zeniya and Sushi Ryujiro form the top tier, followed by mid-high to casual eateries such as Wagyu Jin, Shabu Jin, Jinjo, Sushi Jin, Unagi Yondaime Kikuwa and Tenjin. One concept, Torijin, closed in March. The menus have also been tweaked to prevent overlaps between concepts. For example, unagi don is no longer offered at Jinjo. Given Zeniya's fish-based cuisine, Wagyu Jin – which had previously expanded its seafood options – has pivoted back to serving beef-centric omakase. Centralising the Japanese restaurants allows for economies of scale in terms of access to ingredients, manpower management and cross-training across outlets, adds the spokesperson. 'This ecosystem gives us the operational strength to ride out market shifts.' The Les Amis Group has 31 outlets and 18 dining concepts in total, including Peperoni Pizza, La Taperia, Bistro du Vin, Nam Nam and Mui Kee. There are no plans for any closures besides Torijin, whose space was absorbed by Sushi Jin. Two more Peperoni outlets will open in June and July, bringing the total number of outlets to 33. The strategy is to be 'cautiously optimistic, with a view to growing our portfolio when the opportunities arise', says the spokesperson.
Asahi Shimbun
23-05-2025
- Business
- Asahi Shimbun
Brewery in Mie taps gluten-free, rice-based imitation beer
Yasuo Michiguchi, right, and Nobuo Nozaki from the brewery Rice Hack at the Kuwana city government office in Mie Prefecture on April 14 (Yutaka Suzuki) KUWANA, Mie Prefecture—A brewery here has produced a gluten-free imitation beer brewed exclusively from rice and containing no major allergens or animal-derived ingredients. Oryvia was developed by brewery Rice Hack, led by President Yasuo Michiguchi, 35, under the concept of a 'beer for all.' Michiguchi spent nine years creating Oryvia. Supported by Nobuo Nozaki, 48, a director at Rice Hack and president of Nagoya-based confectionery maker Nozaki Seika, Michiguchi refined his brewing skills through training at a winery and a beer brewery in Australia as well as a sake maker in Fukui Prefecture. By March this year, Michiguchi had obtained all the needed licenses and permits for liquor sales, alcoholic drink production and related business activities. Michiguchi's goal was to make an easy-to-drink beverage for any consumer. With rice as its main ingredient, Oryvia avoids the harsh taste of malt and appeals to drinkers who do not like beer's bitterness. Oryvia also eliminates gluten from barley and wheat as well as 28 specified allergenic food items or animal-derived materials from its ingredient list. It is safe to drink for people with gluten sensitivity, allergies and a vegan preference, Michiguchi said. He came up with the idea amid an overall decline in rice consumption in Japan, which now faces a shortage of the staple. 'The prolonged rice shortage this time has stemmed, at least in part, from farmers' unwillingness to grow the crop due to insufficient consumption in recent years,' he said. 'I wanted to address the issue by using rice as the material for our brew.' Michiguchi is also looking to take advantage of defatted rice bran from the production process of rice oil--a local specialty in Kuwana--along with broken grains that cannot be sold in the market. He thereby hopes to reduce food waste, too. The name Oryvia was inspired by 'oryza,' Latin for 'rice,' and the English word 'beer.' Five varieties in the Oryvia line are expected to be released this year. The first will be Miyabi, priced at 770 yen ($5.40) after tax, which is scheduled to be released by the end of May. Miyabi boasts a classic hop-flavored taste, with a flavor so close to genuine beer that one would not notice it is made with rice, Rice Hack said. The refreshing So bottle and Rin, characterized by a clear aroma, will hit the market around summer, the company said. The sake-like Nagomi and the rich-flavored Jun are expected in autumn and winter, respectively. They all fall under the 'happoshu' imitation beer category under the liquor tax law. Rice Hack's brewing facility in the Nagashimacho district of Kuwana has a weekly production capacity of 500 liters. The company is considering increasing output at some point. 'The market for gluten-free products is growing the world over, including increased demand for gluten-free beer,' Michiguchi said. 'Few brewers produce gluten-free beer in Japan now, which means the emerging market holds great potential for growth.'
