Cover Kou chef Tan Kian Hong
Kou chef Tan Kian Hong
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Running on Sundays and Mondays at Ichigo Ichie, Kou is chef Tan Kian Hong’s long-awaited pop-up debut—a thoughtful exploration of Japanese seasonality and French technique shaped by years spent under the mentorship of executive chef Akane Eno
Every restaurant has its quieter days; the weekly pause when the kitchen falls silent and the dining room empties. At Ichigo Ichie, the intimate omakase restaurant at Claymore Connect, those days now belong to someone else.
Kou is a pop-up concept helmed by chef Tan Kian Hong, running every Sunday and Monday—for both lunch and dinner—in the very same space until July 31, 2026. It is neither a side project nor a stopgap, but something years in the making.
Tan joined Ichigo Ichie in 2019 as sous chef, working under executive chef Akane Eno. Over the years, their professional relationship evolved into one built on mutual respect and genuine friendship. Eno recognised something familiar in her younger colleague, the same passion and tenacity she once channelled herself. During her time at Sushi Kimura, she too ran pop-ups on rest days, using them as an opportunity to step out from behind the counter and cook on her own terms. In offering Tan the same runway, she extends that experience forward: a space, a kitchen and the freedom to finally cook in his own voice.
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Above On the days Ichigo Ichie is closed, Kou takes over the space as a pop-up concept, running every Sunday and Monday for both lunch and dinner at Claymore Connect
On the days Ichigo Ichie is closed, Kou takes over the space as a pop-up concept, running every Sunday and Monday for both lunch and dinner at Claymore Connect
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The name Kou is drawn from two characters personal to the chef—the kanji 宏 (kou) from his given name and the Chinese 红 (hong), meaning red, his favourite colour. Together, they evoke openness, warmth and depth. The philosophy underpinning the food is wabi-sabi: quiet intention over spectacle, and a deep deference to what each season allows.
Tan’s culinary path has been shaped by a lifelong fascination with Japanese culture, which he built upon at Shatec before passing through Michelin-recognised kitchens. It was at Béni, the Japanese-French restaurant helmed by Kenji Yamanaka, that something crystallised for him: that French technique and Japanese precision are not in tension, but can instead form a singular, coherent expression. That conviction runs through everything at Kou.
The menus reflect this sensibility. Lunch is offered as the seven-course Discovery Menu while the nine-course Signature Menu is available at both lunch and dinner. Dishes evolve with the seasons, though several anchor the experience throughout the pop-up’s run.
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Above Nori at Kou
Above Somen at Kou
Nori at Kou
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Each meal begins with mochi bread, baked from scratch by Tan himself, shaped after traditional mochi and dusted with Hokkaido bread flour. Made with shiratamako, it arrives warm alongside housemade flavoured butters that shift with the kitchen’s produce, from shio kombu and uni to kinako. A chilled chawanmushi follows: a deliberate inversion of the Japanese classic, with silken egg custard at its base, sweet white corn layered above, and a finish of caffeine-extracted coffee oil that leaves behind fragrance rather than bitterness.
The menu’s clearest expression of Kou’s dual influences is awabi, abalone encased in buttery puff pastry in the style of a pithivier, served with both a traditional liver sauce and a red wine sauce introduced for acidity and balance. Two traditions, presented on a single plate.
An optional A5 Wagyu tenderloin sando is also available as an add-on, prepared katsu-style with wasabi and tonkatsu sauce.
Kou runs every Sunday and Monday at Claymore Connect until July 31, 2026.
Credits
Images: Kou
Dudi Aureus is the senior dining and travel editor at Tatler Singapore, covering the city’s most exciting restaurants, global travel trends, and the personalities shaping the culinary and lifestyle scenes. She also serves as co-jury chair for the Tatler Best awards in Singapore, celebrating the very best in hospitality. When she’s off duty, she can often be found at a favourite hole-in-the-wall Thai spot, savouring a perfectly balanced pad thai.
