"I have been obsessed with the kitchen since I was in primary school. My parents were both busy, leaving me plenty of time and space to practise and prepare my own meals. I started with instant noodles, exploring new flavours to add to the soup. Television cooking shows were my first [teachers]. In college I majored in computer engineering but I realised I was not passionate about it, so I started working part-time at an izakaya [a casual pub with food] close to my campus."

"It is an integration of all the Japanese cuisines, with a menu that lists everything from sashimi and sushi to tempura and grilled dishes."

"There was a strict hierarchy in the kitchen when I joined Hotel Nikko [in Tokyo], in 1986. As assistants we dared not talk to our head chef except to say ' [yes]. No one would teach you - I basically stole the techniques from the chefs I was assisting. I managed to learn a variety of cuisines and opened Tensho [a washoku restaurant], after leaving the hotel more than a decade ago. My assistants don't need to steal techniques from me."

"In Japanese, ' ' means 'the eighth day'. I've always been fascinated with the seven-day cycle - in the Bible, God finished the work of creation on the seventh day, and cicadas have a life cycle of seven days. A famous Japanese author wrote about a cicada that lived for eight days, and on the eighth day it witnessed the world of heaven, where nothing but the beautiful things are left. I want the dishes at Youka to be the ones left on the eighth day."

"I'm the most confident with my sushi. All my seafood is imported from Japan, and all the sauces are home-made. Also, my sushi rice tastes different from that at other restaurants because it is treated with vinegar and brown sugar."