Bringing NYC’s hand rolls to Singapore
So, why hand rolls?
When it comes to Japanese food in Singapore’s restaurant scene, hand rolls are usually just seen as an afterthought — as just another type of sushi. Hand roll specialist concepts are uncommon.
By contrast, hand rolls are a popular fixture in the Japanese speakeasies that litter New York City.
In fact, both Aledra and her co-owner Mandy Lim cite the Big Apple’s hand roll obsession as one of the main inspirations for Toku Nori. Mandy had previously worked in the States.
Despite Aeldra’s extensive culinary experience, opening a restaurant for the time was a big, daunting career move for her. Some might also wonder why she’d decided to open her own restaurant at such a young age.
”I have loved cooking since I was young and after Covid-19, I realised that life is short and I decided to take the plunge,” she says.
But what about Toku Nori makes it different from the rest?
Aledra’s love for trying new things in her cooking, as well as the inherent influence of NYC-style hand rolls, means that the flavours at Toku Nori are a bit more creative than what you’d normally find here.
But besides that, according to Aeldra, it’s also the curation of the menu, down to the most basic ingredients.
For example, Toku Nori uses koshihikari rice (Japanese rice of the highest quality) and seaweed that’s specially sourced from Tokyo, which are important components of a good hand roll.
The restaurant also uses unconventional and more modern ingredients in its dishes.
“I like to take inspiration from recipes — especially from non-Japanese cuisines — that I come across online and adjust them for my creations,” says Aledra.
Alas, there are more headaches to opening a restaurant than merely designing the food menu. For Aeldra and Toku Nori, it took a bit of time before they found the perfect home.
When asked about the biggest challenges she faced in setting up Toku Nori, Aeldra says: “We wanted to launch our concept in a location that has good traffic, fits into our budget and also has cultural significance, since we are a Singaporean brand,”
“We were very lucky to find this pre-war shophouse at Telok Ayer,” she adds.
But the hard part is over, it seems: Toku Nori’s operations are in full swing now and were fully booked out for most nights in its first month.
