Premium dining outlet OKU will offer a unique culinary journey Jakarta, 28 March 2016-Indonesia’s vibrant dining scene is about to be transformed with the addition of the city’s premier premium Japanese dining venue, OKU. Opening on 1 April, OKU will be a unique eatery helmed by Chef Kazumasa Yazawa (better known as Chef Kaz), who counts renowned Japanese Chef Tetsuya Wakuda among his heroes and mentors. It is located at Hotel Indonesia Kempinski Jakarta.
Chef Kaz’s plans for OKU are to present a modern take on Japanese dishes with traditional flair, and to make the restaurant the perfect combination of both business and leisure dining destination. To this end, he brings to the restaurant a unique philosophy that reflects his lengthy experience as well as his personal beliefs.
“My cooking philosophy is simple: all of my creations are made with absolute respect towards all the products and ingredients that are used,” says the chef who is also a competent pilot. “In Japanese culture, we believe that we take the spirits and souls from the ingredients’ origins and use them to replenish ourselves, so we are giving honour and gratitude to the organisms that originally housed those spirits.”
Spiritual matters aside, Chef Kaz also adds that his core duty is to bring out the subtle flavours of the food that he and his team cooks—the flavour of the experience, the journey and the environment of the origin of each product and ingredient. “Cooking should not be a random mix of tastes,” he says, “it should reveal the ‘life story’ of what you eat.”
To this end, the name OKU itself implies the peeling back of the layers of an onion, representing the culinary journey that diners will experience at the outlet while savouring these “life stories”. It implies multiple layers of meaning, experience and discovery, as well as a flexible approach to creating innovative dishes.
Chef Kaz comes to OKU with a wealth of experience and an excellent pedigree. He was Executive Chef at the Japanese restaurant Izy Dining Restaurant & Bar in Singapore, which he opened in 2013. The restaurant was named among the top 10 restaurants in Singapore by the UK’s Guardian newspaper. Prior to that, he oversaw the award-winning Waku Ghin Restaurant at the Marina Bay Sands.
“We’re sure that OKU will be something truly unique in the city and a stellar addition to the hotel’s food and beverages offering,” said Alex Pichel, General Manager of Hotel Indonesia Kempinski. “We firmly believe that this is the only true Japanese dining experience in Central Jakarta that caters for both business and leisure, and we look forward to welcoming both hotel guests and discerning local diners to the restaurant.”
About OKU
Japanese premium restaurant OKU is the latest addition to Jakarta’s vibrant culinary scene, boasting one of the most central locations in the city inside Hotel Indonesia Kempinski at the celebrated Bundaran HI roundabout. Helmed by Chef Kazumasa Yazawa, OKU offers a modern take on Japanese dishes combined with traditional flair, which, when combined with its Zen-like atmosphere and laid-back jazzy vibes, make it the perfect for business lunches, special occasion dinners, and as an afterwork
destination.
Email: oku.jakarta@kempinski.com | Phone: (+62) 21 2358 3896 | Facebook, Twitter, Instagram: @OKUJakarta
Opening Hours:
Lunch: 12:00 – 15:00 (Monday to Sunday)
Dinner: 18:00 – 22:30 (Monday to Sunday)
Bar: 12:00 – 00:00 (Sunday to Thursday); 12:00-01:00 (Friday to Saturday)
Seating capacity: 128 including restaurant and bar
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