Chef Hisato Hamada’s Secret To His Wagyumafia Empire? Freestyle Cooking and Lots of Good Japanese Beef

by Alvin Lim

Photo: Moët Hennessy

When Hisato Hamada opened his casual beef ramen joint Mashi No Mashi here in Singapore, his primary goal wasn’t the expansion of his famed Wagyumafia empire.

No, the 46-year-old simply explains, in just one word, that he wanted a place for “eating” — that is, eating good ramen — whenever he visits his home away from home in Singapore, a city that he lived in for several years before birthing a food brand centred around one of Japan’s most prized culinary exports.

Hamada’s probably only partially serious, especially given the rate at which he grew his brand — the first members-only Wagyumafia restaurant was established in 2016 and has since expanded to more than 20 outposts across Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Saudi Arabia.

Photo: Moët Hennessy

He brings that same ebullient energy to all his restaurants, which attracted the likes of ex-Twitter head Jack Dorsey, football legend David Beckham, and singer Ed Sheeran. The exclusive, one-night-only pop-up in Restaurant Born, attended by The Peak Singapore on September 19, also attracted attention.

Says the chef, “Before Wagyumafia, when it comes to expensive beef, you have to sit for two hours, you’re not allowed to talk loudly, and at the end of the meal, you just get a tiny bit. It was a boring experience.”

Instead, he leans towards what he calls a “house party” experience anchored in the spirit of freedom. “Everybody comes into my kitchen, and ‘Chef, I want this and that. I brought ingredients for you, or I brought expensive champagne. Let’s drink it,’” says Hamada. “I freestyle, almost like when musicians are jamming.”

Photo: Moët Hennessy

Though guests have come to expect — and are often duly served — signatures at the chef’s spirited dinners, he says that he switches up “20 to 30 per cent” of the flavours to keep things interesting.

Indeed, the recent intimate dinner — attended by only 30 guests and presided over by Hamada and his crew — saw Wagyumafia signatures paired with a selection of fine Armand de Brignac champagnes. There, the exceedingly rare Blanc de Noirs Assemblage No. 4 was served in Singapore for the first time.

Photo: Moët Hennessy

These childhood steak meals inculcated a preference for lean American and Australian beef, which would only be dispelled years later when Hamada, now grown up and working in the film industry before he found Wagyumafia, inadvertently met Muneharu Ozaki after working on the Food, Inc. documentary.

Though the farmer behind the prized Ozaki wagyu farm was not featured in the film, he invited a reluctant Hamada to his farm for a meal, making the chef a believer.

“I remember I ate one kilo of A5 wagyu for one meal over six hours. And the next morning, surprisingly, I felt nothing. I felt so clean,” says the chef. “I called Mr Ozaki and told him, and he laughed and said, ‘That’s real beef’. That changed my life.”

Photo: Moët Hennessy

Nevertheless, he keeps himself busy widening the menus of his concepts just as much as he does opening new restaurants.

Mashi No Mashi in Singapore, for example, sells an outlet-exclusive bak kut teh loaded with wagyu brisket and mild Aomori garlic, partially inspired by one of the chef’s favourite hawker stalls here, Outram Park Ya Hua Bak Kut Teh on Keppel Road.

It sounds like a shot out of left field, but that’s how Hamada likes it. “I can explain my food; I can explain my sandwich for an hour, and you won’t get it. But once you bite it, you’ll understand. Even my kids can understand. It’s non-verbal communication,” he says.

“I hate boring dining, so I have one philosophy, one motto. It’s my house party, right? So come as strangers, leave as family.” he adds.

This story was originally published on The Peak Singapore.