'Business in Hong Kong was better than in Japan. Plus, the salary offered over here was more lucrative than in Japan. It is much easier to find a good job as a Japanese chef here. Also, Hong Kong customers have higher expectations than customers in Japan,' Suzuki says.

'In Japan, I was living in Kansai so I was only using local ingredients. But here I can order different ingredients from different regions in Japan [according to the season].'

He was working at Harakan in Causeway Bay before being recruited by Imai Masakazu, the former executive chef at the Inagiku Four Seasons.

'Masakazu asked me if I wanted to join Miyabi to head the sushi section and help put together the a la carte hot items,' he says.

'Hong Kong has a good location as an international city, and Miyabi's culinary philosophy is similar to mine - using fine ingredients to create Japanese cuisine. That's why I decided to join Miyabi's team.'

Suzuki reckons the local belief that Japanese food is healthier contributes to the popularity of the cuisine and fuels the demand for top Japanese chefs. 'Chinese food is too oily to be consumed regularly,' he says. 'Japanese food is everyday food.'

Since joining Miyabi, the chef also takes pride in the restaurant's sukiyaki offerings.

'Our Japanese Wagyu beef sukiyaki is expensive because we use Miyasaki and Kagoshima beef. Saga beef is just too oily,' says Suzuki. 'We built an in-house dry-age facility to [store] our Wagyu beef; this is costly as [the inedible trimmings are] thrown away.

Above Miyabi is Teppanyaki Kaika, the first (and only) overseas franchise of the famous restaurant in Ginza, Tokyo.

Lawrence Mok Tsan-lam was recruited from the Island Shangri-La's Nadaman. He had been with the hotel for 18 years, working his way up to teppanyaki head chef, which Mok says is the highest position achievable in the Nadaman franchise for a non-Japanese.

'I was waiting for the right challenge,' he says. 'I have to set up and train a new team. I get involved in many aspects, with the freedom to pursue my concept.

'I started in the business in the 70s at Hong Kong's first teppanyaki eatery, behind Lane Crawford House. It was badly designed and we would often get burned.'

But things are different at Teppanyaki Kaika; the chefs work at clean, bright stations. Although the menu is essentially the same as the original in Ginza, Mok has added some dishes that local diners will enjoy. 'Each ethnic group has its own food culture whereas taste reflects an individual preference,' he says. 'Teppanyaki chefs tailor the meal to the customer's palate and pace. Attentiveness is imperative. We must put our hearts into cooking for diners as if they were our lovers.'

Mok says a chef's skill should determine how much he's worth. 'Seniority should not be the factor in a chef's remuneration package. I would only hire someone who has cooked a meal that satisfies my requirements.'

When there were openings at Inagiku's branches at the Royal Garden and Four Seasons, chefs were recruited from Tokyo. Isamu Moriguchi from Sushi Tora Ichidai Restaurant was named head sushi chef at the Royal Garden, while Shigeru Tanigawa from Yz Kansai is executive chef at the Four Seasons.

It's the first time in Hong Kong for both men, and Moriguchi says that having worked directly with the fish market and fish suppliers in Tokyo helps him hugely now. 'It helps me gain priority in buying different varieties of the freshest fish available in the market,' the chef says, so he will be selecting only the best to prepare his sushi and sashimi here.

Tanigawa's speciality is 'modern kaiseki'. Traditional and modern kaiseki are basically the same - the basic rules have to be followed otherwise it can't be kaiseki, he explains. 'The major differences are the ingredient combinations and the presentation. For modern kaiseki, it's free-style combinations coupled with simple, delicate presentation,' he says.

For Tanigawa, the stint at Four Seasons is the first time in his 35-year career that he has worked outside Japan.

'I did hear about the hectic local working culture. But due to the economic downturn, the quality of Japanese food in Japan is declining. It's time for me to learn from other countries to see if there is anything I could take back to Japan.'

For its latest restaurant, Ana Gura, in Lan Kwai Fong, the Ana F&B Group recruited Eric Chan Chi-yung, who was tempura head chef at Inagiku Four Seasons.

Chan began his career working as an apprentice at Kenjo, a top sushi restaurant in Tsim Sha Tsui.

'The Japanese master chef taking care of the Kenjo kitchen was very famous. I chose to forsake practising at the sushi bar with Kenjo-san, and went into the back kitchen to learn from him,' says Chan.

It wasn't until later, when Chan was working at another famous sushi restaurant, that he discovered his talent for making tempura. 'I was working at Causeway Bay's Sushi Hiro and my boss transferred me to the tempura eatery, Ten Yoshi. I got to study the proper techniques,' says Chan, who was recruited by Inagiku, first at its branch in the Royal Garden hotel, then at the Four Seasons. Working at Inagiku gave him the opportunity to hone his skills, expand his tempura repertoire and build a sizeable group of followers. Chan says about 80 per cent of them followed him to Ana Gura, where he is executive chef.

'The trick to perfect tempura is combining years of experience with the knowledge that tempura needs to be cooked in sesame oil at precisely 185 degrees Celsius,' he says. 'We use two kinds of Japanese sesame oil and they cost four times more than ordinary sesame oil. I change the oil for each meal. I also came up with a lighter batter, to make my tempura less greasy.'

The chef says he has more than 300 tempura dishes in his head. 'I pick up ideas through reading books, while riding on the bus or from the crazy food fantasies of my customers.'

Chan agrees with Tanigawa about the decline of Japanese cuisine in its home country.

'The deteriorating economic outlook propels experienced Japanese chefs to look for jobs in other countries,' he says.

'We are having more Japanese culinary masters working and training our local young chefs these days, thus, they are raising the standards. I foresee in 10 years Hong Kong will outshine Japan in perfecting fine-dining dishes.'

Where to go

A baker's dozen of Japanese fine dining choices in town:

Ana Gura: 2/F Yip Fung Building, 2-18 D'Aguilar Street, Lan Kwai Fong, Central, tel: 2840 1401

Miyabi Japanese Fine Dining: Level 18, The One, 100 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, tel: 2724 6222/6333

Teppanyaki Kaika: Level 19, The One, 100 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, tel: 2972 2888

Sushi Shin: Shops 1-2, 110-114 Tung Lo Wan Road, Tai Hang, Hong Kong, tel: 2398 8000

Sushi Sase: UG/F Hilltop Plaza, 49 Hollywood Road, Central, tel: 2815 0455/2815 0477

Ishi Modern Sushi Bar: Shops 8-10, G/F Wing On Plaza, 62 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui East, tel: 2111 0628

Yaegiku Japanese Cuisine: Shop 2902, 29/F iSquare, 63 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, tel: 2328 9123

Ihei Japanese Dining: Shop 2801, 28/F iSquare, 63 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, tel: 2722 1009

Yakichi: Basement, The Toy House, 100 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, tel: 3105 8950

Hama Japanese Cuisine: Shop 221, Level 2, 18 Hanoi Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, tel: 2369 9969

Inagiku: 1/F Royal Garden Hotel, 69 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui East, tel: 2733 2933

Inagiku: Level 4, Four Seasons Hotel, IFC, 8 Finance Street, Central, tel: 2805 0600

Busy Suzie: Shop 209, 1881 Heritage, 2A Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, tel: 2369 0077